The Economic Crime Levy (ECL) was introduced in part 3 of the Finance Act 2022 as part of the Government’s plan to develop a sustainable resourcing model for economic crime reform.
Most anti-money laundering (AML) regulated businesses will pay this levy in a continued effort to fight against economic crime.
The levy
The first ECL needs to be paid by 30 September 2023 and will only affect those businesses under the AML regulations and whose UK revenue exceeds £10.2 million per year. Any businesses that earn less than this are categorised as small and are exempt from the levy.
Businesses affected will need to register for the ECL, submit a return every year, and pay a fee every year. However, this is all dependent on your collection authority so please check this on the GOV.UK website.
Submitting a return
Returns can be submitted online and will contain the following information for you to enter:
- The length of your relevant accounting period
- Your UK revenue for that accounting period
- Whether you stopped or started Money Laundering Regulations (MLR) activity in the previous financial year
- Your ECL band and amount due
After submitting your return, you will be able to pay your ECL liability online in the same way as you would pay your tax liability.
Band sizes
There will be four band sizes. As previously mentioned, organisations that earn less than £10.2 million annually are exempt from the levy. They fall under the small band. A full list of bands can be viewed below:
- Small – revenue below £10.2 million
- Medium – revenue between £10.2 million and £36 million
- Large – revenue between £36 million and £1 billion
- Very large – revenue over £1 billion
Levy fees
Below are the fees that organisations will need to pay, depending on their band size.
- Small – £0
- Medium – £10,000
- Large – £36,000
- Very large – £250,000
For further information about the ECL, or for advice on how to deal with economic crime, please get in touch today.