In this week’s post EU exit corner, we bring you the latest guidance updates and publications relevant in the post EU exit environment. The most recent Trader Support Service bulletin is also available as is the most recently published Brexit and Beyond newsletter from the Northern Ireland Assembly EU Affairs team. HMRC has also confirmed that the implementation of CERTEX has been delayed from 28 June 2025. Delay to the implementation of CERTEX  CERTEX, the system that will verify licence data on declarations for goods movements which will replace the Automatic Licence Verification System (ALVS) for Northern Ireland, was due to commence from 28 June 2025. Last week we were advised that it has not been implemented from that date and that a new implementation date has not yet been set. Any actions traders may need to take depends on whether they are moving goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland or from the Rest of the World to Northern Ireland. However, they should continue to follow standard processes for controlled goods in Northern Ireland, including reporting for inspections where required to do so.   Moving goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland  Note that this delay does not affect the use of the new Common Health Entry Document (CHED) reference format on traders’ declarations which must be used from 28 June 2025. The reference format is letters followed by numbers and includes the full stop character, for example, 'CHEDA.XI.2025.1234567'.  From 28 June 2025, declarations using the existing format (e.g. ‘GBCHD2025.1234567’) will not be rejected, however HMRC is encouraging traders to use the new format in readiness for the implementation of CERTEX at a later date.  Traders will not receive CERTEX specific messages for these movements in the Customs Declarations Service (CDS) so they must continue to monitor the Goods Vehicle Movement Service (GVMS) at GVMS locations or the respective inventory system at inventory locations. For detailed guidance, please visit GOV.UK.  Moving goods from Rest of World to Northern Ireland   This delay means traders must not use the new Common Health Entry Document (CHED) format on their declarations from 28 June 2025. They must continue to use the existing format found in Appendix 5a, for example, ‘GBCHD2025.1234567’.  If they have pre-lodged any declarations using the new format these must be changed before arrival on the CDS. Failure to use the correct CHED format will result in rejections or holds on goods once the goods arrive and potential delays in getting the goods released. Traders should continue to monitor CDS for any ‘ALVS’ messages.  HMRC will provide further information in due course and has confirmed that the processes for making a declaration or obtaining a licence remain unchanged. It has also been confirmed that HMRC’s guidance on C085 still stands; no changes are being made to this. For support for goods in movement, contact the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs on 0300 200 7852 or email daera.helpline@daera-ni.gov.uk. For general support with freight movements, traders can contact the Trader Support Service team, or call the HMRC Customs and International Trade helpline on‌‌‌ 0300‌‌‌ 322‌‌‌ 9434‌‌‌ (textphone 0300‌‌‌ 200‌‌‌ 3719).   For support with parcels movements, traders can contact their parcel express operator. Please note this change does not impact express operators moving consumer parcels under the UK Carrier Scheme.   Miscellaneous guidance updates and publications This week’s miscellaneous guidance updates and publications are as follows: Data Element 2/3: Documents and Other Reference Codes (Union) of the Customs Declaration Service, Search the register of customs agents and express operators, Data Element 2/3: Documents and Other Reference Codes (National) of the Customs Declaration Service (CDS), Maritime ports and wharves location codes for Data Element 5/23 of the Customs Declaration Service, External temporary storage facilities codes for Data Element 5/23 of the Customs Declaration Service, Software developers providing customs declaration software, Known error workarounds for the Customs Declaration Service (CDS), Authorisation type codes for Data Element 3/39 of the Customs Declaration Service, Reading notes for Declaration Category Data Sets: CDS Declaration and Customs Clearance Request Instructions, CDS Declaration Completion Instructions for Exports, Appendix 1: DE 1/10: Requested and Previous Procedure Codes of the Customs Declaration Service (CDS), CDS Declaration Completion Instructions for Imports, Appendix 21: Import Declaration Category Data Sets, and 4-digit to 3-digit procedure to additional procedure code correlation matrix for imports.

