By PAUL O’DONOGHUE, Senior Correspondent
THE UK HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has proposed raising its AML ‘premises fee’ from £300 to £400 a year.
The annual charge applies to the 36,000 businesses registered with HMRC for anti-money laundering (AML) supervision.
“HMRC intends to increase the premises fee from £300 to £400,” HMRC said.
“Costs of providing supervision have increased since 2019 and HMRC needs to continue to evolve its approach to supervision.”
The regulator made the proposal in a new consultation paper.
UK premises fee rise
In the document, HMRC said: “HMRC has looked carefully at supervisory income and costs in previous years. And projected income and costs for 2025 to 2026 and beyond.
“Fees must increase to enable HMRC to maintain effective supervision.”
Regarding the premises fee, HMRC said the planned 33% increase from £300 to £400 “is slightly higher than inflation since May 2019”.
Some businesses may be eligible for a small business fee reduction.
HMRC also proposed increasing several other AML supervision fees.
These include raising the price of its ‘Fit and Proper’ test. This assesses the suitability of individuals to hold certain corporate roles.
Previously, HMRC charged £150 to carry out this test. That is now set to rise to £700.
“The increase in the F&P fee from £150 to £700 reflects the increased risks in these sectors and the costs of testing and retesting applicants,” HMRC said.
The discussion on the AML fee increases will run from 31 July 2025 to 29 August 2025.
Businesses can email HMRC with their comments by 29 August 2025.
Once it receives the feedback, HMRC said it will “publish intended next steps in the following weeks”.
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