Trust or Company Service Providers (TCSPs) who are not members of the list of approved professional bodies must to apply to HMRC to register as a TCSP without penalty until 31 May 2008.

The business will need to register with HMRC and set up anti-money laundering controls. You will need to apply for a fit and proper test and pay the relevant fees for registration and the fit and proper test.

If you set up in business as a new TCSP on or after the 15 December 2007 you will need to apply to register and apply for the fit and proper test before you can carry on your business.

What is a TCSP?
A Trust or Company Service Provider (TCSP) is any person who by way of business provides any of the following services to third parties:

1. forming companies or other legal persons;
   
2. acting, or arranging for another person to act:
   
   • as a director or secretary of a company;
     
   • as a partner of a partnership; or
     
   • in a similar position in relation to other legal persons;

   
   

3. providing a registered office, business address, correspondence or administrative address or other related services for a company, partnership or any other legal person or arrangement;
   
4. acting, or arranging for another person to act, as:
   
   • trustee of an express trust or similar legal arrangement; or
     
   • a nominee shareholder for another person other than a company listed on a regulated market which is subject to disclosure requirements consistent with Community legislation or equivalent international standards.

Supervisory bodies
There is no need to register with HMRC if your practice will be supervised by one of these legal or accountancy professional bodies:

• Association of Accounting Technicians
  
• Association of Chartered Certified Accountants
  
• Association of International Accountants
  
• Association of Taxation Technicians
  
• Chartered Institute of Management Accountants
  
• Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy
  
• Chartered Institute of Taxation
  
• Council for Licensed Conveyancers
  
• Faculty of Advocates
  
• Faculty Office of the Archbishop of Canterbury
  
• General Council of the Bar
  
• General Council of the Bar of Northern Ireland
  
• Insolvency Practitioners Association
  
• International Association of Book-keepers*
  
• Institute of Certified Bookkeepers
  
• Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales
  
• Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland
  
• Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland
  
• Institute of Financial Accountants
  
• Law Society
  
• Law Society of Scotland
  
• Law Society of Northern Ireland

* HM Treasury has indicated to the International Association of Book-keepers that it is their intention to propose legislation to insert them into Schedule 3 Part 2 of the Money Laundering Regulations 2007.
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