HMRC has provided a further update on the ongoing calculation issues with 2024/25 Class 2 National Insurance Contributions (Class 2 NICs) which you can read more about below. In other miscellaneous news this week: In a Press Release, HMRC is urging anyone with a side hustle to check if they are self-employed and need to register for self-assessment, The Institute for Fiscal Studies says the tax system is making net zero more costly than it has to be, The minutes from the most recent meeting of the HMRC forum, the Joint Vat Consultative Committee are available, As we reminded you last week, today, Monday 30 June 2025, is the deadline to register to report for Pillar Two in the UK. HMRC has recently updated its guidance on this, HMRC’s latest News and Information Bulletin is available on our website, The latest schedule of HMRC Talking Points live and recorded webinars for tax agents is available for booking. Spaces are limited, so take a look now and save your place, and Check HMRC’s online services availability page for details of planned downtime and the online services affected. Update on Class 2 NICs issue Last week we updated you on the ongoing Class 2 NICs issue which has resulted in incorrect tax calculations being issued to some taxpayers for 2024/25. HMRC has asked us to share an update on this issue which confirms that agents who receive incorrect calculations for clients “should not need to take any further action” as HMRC continues to work on a fix. The full update from HMRC is as follows: “We’re working to resolve the issue which we became aware of on 9 May affecting some Self-Assessment taxpayers in relation to Class 2 National Insurance contributions for the last tax year. The nature of the error depends on individual circumstances, but in general, customers with self-employed profits above £12,570 have seen Class 2 NICs charge of £358.80 added to their accounts when they shouldn’t have been, although in some circumstances it will be less. We’ve already taken action to correct the Class 2 NICs figure in circumstances where the information we hold has allowed us. If this applies to your clients, they will have received a message to let them know. We will correct the records of other customers after the issue has been resolved and again, notify them when we have done so, so there is no need for customers to contact us.  We are expecting to have the issue resolved by the end of July at the latest and will be correcting records before any incorrect amounts due impact the tax owed for 2024–25.  While we understand this may be concerning, we want to reassure you that there should be no long-term impact. We’d also like to reassure you that customers who may have made a payment will either be refunded or have a credit added to their Self-Assessment statement.” We are also aware that some taxpayers may have received letters telling them to object to the computation within 30 days of receipt (which some agents may also be aware of) and that incorrect Class 2 NICs calculations are continuing to be sent by HMRC even though it is working on a fix. In addition, there are scenarios where agents have correctly filed 2024/25 returns showing no Class 2 NICs liability after which they have subsequently received a letter from HMRC to say they will be correcting this when in fact the correction too is showing no Class 2 NICs liability. In response to this HMRC says: “The 30-day limit can be ignored for impacted self-employed customers as they’ll be issued with a new SA302 tax calculation letter - which is when a new 30-day limit will commence.  Unfortunately, existing incorrect Class 2 letters will continue to be issued until the fix is in place, but we are pushing for this to be done earlier than the end of July estimate we’ve been given. We believe that this issue is also the cause of instances where a letter is received by an agent after they have filed a return correctly (showing ‘nil’ NICs), stating that their return has been ‘corrected’ to ‘nil’.  This requires a slightly different fix, but it will be carried out to the same July timescale. There won’t be any new letter issued following the fix in these circumstances as there’s no correction to be made, but we appreciate that it is confusing to receive a letter which confirms the NIC but is branded as a ‘correction’. The fix will stop these letters.”  

We take this opportunity to remind you of the forthcoming deadline for 2024/25 expenses and benefits returns/employment related securities which is this coming weekend on Sunday 6 July 2025. The 2024/25 online filing deadline to apply for a PAYE settlement agreement is Saturday 5 July 2025, with payments due by 22 October 2025 (19 October 2025 if not paying electronically). Here’s a reminder of the key deadlines next month:  6 July 2025: deadline for submitting all 2024/25 P11D(b) and P11D forms (if benefits not processed via payroll) and the employee must receive their copy of the P11D,  6 July 2025: deadline for online reporting of the 2024/25 annual return in respect of employment related securities, 19 July 2025: deadline for non-electronic payment of Class 1A National Insurance Contributions (NIC) for 2024/25, and  22 July 2025: deadline for electronic payment of Class 1A NIC for 2024/25.  HMRC are continuing to hold a series of webinars for employers and payroll providers on a range of related topics. The latest webinars available to register for will cover: Social functions and parties, Travel expenses, and Company cars and vans.

In March 2024 HMRC delivered the IT functionality which allows taxpayers to directly register for the VAT Import One Stop Shop (IOSS) system in Northern Ireland, the HMRC system which allows business to report and pay VAT on imports of low value goods to consumers in the EU, Northern Ireland, or both. HMRC is now working on the second phase of delivery of its IOSS system which will allow agents to register and act on behalf of businesses. HMRC is seeking agent volunteers to participate in testing during phase 2, a unique opportunity to help shape delivery in this phase. The role of a VAT IOSS agent/intermediary is to fulfil the VAT reporting and payment obligations on behalf of businesses who are involved in business to consumer imports of low value goods into the EU and Northern Ireland. HMRC is seeking support to develop its VAT IOSS intermediary service and would benefit from end-user feedback on the prototype designs. HMRC has provided a high-level overview of what would be expected from participants. HMRC is looking for Northern Ireland based agents/intermediaries. Volunteers will be participating in one to one moderated MS Teams sessions with HMRC’s implementation team. Sessions are expected to be one hour in length and timings will be flexible to suit participant availability. Participants will be required to sign a consent form to take part which will also include an agreement not to disclose any information relating to the project and their participation. The objective is to test and gather feedback on the digital prototypes of the VAT IOSS agent service including the registration, return filing, and payment journeys to ensure that these meet user’s needs. Sessions are expected to commence from this month onwards. The ask from HMRC is whether you would be willing to take part in this user research to support them with delivery of phase 2. Email tax@charteredaccountants.ie if you would like to participate or require more information.

