The Economic Crime (Anti-Money Laundering) Levy (Amendment) Regulations 2025

Published: Tue 4th Nov 25 Came into force: Tue 25th Nov 25

Made under: Finance Act 2022

The Commissioners of HMRC enacted regulations amending the 2022 Levy Regulations to assign HMRC as the responsible authority for repaying overpaid Economic Crime (Anti-Money Laundering) Levy amounts transferred under specific collection provisions.

These Regulations, made by the Commissioners of His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC), amend the Economic Crime (Anti-Money Laundering) Levy Regulations 2022, specifically addressing the procedure for repaying levy amounts that have been overpaid.

The amendment clarifies that if the responsibility for collecting unpaid levy amounts is transferred from the Financial Conduct Authority or the Gambling Commission to the HMRC Commissioners, then HMRC Commissioners become the appropriate authority responsible for issuing any repayment of amounts subsequently found to have been overpaid.

Arguments For

Clarifies administrative responsibility for repaying overpaid Economic Crime (Anti-Money Laundering) Levy when collections powers have been transferred to HMRC Commissioners.
Ensures a clear mechanism exists for taxpayers to recover funds where HMRC has become the designated collection authority under existing transfer provisions (Regulation 25 of the 2022 Regulations).
Maintains the financial integrity of the levy system established by the Finance Act 2022 by providing explicit coverage for repayment scenarios.

Arguments Against

Introduces complexity by making a specific amendment to the 2022 Regulations, potentially requiring businesses to track multiple amendments when calculating compliance obligations.
The need for this amendment suggests that the original 2022 Regulations did not fully anticipate or cover the scenarios arising from the delegation of collection authority, leading to a period of regulatory ambiguity.
Adds an administrative layer concerning repayment jurisdiction, which might necessitate new internal procedures within HMRC and for affected entities.

The Commissioners of His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs make these Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 58(2), (3)(l), (6) and (7) and 64(1) and (3) of the Finance Act 2022.

HMRC Commissioners created these rules using legal authority given to them by specific sections of the Finance Act 2022 regarding the levy.

Before making these Regulations, the HMRC Commissioners have consulted the Treasury and each of the other appropriate collection authorities in accordance with section 64(5) of the Finance Act 2022.

Before finalizing these amendments, the HMRC Commissioners followed the requirement in the Finance Act 2022 to consult with HM Treasury and all other relevant bodies responsible for collecting the levy.

Citation and commencement 1.

These Regulations may be cited as the Economic Crime (Anti-Money Laundering) Levy (Amendment) Regulations 2025 and come into force on 25th November 2025.

The official short title for this legislation is the Economic Crime (Anti-Money Laundering) Levy (Amendment) Regulations 2025.

These rules officially become effective starting November 25th, 2025.

Amendment of the Economic Crime (Anti-Money Laundering) Levy Regulations 2022 2.

(1)

The Economic Crime (Anti-Money Laundering) Levy Regulations 2022 are amended as follows.

This section introduces changes to the primary body of rules governing the levy, which are the Economic Crime (Anti-Money Laundering) Levy Regulations enacted in 2022.

(2)

In regulation 18 (Repayment of overpaid levy), after paragraph (3) insert—

“(4) In relation to amounts treated as if the HMRC Commissioners were the appropriate collection authority under regulation 25, the HMRC Commissioners are the appropriate collection authority for the purposes of paragraph (1).”.

Regulation 18 of the 2022 rules deals with returning levy amounts that were paid in excess.

A new subsection ((4)) is added specifying that when HMRC takes over the role of collecting unpaid levy amounts from another authority (as defined in regulation 25), HMRC also becomes the designated authority responsible for managing the repayment of any levy amounts paid beyond what was owed.

Explanatory Memorandum PDF View Source

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