Cross-border tax avoidance arrangement disclosure rules implementing OECD Model Mandatory Disclosure Rules referred to as “UK MDR” have come into force in the UK on 28 March 2023. In-scope arrangements entered into on or after this date must be reported to HMRC.
On 20 March 2023, the FCA published a Dear CEO letter to benchmark administrators setting out the findings of its preliminary review into ESG benchmarks. The review covered: (i) the quality of disclosures made by a sample of UK benchmark administrators; and (ii) the robustness and reliability of ESG benchmarks themselves. The FCA’s key finding was that the overall quality of ESG-related disclosures made by benchmark administrators is currently “poor”.
In an article for Compliance and Risk Journal, John Bracken considers the ever-changing employment law environment, highlighting recent and upcoming court decisions and legislative developments.
The Financial Conduct Authority has recently reiterated that its new Consumer Duty represents a significant shift in its expectations of affected firms. Good customer outcomes must be at the heart of firms’ business strategy and objectives. In an article for Thomson Reuters Regulatory Intelligence, Annabel Mackay and Kimberly Everitt provide an overview of the employment law implications of the Consumer Duty and lists next steps firms should take to ensure compliance.
The UK Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) has updated its guidance on enforcement and monetary penalties for breaches of financial sanctions, to include a number of paragraphs setting out OFSI’s expectations around the nature and type of due diligence that companies should undertake when assessing whether an entity is owned or controlled by one or more designated persons, for sanctions purposes.
On 15 March 2023, the Government announced its Spring Budget 2023, which included some long awaited changes to the current Customs regime. Broadly, the announcements capture improvements following the Government’s 2022 Call for Evidence on an independent Customs regime.
On 15 March the Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, released his Spring Budget 2023. With the Autumn Statement 2022 having to focus on the need to restore economic stability, in light of the UK political turmoil at that time, this was billed as a Budget for growth, encouraging business investment in the UK. The Government’s stated aim is to create a competitive, pro-business tax regime and the headline announcement – certainly going some way to achieving this – was on capital allowances.
There are already big reforms planned for the UK Trade Remedies Authority – less than two years after its establishment – and for the overall operation of the UK trade remedies regime. On 9 March 2023, the UK Government announced changes to its trade remedies regime to transition to a more complex investigatory regime.
Baker McKenzie’s Sanctions Blog published the alert titled Blog Series: Sanctions Enforcement Around the G7, The UK Perspective on 10 March 2023. Read the article via the link here. Please also visit our Sanctions Blog for the most recent updates.
The UK’s trade remedies body, the Trade Remedies Authority announced on 22 February that it has begun a reconsideration of its recommendation in Case AD0012, concerning imports of certain aluminium extrusions originating in China. Notably, this was the TRA’s first anti-dumping investigation in response to an application from UK industry. A reconsideration application is a request for the TRA to review its findings in a concluded investigation.