Consultation on Amendments to The Licensee (Conduct of Business) Rules (2016-12-14)

Summary

This is a short GFSC consultation paper proposing minor amendments to the Licensee (Conduct of Business) Rules 2014, specifically to Rule 3.4.1 and Schedule 1, to reflect the move from a paper Annual Compliance Return to the online submission portal.

• Rule 3.4.1 wording: Changes the requirement from licensees having to file their compliance return to instead submit it to the Commission, aligning terminology with the online portal.
• Schedule 1 replacement: Deletes the existing Schedule 1 text and replaces it with a reference to Form 142 (Investment Audited Financial Statements and Compliance Returns), as detailed from time to time on the licensee's timeline on the online submission page.
• Guidance note removal: Removes the standalone guidance note from Schedule 1 because equivalent guidance is now embedded within the online Form 142.

The paper is a consultation seeking feedback on these proposed rule changes rather than a final binding instrument; it does not itself impose new substantive obligations beyond those already in the existing Licensee Rules 2014 regarding annual compliance returns.

Key obligations

• Licensees must submit their Annual Compliance Return annually to the Commission in the format defined in Schedule 1 (via Form 142 on the online submission portal) within the timeframe stated in Rule 4.2.6

Applies to

licensees under the Licensee (Conduct of Business) Rules 2014