The regulations amended the Multinational Top-up Tax Regulations 2025 to allow for retroactive effect of tax specifications.

The Multinational Top-up Tax (Pillar Two Territories, Qualifying Domestic Top-up Taxes and Accredited Qualifying Domestic Top-up Taxes) (Amendment) Regulations 2025 amend the 2025 Regulations to enable retroactive application of tax specifications related to the OECD/G20 Pillar Two model rules.

This change allows tax specifications to take effect from a date prior to their publication, aiming to improve the effectiveness of the multinational top-up tax.

The amendments are explicitly authorized by the Finance (No. 2) Act 2023.

Amendments were made to UK customs regulations to establish a new preferential trade agreement and tariff quota with the United States for beef.

These regulations, effective June 30, 2025, amend existing UK customs rules to incorporate a new preferential trade agreement and tariff quota for US beef, stemming from the General Terms for the United States of America and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Economic Prosperity Deal concluded on May 8, 2025.

The changes add a new quota to the Customs (Tariff Quotas) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 and include the new agreement details within the Customs Tariff (Preferential Trade Arrangements) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020.

The regulations apply to England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.

The 2025 regulations amended several UK sanctions regulations to add exceptions allowing payment of Treasury debt to UN-designated persons under specific conditions.

The Sanctions (EU Exit) (Treasury Debt) Regulations 2025 amend existing UK sanctions regulations concerning South Sudan, Central African Republic, Yemen, and Libya.

These amendments introduce exceptions to asset freezes and fund prohibitions imposed on UN-designated persons, allowing for the payment of Treasury debt owed to these individuals, provided certain conditions are met concerning the origin of the debt and the transfer of funds to a specified account.

The aim is to balance sanctions enforcement with the UK's financial obligations.

The National Security Act 2023 (Commencement No. 2) Regulations 2025 brought into force Part 4 of the National Security Act 2023, establishing a foreign activities and foreign influence registration scheme.

These regulations, the second set under the National Security Act 2023, bring into effect Part 4 of that Act, specifically the foreign activities and foreign influence registration scheme.

This scheme starts on July 1st, 2025, and applies across England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.

The regulations cite the power conferred by section 100(1) of the 2023 Act and provide for detailed commencement information.

An impact assessment is available online and in hard copy.

The regulations exempted certain foreign investment funds, educational and governmental services, and UK public body arrangements from the foreign activities and foreign influence registration scheme.

These regulations, enacted under the National Security Act 2023, exempt specific categories of activities from the foreign activities and foreign influence registration scheme.

The exemptions cover certain foreign power investment funds focused primarily on overseas investments, educational arrangements supporting students in the UK, administrative and technical services provided by foreign powers, and arrangements involving UK public bodies (excluding those related to political influence).

The aim is to streamline the registration process while maintaining national security.

The regulations established a process for publishing information registered under the National Security Act 2023's foreign activities and foreign influence registration scheme, with specified exceptions and time limits.

These regulations mandate the Secretary of State to publish information from the National Security Act 2023's foreign activities and foreign influence registration scheme on a public website. Publication includes details of registered foreign activity and foreign influence arrangements, subject to exceptions for national security, crime prevention, individual safety, and commercially sensitive information.

The information remains published for up to ten years, depending on the arrangement's duration.

The regulations specify precisely which information must be made public for each registration type.

The 2025 regulations amended Schedule 1 and Schedule 2 of the 1995 Antarctic Regulations, updating the lists of Antarctic Specially Protected Areas and Antarctic Historic Sites and Monuments, respectively.

The Antarctic (Amendment) Regulations 2025 revise the 1995 Antarctic Regulations to reflect decisions from four recent Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings.

The regulations update the lists of Antarctic Specially Protected Areas (ASPAs) and Antarctic Historic Sites and Monuments (AHSMs), adding new sites and revising existing descriptions.

Several ASPAs and AHSMs have been removed, with revised descriptions provided for others.

New sites are added, along with updated geographical coordinates and descriptions that improve management and conservation.

The registrar was granted new powers to annotate the register of overseas entities regarding dissolved entities and non-compliance with information requests.

The Register of Overseas Entities (Annotation) Regulations 2025 empower the registrar to add notes to the register concerning dissolved overseas entities or those that have failed to comply with information requirements.

These annotations enhance transparency and aid enforcement of the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022 and the Companies Act 2006.

The regulations extend to England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland and came into effect on June 30, 2025.