Consultation Paper No. 1 2016: Proposed increase to Investment Business fees (2016-03-08)

Summary

This is a consultation paper issued by the Jersey Financial Services Commission proposing an increase to fees payable by persons registered to carry on investment business under the Financial Services (Jersey) Law 1998. It sets out proposed rises to base and tariff fees for 2016, explains the rationale (a persistent deficit in the IB sector's fee income versus regulatory costs), and invites comments before the changes are finalised.

• Who is affected: All persons registered under the Financial Services (Jersey) Law 1998 to conduct investment business, and any person issued an IB registration certificate after 1 May 2016.
• Base fee increase: Base fee for Class A, B or C registered persons proposed to rise from £1,760 to £2,650; base fee for Class D registered persons proposed to rise from £1,630 to £2,450.
• General tariff increase: A further 5% increase (subject to rounding) is proposed across all other aspects of the IB fee tariff, comprising 1% for inflation and 4% for sector consolidation.
• Operational changes: The Commission is introducing a new web portal for data submission and fee collection and will stop accepting cheques; fees must be paid by bank transfer using specified account details.
• Fee basis: Fees are calculated based on investment employee numbers as at 1 April 2016, so registered persons should retain this data.
• Late fees under draft Notice: The draft Investment Business Fees Notice provides for a late payment fee of 5% of unpaid amounts per complete month, and a late filing fee of £100 per complete month or part thereof for undelivered documents.

This is a draft proposal only, issued for industry comment; it does not itself impose binding obligations unless and until the Commission finalises and publishes the IB Fees Notice following consultation.

Key obligations

• Interested parties should submit written comments on the proposed fee increases to Jersey Finance Limited or the Commission by 8 April 2016.
• Registered persons should retain records of investment employee numbers as at 1 April 2016, as fees will be calculated on that basis.
• If the proposals are adopted, registered persons must pay the new annual registration fees with a value date on or before 1 June 2016 to avoid a late payment penalty, with fees due by 1 May 2016.
• Under the draft Notice, a registered person who fails to pay a fee by its due date must pay an additional late payment fee of 5% of the unpaid amount per complete month.
• Under the draft Notice, a registered person who fails to file a required document by its due date must pay a late filing fee of £100 per complete month or part thereof until filed.

Applies to

investment business registered persons (Class A, B, C, D and E)

Deadlines

• 8 April 2016: Deadline for submitting comments on the consultation paper to Jersey Finance Limited or the Commission.
• 1 April 2016: Date on which investment employee numbers are assessed for calculating IB fees.
• 1 May 2016: Proposed date fees become payable if the proposals are agreed; also the date new IB registration certificates issued after this date fall under the new provisions.
• 1 June 2016: Value date by which annual registration fees must be paid to avoid a late payment penalty.