HMRC has published the 2025 edition of the Tax Gap for 2023/24, the difference between the estimated amount of theoretical tax that should have been paid to HMRC and the amount that has actually been paid. According to the publication, this fell in real terms to 5.3 percent despite the cash figure of £46.8 billion being at a record high and comparing unfavourably to £46.4 billion in 2022/23. The key trends are that there is a continuing fall in the VAT gap, upward trends in both the small businesses tax gap and corporation tax, however avoidance is showing a small reduction the reasons for which are not clear. The information published represents the best estimate of the Tax Gap at the time of publication and is subject to revision by HMRC if more data becomes available. Since HMRC began to publish this information in 2005/06, the Tax Gap had fallen from 7.4 percent to 5.1 percent in 2017/18 but was broadly stable at circa 5.5 percent in more recent years. In the report’s introduction, HMRC compares the movement in percentage terms for each category of tax from the first year of reporting to 2023/24. The only tax head to show an increase is corporation tax which increased from 11.4 percent in 2005/06 to 15.8 percent in 2023/24; all other tax heads have reduced. The Tax Gap for small businesses remains the largest component by taxpayer group with a 60 percent share in 2023/24. The VAT gap has reduced from 13.8 percent of the theoretical VAT liability in 2005/06 (£11.6 billion) to 5.0 percent in 2023/24 (£8.9 billion). However, although the trend has been one of gradual decline, this has been more erratic in recent years which does not make sense in the context of Making Tax Digital for VAT being fully implemented from 1 April 2022. Avoidance has been revised down in the period 2019/20 to 2022/23 from 0.2 percent to 0.1 percent and according to the report was at an estimated record low in 2023/24 though the reasons for this are not clear and could be because some aspects have been reclassified to other behaviour categories. In its accompanying press release on the 2023/24 figures, the Government overtly references its objective of raising an additional £7.5 billion via measures announced in the 2024 Autumn Budget and Spring Statement to close the tax gap. The following publications and news releases all relate to the 2025 Tax Gap edition: https://www.mynewsdesk.com/uk/hm-revenue-customs-hmrc/pressreleases/tax-gap-estimated-at-5-dot-3-percent-3392916, Quality report: Measuring tax gaps, and Measuring tax gaps tables.

One of the measures set out in the UK Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act is one to improve transparency by making more company financial information available to the public.   Companies House has announced that over the coming days it will start to contact by email all the UK companies on their register to let them know that from 1 April 2027, all accounts filings must be made using commercial software. From then web and paper routes will be closed for accounts filings but will remain open for other statutory filings.   UK Accounts filing options will be also streamlined from April 2027 for small and micro-entity companies. From then micro-entities will be required to file a copy of their balance sheet and profit and loss account. Small companies will be required to file a copy of balance sheet, directors’ report, auditor’s report (unless exempt) and profit and loss account.  Companies will no longer be able to prepare and file ‘abridged’ accounts. Related changes include updates to audit exemptions and accounting reference periods. For more information on these planned changes readers can check out Changes to accounts article on Companies‘ House website. This information is provided as resources and information only and nothing in these pages purports to provide professional advice or definitive legal interpretation(s) or opinion(s) on the applicable legislation or legal or other matters referred to in the pages. If the reader is in doubt on any matter in this complex area further legal or other advice must be obtained. While every reasonable care has been taken by the Institute in the preparation of these pages, we do not guarantee the accuracy or veracity of any resource, guidance, information or opinion, or the appropriateness, suitability or applicability of any practice or procedure contained therein. The Institute is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of the resources or information contained in these pages.

The Pensions Research Accountants Group (PRAG) has published an invitation to comment on its proposed amendments to the Statement of Recommended Practice, Financial Reports of Pension Schemes 2025 (Pension SORP). 2026 has been a busy year for the various bodies responsible for developing and maintaining SORPS, as they seek to align their SORPs to FRS 102, and the changes effective on 1 January 2026. PRAG is the Financial Reporting Council’s (FRC) designated SORP-making body for pension schemes. The Pensions SORP was last updated in 2018 and since then, the FRC has made amendments to its FRS 102 Standard. There have also been several industry developments which impact on pension scheme financial reporting as well as changes to pensions legislation and regulations. Some documents of interest issued as part of the invitation to comment include; PRAG consultation page  Copy of draft SORP Webinar on 18 July to discuss the draft SORP PRAG Press Release The Invitation to comment remains open until 17 September 2025.  

