Financial Services Commission (Fees and Administrative Penalties) Regulations, 2024

Summary

This regulation sets out the fees payable to the Guernsey Financial Services Commission for applications, registrations, authorisations and annual licensing across all major regulated sectors, and establishes a standardised administrative penalty regime for late or inaccurate filings and late payment of annual fees. It came into operation on 1 January 2025 and consolidates fee-setting and penalty provisions previously spread across sector laws.

• Application/registration fees: Sets fees for banks, insurers (including PCCs, ICCs, mutual/provident/friendly societies), insurance managers and intermediaries, controlled investment business licensees, collective investment schemes, fiduciaries, prescribed businesses (DNFBPs), and LCF Law licensees (credit providers, ancillary credit services, financial firm businesses, financial/intermediation platforms, VASPs, and AMCs holding virtual assets).
• Annual fees: Requires licensed persons or bodies that wish to remain licensed to pay an annual fee by the date specified on the Commission's invoice; first-year fees are pro-rated monthly from the date of licensing.
• Miscellaneous fees: Covers fees for designated territory (Form EX) notifications, prospectus registration, authorisation/reactivation of protected cells, removal of supervised LLPs from the Register, amalgamations and migrations, change of controller, and De-QIFing/PIF conversion.
• Administrative penalties: Introduces fixed monetary penalties for late filing of relevant documents (Schedule 1), filing of inaccurate relevant documents, and late payment of annual fees, with escalating amounts for each month of default and higher amounts where the Commission (rather than the licensee) identifies the error.
• Appeals and waivers: Allows appeals against imposition of penalties and gives the Commission power to waive fees and penalties; also addresses recoverability of fees and penalties and interaction with other sanctions.

The specific fee amounts and penalty tariffs are set out in Schedules 1 to 9, covering banking, insurance, investment, fiduciary, LCF Law licensees, prescribed businesses, and miscellaneous applications. Entities falling into multiple licence categories generally pay only the higher or highest applicable fee.

Key obligations

• Licensed persons or bodies wishing to continue to be licensed must pay the annual fee to the Commission by the date specified in the invoice served each year.
• Applicants for banking, insurance, investment business, fiduciary, LCF Law (credit, ancillary credit, financial firm business, platform, VASP, AMC) licences must pay the prescribed application/registration fee set out in the relevant Schedule.
• Prescribed businesses (DNFBPs) must pay registration and annual fees under Schedule 5 to the PoC Law based on number of employees (or a flat fee for director registration).
• Persons who file relevant documents late, file inaccurate relevant documents, or pay annual fees late are liable to pay the administrative penalties set out in Schedule 9, escalating by month of default.
• A person falling into more than one LCF Law licence category or annual fee category need only pay the higher or highest applicable fee.
• Persons subject to a penalty may appeal against its imposition under regulation 31.

Applies to

banks, insurers (including mutual societies, provident societies, friendly societies, ICCs, PCCs and ICs), insurance managers, insurance intermediaries, persons conducting controlled investment business, collective investment schemes, fiduciaries, prescribed businesses (DNFBPs), credit businesses, providers of services ancillary to credit, financial firm businesses, financial platforms and intermediation platforms, virtual asset service providers (VASPs), actively managed certificates (AMCs) holding virtual assets, supervised limited liability partnerships

Deadlines

• 1st January, 2025: Coming into operation date of the Regulations.
• on or before the date specified in the invoice: Annual fee must be paid by the date specified in the Commission's invoice for that year.
• first month or part thereof falling within the period of default: £125 penalty payable for the first month of late filing or late payment of annual fees, escalating to £250 for the second month and £375 for each subsequent month.

Related documents

• This document is made under Banking Supervision (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2020
• This document is made under Financial Services Business (Enforcement Powers) (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2020
• This document is made under Financial Services Commission (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 1987 (Consolidated text)
• This document is made under Insurance Business (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2002
• This document is made under Insurance Managers and Insurance Intermediaries (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2002 (Consolidated text)
• This document is made under Lending, Credit and Finance (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2022 (Consolidated)
• This document is made under Protection of Investors (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2020
• This document amends Criminal Justice (Proceeds of Crime) (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 1999
• This document is made under Criminal Justice (Proceeds of Crime) (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 1999