In Irish news this week, the administrative challenges of the Enhanced Reporting Requirement (ERR) were raised by Deputy Shay Brennan in the Dáil and we bring you an update from the recent TALC Collections sub-committee meeting. In UK news, members have been sharing their perspectives on the Institute’s refreshed campaign to reduce the corporation tax rate in Northern Ireland and the Institute is advocating for more broad ranging reform of the UK enquiry regime. In International news, the OECD has published a report on the use of technology by tax administrations globally. Irish 1. View the parliamentary question on ERR raised by Fianna Fáil finance spokesperson, Shay Brennan TD last week following our recent meeting with the Deputy.   2. Read about the representations made by the Institute, under the auspices of the CCAB-I, at the recent TALC Collections sub-committee meeting.   UK 3. In response to the Institute launching its refreshed campaign to reduce the corporation tax rate in Northern Ireland, members and the Institute’s senior management have been sharing their perspectives on the new campaign.   4. Read about the recommendations of the NI Tax Committee who are advocating for wider reform of the UK enquiry regime in their submission to the consultation on behavioural penalties.   International 5. The OECD has published a report outlining how technology is being leveraged by tax authorities around the world. Keep up to date with all the latest Irish, UK, and international tax developments through Chartered Accountants Ireland’s Tax Newsletter. Subscribe to the Tax News by updating your preferences in MyAccount. You can also read this week’s post EU exit corner here.

Professional Standards have published Issue 41 of the Regulatory Bulletin. Please click on the link provided to access this publication.

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has issued a revised Practice Statement on management commentary. IFRS Practice Statement 1 - Management Commentary supersedes the previous version of the same document which was issued in December 2010 and is effective for application for periods commencing on or after 23 June 2025, with early application permitted. The Statement is not an IFRS Accounting Standard or an IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standard. The Practice Statement sets out requirements for management commentary and how those requirements can be met. Management commentary complements and accompanies financial statements with explanations from management about a company's performance, strategy and risk. On releasing the revised Practice Statement, the IASB noted that they intend that it will "serve as a global benchmark for regulators to use in updating or developing their national requirements and guidance". In recognition of the strong connectivity between management commentary and the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) Standards, the IASB noted that they worked closely with the ISSB in the development of the document to help align the requirements of the two boards and to facilitate connected information across a company's financial reports.

In this week’s post EU exit corner, we bring you the latest guidance updates and publications relevant in the post EU exit environment. The most recent Trader Support Service bulletin is also available as is the most recently published Brexit and Beyond newsletter from the Northern Ireland Assembly EU Affairs team. The House of Lords Northern Ireland Scrutiny Committee has paid a visit to NI to examine how effectively its voice is represented on the Windsor Framework as part of its ongoing inquiry and the UK and the US governments have agreed to further reduce tariffs on cross-border trade.  Miscellaneous guidance updates and publications This week’s miscellaneous guidance updates and publications are as follows: Appendix 23 Imports: Declaration Category Data Sets, Appendix 21: Import Declaration Category Data Sets, Apply to claim a repayment or remission of import duty on ‘at risk’ goods brought into Northern Ireland, Appendix 25 BIRDS: Declaration Category Data Sets, Appendix 24: Declaration Category Data Set, Appendix 22: Declaration Category Data Sets Landing Page and Introductory Text, Apply for a voluntary clearance amendment (underpayment) (C2001), Report a problem using the Customs Declaration Service, Moving licensed goods into or out of Northern Ireland, Discover customs authorisations that help you import and export goods, Notices made under The Customs (Import Duty) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018, Check how to move goods through ports that use the Goods Vehicle Movement Service, Create a goods movement reference, and External temporary storage facilities codes for Data Element 5/23 of the Customs Declaration Service.  

In this week’s detailed miscellaneous updates which you can read more about below, HMRC will be publishing a new guidance manual to cover the implementation of the OECD’s Pillar Two rules in the UK and the first deadline for in scope groups to register to report for Pillar Two is next Monday 30 June 2025. HMRC has also provided us with an update on the ongoing Class 2 national insurance contributions (NICs) issue which has resulted in incorrect tax calculations being issued to some taxpayers for 2024/25. In other news this week: HMRC has published the latest Agent Update: Issue 132, The Government has published an updated policy paper ‘Tax Policy Making Principles’, which sets out its approach to delivering tax policy changes through the single major fiscal event cycle, and how it will engage with stakeholders during tax policy development. This is the first update on this from the new Government since it came to power last year. Note that we are not aware of any stakeholders being consulted on this, The Public Accounts Committee has held an evidence session with HMRC about the steps they are taking to ensure wealthy individuals pay their taxes as part of its ongoing inquiry in this area, The latest version of the Tax agents handbook has been published, and The minutes of the most recent meeting of the HMRC Guidance Strategy Forum are available on GOV.UK. Pillar Two manual to be published HMRC will be publishing a new guidance manual to cover the implementation of the UK’s Pillar Two rules. Over the last two years, draft content for this manual has been published in tranches for consultation. Four separate tranches have been published as follows: 15 June 2023,  21 December 2023, 12 September 2024, and  28 January 2025. Earlier this month, HMRC advised that consultation responses have been reviewed and will be reflected in the HMRC guidance manual where appropriate. In the introduction to the consultation on the fourth tranche of draft guidance, HMRC states “the guidance manual will be published in full in late spring” so we should expect to see this soon.   The deadline to register to report for Pillar Two is also approaching. Groups in the scope of the Pillar Two rules in the UK must register within six months of the end of the first accounting period which started on or after 31 December 2023. This means impacted groups with an accounting period ended 31 December 2024 must register by 30 June 2025. Registration and reporting must be done using HMRC’s online service for this. 2024/25 Class 2 NICs issue From 2024/25, self-employed people with profits below the 2024/25 limit of £6,725 can opt to pay Class 2 NICs voluntarily for certain contributory state benefit purposes. Those with profits above this limit no longer have to pay Class 2 NICs to access the affected benefits. HMRC has been investigating why some taxpayers, including some paying voluntarily, have received a self-assessment tax calculation (SA302) from HMRC that includes a liability for Class 2 NICs. HMRC has advised us that the nature of the error depends on individual circumstances, but in general, some taxpayers have seen a Class 2 NICs liability added to their account when it should not have been. This issue mainly affects taxpayers with self-employed profits above £12,570. In some cases, HMRC has been able to correct this and the taxpayer will have been notified. In most cases, the impact is an incorrect Class 2 NICs charge of £358.80, but in some circumstances, the amount is less.   HMRC will notify the taxpayer when they correct their record and has confirmed that anyone who has made a payment will either be refunded or, have a credit added to their Self-Assessment statement. The root cause of the issue has been identified, and a fix is expected to be implemented by the end of July. Once the fix is in place, HMRC will correct the affected tax calculations. This will happen before any incorrect amounts due impact the tax owed for 2024/25.

We remind you that from Monday 30 June 2025, HMRC will close its online forums for both agents and taxpayers. Following discussions with stakeholders, including this Institute, and a review of both the agent and taxpayer online forums, HMRC has taken the decision to close both with effect from this date. More information is available in a previous news story.

Do you complete expenses and benefits returns? Or do you complete online filing for employment related securities? If so, you have a key role to play in ensuring online returns are submitted by the 2024/25 filing deadline of 6 July 2025 and payments are made on time. The 2024/25 online filing deadline to apply for a PAYE settlement agreement is 5 July 2025, with payments due by 22 October 2025 (19 October 2025 if not paying electronically). The latest Employer Bulletin: June 2025 includes articles on a range of areas of interest to employers, payroll professionals and agents, including some of the upcoming deadlines. Included in this edition are important updates on: • PAYE settlement agreement (PSA) calculations for 2024/25, • organised labour fraud: the supply of labour through employment intermediaries, • mandating the reporting of benefits in kind and expenses through payroll software from April 2027, • Spotlight 68: using prepaid debit cards for profit extraction, to reduce profits and disguise income, • future changes to Statutory Sick Pay, and • parents of teens reminded to go online to extend their child benefit claim. HMRC is running a webinar later this week on 26 June which will provide an overview of forms P11D and P11D(b), examine the benefits of submitting these online, and consider payrolling of expenses and benefits. However, it will not cover how to calculate the value of benefits. Need to know more about PSAs? Choose from the short videos in the 'PAYE Settlement Agreements' playlist, available on HMRC’s YouTube channel. Here’s a reminder of the key deadlines next month:  6 July 2025: deadline for submitting all 2024/25 P11D(b) and P11D forms (if benefits not processed via payroll) and the employee must receive their copy of the P11D,  6 July 2025: deadline for online reporting of the 2024/25 annual return in respect of employment related securities, 19 July 2025: deadline for non-electronic payment of Class 1A National Insurance Contributions (NIC) for 2024/25, and  22 July 2025: deadline for electronic payment of Class 1A NIC for 2024/25. 

That’s according to the Institute’s Northern Ireland Tax Committee chaired by Janette Burns when the Committee responded last week to the UK Government’s consultation ‘Reform of behavioural penalties’. A series of recommendations featured in the submission with the Committee concluding that the UK Government should implement more broad ranging reform of its enquiry regime, including behavioural penalties, by introducing a more graduated and tailored level of compliance interventions, similar to the regime currently in place in Ireland. The Committee also advocates that there is a need for the Government to do more to tackle tax complexity which can be a factor when a taxpayer makes an error that results in a penalty. In summary, the key recommendations are as follows: The minimum penalties for certain inaccuracies and failures to notify should be removed, No failure to notify penalty should be charged if a taxpayer pays the associated tax liability on time or has filed on time, even if they have not notified by the relevant deadline, A fixed reduction to each maximum penalty should be introduced based on the type of disclosure made by the taxpayer, HMRC should explore how fairer penalties can be introduced for the same error made in multiple tax years, The two categories of deliberate behaviour should be combined into one category and a more simplified regime should be introduced for taxpayers making a full unprompted disclosure in this category, Ireland should be excluded from the definition of offshore. Lower penalties should also be introduced for offshore inaccuracies, particularly where these are asset based. In addition, the offshore time limits should be reduced, Penalty suspension should be offered for careless errors on a routine basis and the conditions which must be met should be consistently applied and clearly set out in guidance so that the taxpayer and agent know what to expect and what will be required of the taxpayer, No new non-financial sanctions should be introduced, HMRC should conduct a full review of both the publishing deliberate defaulters legislation and the Managing Serious Defaulters Programme to assess their effectiveness as non-financial sanctions with a view to introducing reforms and improvements to each of these, A review should be conducted of the rates of interest charged and paid by HMRC which should also address the interaction with behavioural penalties, and A range of measures should be undertaken to tackle tax complexity, which should as a minimum include the establishment of a Tax Simplification External Forum reporting annually to Parliament.

As we reported last week, the Institute officially launched its latest policy paper on 12 June ‘Enhancing Our Competitiveness – The Case for a Reduced Rate of Corporation Tax in Northern Ireland’. This is a key strategic objective in our lobbying activity reflecting the fact that in a survey of our members in February, 60 percent continue to signal their support for the activation of NI’s devolved powers to set its own corporation tax rate. Members who attended the launch in Belfast have been sharing their perspectives on why the time is right and how the economy will benefit. 

Welcome to the latest edition of Technical RoundUp In developments since the last edition, IFAC has released some practical tools to assist SMEs and Public Sector entities, IAASA has published details of its significant financial reporting enforcement activities in 2023 and 2024, and the FRC has issued a consultation on a proposed UK version of the International Standard on Sustainability Assurance (ISSA) 5000. Read more on these and other developments that may be of interest to members below. Financial Reporting The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has announced that it has decided to proceed with issuing seven illustrative examples that aim to improve the reporting of uncertainties in the financial statements. It expects to issue these examples in Q3 of 2025. The IASB has announced that it expects to issue its revised IFRS Practice Statement 1 Management Commentary on 23 June 2025. The IASB has published a Request for Information as part of its Post-implementation Review of IFRS 16 Leases. The Request for Information remains open for public comment until 15 October 2025. ESMA, the European Securities and Markets Authority, has published the latest edition of its Spotlight on Markets Newsletter. The European Accounting Review, in collaboration with the International Accounting Standards Board is accepting submissions for a special issue featuring research proposals. The deadline for submissions is 1 December 2025. The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) has released some practical tools to support IPSAS Implementation. These tools are designed to help governments and public sector entities adopt and implement IPSAS Standards and help Professional Accountancy Organisations advocate for their use. IFAC has also released an online tool designed to help SMEs to maximise the benefits of incorporating sustainability into their sustainability strategy. IAASA has published an overview of some of its more significant financial reporting enforcement activities undertaken in 2023 and 2024. Auditing and Assurance The Staff of the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) and the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) have released new publications to support implementation of the IAASB’s and IESBA’s sustainability-related standards: the International Standard on Sustainability Assurance (ISSA) 5000 and the International Ethics Standards for Sustainability Assurance (IESSA).   These are Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on Sustainability Assurance Engagements and IESBA Staff Q&As on IESSA. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has issued a consultation on a proposed UK version of the International Standard on Sustainability Assurance (ISSA) 5000, “General Requirements for Sustainability Assurance Engagements”. The consultation proposes ISSA (UK) 5000 for use on a voluntary basis by assurance providers and comments are requested by 31 July 2025. Sustainability The IFRS Foundation is joining London Climate Action Week from 21–29 June 2025.  This event will bring together key stakeholders, policymakers and international organisations. The European Sustainable Energy Week 2025 takes place from 10 to 12 June 2025 in Brussels and online. It brings together leading voices from the clean energy community and high-level speakers to share ideas and help shape Europe’s sustainable energy future.  The IFRS Foundation has published jurisdictional profiles providing transparency and evidencing progress towards adoption of ISSB Standards. The IFRS Foundation has launched new e-learning modules to support companies in getting started with understanding the ISSB Standards. The modules include a mixture of written and visual content and interactive knowledge checks, designed to build foundational knowledge of the ISSB Standards. Accountancy Europe has published its June 2025 Sustainability Update. Anti-money laundering, sanctions, economic crime In June 2025 the EU Commission updated its list of high-risk jurisdictions which present strategic deficiencies in their national anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism regimes. Click for a press release and here for a  copy of the delegated regulation (which delegated act enters into force if the European Parliament or the Council of the EU do not object to it, during the scrutiny period which generally lasts 2 months ). The following countries have been added to the list: Algeria, Angola, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Laos, Lebanon, Monaco, Namibia, Nepal and Venezuela. The following countries have been removed from the list: Barbados, Gibraltar, Jamaica, Panama, the Philippines, Senegal, Uganda, and the United Arab Emirates. Accountancy Europe (AE) has responded to the European Banking Authority’s (EBA) consultation on new rules related to the anti- money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism package. Accountancy Europe’s response to the EBA consultation has focused replies on the draft regulatory technical standard (RTS) on Customer Due Diligence and in particular identified four RTS articles that would benefit from clarification, refinement, or more proportionality. In June 2025 the UK Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) launched six short sanctions videos highlighting six key areas dealing with financial sanctions. The videos will give users valuable insight into the essentials of complying with UK financial sanctions. The videos  detail the work carried out at OFSI and how financial sanctions work, provide an insight into the range of  guidance that OFSI produces to help individuals and companies comply with UK financial sanctions, give an overview of the sanctions consolidated list, outline what to do if you suspect a financial sanctions breach and give an introduction to general licences and detail what a specific licence is and how to apply for one. Click the link for details of the UK Government’s improvements to navigation of GOV.UK sanctions content following a cross-government review and an ask from users for clearer, better structured sanctions content. In June 2025 the UK Dept. for Business and Trade issued its second progress report on the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023. The report describes Companies House activity including the querying and removal of  false, misleading or incorrect information from the registers, with an impact on 100,400 companies from 4 March 2024 to 3 March 2025 inclusive. The report also includes information on limited partnership reform, the register of overseas entities and collaboration between Companies House and the Insolvency Service. New or proposed legislation The Minister for Children, Disability and Equality recently implemented the European Union (Gender Balance on Boards of Certain Companies) Regulations 2025. These regulations impose new gender balance requirements for boards of listed companies by 30 June 2026. The regulations do not apply to micro, small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) or unlisted companies. Under the regulations relevant listed companies must have the objective that at least 40% of the non-executive directors of the relevant listed company concerned are members of the underrepresented sex. The ‘28th regime’ a new EU legal framework for innovative companies is  a proposed legal framework that is additional to the national legal frameworks of the 27 Member States .It was referenced in the European Commission’s Competitiveness Compass of January 2025 and its work programme of February 2025. The idea behind it is that the EU will  offer a parallel, elective legal framework that businesses can choose to operate under simplifying applicable rules and  bypassing the different national legal frameworks. In June 2025 the EU Commissioner for Justice Democracy and the rule of law, Michael Mc Grath, appointed Dr Tom Courtney a solicitor, leading author on Irish Company law and previous chair of the Irish Company Law Review Group as his special adviser to advise him on the proposal for a new 28th regime company. Dr Courtney writes that this is a very important EU initiative to make it possible for companies to benefit from a simpler harmonised set of EU wide rules. The UK Companies and Limited Liability Partnerships (Annotation) Regulations 2025 (2025 Regulations) allows the UK Registrar of Companies to annotate the Register of Companies. Under the Companies Act 2006, the Registrar currently has the authority to issue notices requiring specific information from overseas entities within a time limit set by the Registrar. Under the 2025 Regulations the Registrar may annotate the Register to indicate that a notice to the Overseas Entity was issued and not complied with. Other power of annotation under the 2025 Regulations includes the annotation of the Register that a person who appears in the Register as a director is subject to director disqualification sanctions. Other news The Central Bank of Ireland has in June 2025 issued its Central Bank second quarterly bulletin headlining slower pace of domestic growth amid trade tensions and global uncertainty. The Charity Commission for Northern Ireland has launched a new series of guides designed to help charity trustees run their organisations effectively and in line with their legal duties. The June edition of Enterprise Newsletter from Enterprise Ireland has been published.     The Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment Peter Burke has established The Cost of Business Advisory Forum with the aim of reducing the cost of running a business and addressing delays which can impact the operation of businesses in Ireland. The Group will be chaired by former Labour Court Judge Kevin Foley and the group includes representatives from Chartered Accountants Ireland. We recently reported that the Irish Companies Registration Office has launched an Open Data Portal which provides access to key company data. Please click here for a useful article by CLS Chartered Secretaries which gives examples of the types of information available on the portal and practical tips to make the most of the portal. Accountancy Europe has outlined its support of the ongoing work of the European Union Intellectual Property Office and has compiled some key points, conclusions and actions for the future in its recent publication. Accountancy Europe has also published an information paper covering the evolution and impact of private equity investment in the European accountancy profession over the last decade. The Irish National Cyber Security Centre has launched  a useful  ‘plain English’ guide to keeping your online accounts secure designed to make the often complex and confusing information around keeping online accounts secure more accessible to the public. Technical Roundup is taking a break for the summer and the next Roundup will be issued on Friday 5 September. Any updates during this period will be published on the technical hub on the Institute's website.     This information is provided as resources and information only and nothing in the information purports to provide professional advice or definitive legal interpretation(s) or opinion(s) on the applicable legislation or legal or other matters referred to in the information. If the reader is in doubt on any matter in this complex area further legal or other advice must be obtained. While every reasonable care has been taken by the Institute in the preparation of the information we do not guarantee the accuracy or veracity of any resource, guidance, information or opinion, or the appropriateness, suitability or applicability of any practice or procedure contained therein. The Institute is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from

From the Professional Accountancy team... In June 2025 the EU Commission updated its list of high-risk jurisdictions which present strategic deficiencies in their national anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism regimes. Click for a press release and here for a  copy of the delegated regulation (which delegated act enters into force if the European Parliament or the Council of the EU do not object to it, during the scrutiny period which generally lasts 2 months ). The following countries have been added to the list: Algeria, Angola, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Laos, Lebanon, Monaco, Namibia, Nepal and Venezuela The following countries have been removed from the list: Barbados, Gibraltar, Jamaica, Panama, the Philippines, Senegal, Uganda, and the United Arab Emirates. This information is provided as resources and information only and nothing in these pages purports to provide professional advice or definitive legal interpretation(s) or opinion(s) on the applicable legislation or legal or other matters referred to in the pages. If the reader is in doubt on any matter in this complex area further legal or other advice must be obtained. While every reasonable care has been taken by the Institute in the preparation of these pages, we do not guarantee the accuracy or veracity of any resource, guidance, information or opinion, or the appropriateness, suitability or applicability of any practice or procedure contained therein. The Institute is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of the resources or information contained in these pages.  

In June 2025 the UK Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) launched six short sanctions videos highlighting six key areas dealing with financial sanctions. The videos will give users valuable insight into the essentials of complying with UK financial sanctions. The videos  detail the work carried out at OFSI and how financial sanctions work, provide an insight into the range of  guidance that OFSI produces to help individuals and companies comply with UK financial sanctions, give an overview of the sanctions consolidated list ,outline what to do if you suspect a financial sanctions breach and give an introduction to general licences and detail what a specific licence is and how to apply for one. In other news on sanctions, click the link for details of the  UK Government’s improvements to navigation of GOV.UK sanctions content following a cross-government review and an ask from users for clearer, better structured sanctions content. This information is provided as resources and information only and nothing in these pages purports to provide professional advice or definitive legal interpretation(s) or opinion(s) on the applicable legislation or legal or other matters referred to in the pages. If the reader is in doubt on any matter in this complex area further legal or other advice must be obtained. While every reasonable care has been taken by the Institute in the preparation of these pages, we do not guarantee the accuracy or veracity of any resource, guidance, information or opinion, or the appropriateness, suitability or applicability of any practice or procedure contained therein. The Institute is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of the resources or information contained in these pages.  

from the Professional Accountancy team ... The ‘28th regime’ a new EU legal framework for innovative companies is  a proposed legal framework that is additional to the national legal frameworks of the 27 Member States .It was referenced in the European Commission’s Competitiveness Compass of January 2025 and the European Commission's work programme of February 2025 .The idea behind it is that the EU will offer a parallel, elective legal framework that businesses can choose to operate under ,simplifying applicable rules and  bypassing the different national legal frameworks. In June 2025 the EU Commissioner for Justice Democracy and the Rule of Law ,Michael Mc Grath, appointed Dr Tom Courtney a solicitor ,leading author on Irish company law and previous chair of the Irish Company Law Review Group as his special adviser to advise him on the proposal for a new 28th regime company .Dr Courtney writes that this is a very important EU initiative to make it possible for companies to benefit from a simpler harmonised set of EU wide rules . This information is provided as resources and information only and nothing in these pages purports to provide professional advice or definitive legal interpretation(s) or opinion(s) on the applicable legislation or legal or other matters referred to in the pages. If the reader is in doubt on any matter in this complex area further legal or other advice must be obtained. While every reasonable care has been taken by the Institute in the preparation of these pages, we do not guarantee the accuracy or veracity of any resource, guidance, information or opinion, or the appropriateness, suitability or applicability of any practice or procedure contained therein. The Institute is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of the resources or information contained in these pages.