Fee consultation No. 5 2024

Summary

This is a draft consultation paper issued by the Jersey Financial Services Commission (JFSC) on 18 October 2024, proposing fee levels for 2025 for all categories of regulated fee payer and for Registry services. It also explains a shift to align fee billing periods with the JFSC's calendar year budget, and sets out an overall proposed fee increase of around 2% for 2025.

• Who it affects: Applicants, registered persons and recognised funds under Jersey's banking, collective investment funds, alternative investment funds, trust company business, fund services/AIF management, general insurance mediation, money service business, investment business (QSMA), and Registry-related legislation (e.g. Companies Law, LLC Law, Limited Partnerships Law), plus members of the public using Registry services.
• What is proposed: A 2% general increase in regulatory and Registry fees for the 2025 fee year, alignment of most sectors' fee/billing periods with the calendar year (1 January to 31 December 2025), with banking business fees covering 1 February to 31 December 2025 due to its existing cycle.
• Draft fee notices: Appendices set out draft fee schedules for each regulated activity (AIF/AIFSB, CIF, CoBO, Deposit-Taking Business, FSB, GIMB, Insurance Business, Investment Business, MSB, QSMA, Recognised Auditors, Supervisory Bodies Law entities, and Trust Company Business), plus a consolidated list of Registry fees.
• Ongoing fee mechanics restated: The draft notices continue existing rules on late payment fees (5% of unpaid amount, recurring monthly), administration fees (£200) for failing to supply fee-calculation information by the due date, and late filing fees (£100 per month) for documents not filed on time.

The JFSC invites comments on the proposals and questions raised, including whether the approach meets industry's earlier request for more transparency between fee income and JFSC spending. A feedback paper and the final, adopted fee notices are expected to follow in December 2024, at which point the proposed fees would take effect for the 2025 fee year.

Key obligations

• Respondents wishing to comment on the proposed fees or consultation questions should submit responses via SmartSurvey (or via Jersey Finance Limited) by Friday 15 November 2024
• Once finalised, fee payers (registered persons, applicants, recognised funds) will be required to pay the 2025 fees set out in the adopted fee notices for the relevant billing period (calendar year 2025, or 1 February to 31 December 2025 for banking business)
• Under the draft fee notices, any fee not paid by its due date will incur a late payment fee of 5% of the unpaid amount, reapplied on the first day of each subsequent month
• Under the draft fee notices, failure to supply information needed to calculate a registration fee by the due date will incur a £200 administration fee, reapplied monthly until the information is provided
• Under the draft fee notices, a registered person that fails to file or deliver a required document by its due date will be liable for a £100 fee for each month or part-month the document remains outstanding, unless the JFSC has agreed in writing to a later due date

Applies to

banks / deposit-taking businesses, alternative investment funds and AIF managers (AIFSB), collective investment funds (CIF), fund services businesses (FSB), trust company businesses, general insurance mediation businesses (GIMB), money service businesses (MSB), investment businesses (including QSMA), recognised auditors, accountants and lawyers regulated under the Supervisory Bodies Law, applicants, registered persons and recognised funds generally (fee payers), members of the public using Registry services

Deadlines

• Friday 15 November 2024: Deadline for submitting comments on the consultation paper, either directly to the JFSC via SmartSurvey or through Jersey Finance Limited's coordinated industry response
• December 2024: JFSC expects to publish a feedback paper on this consultation together with the final adopted fee notices
• 1 January 2025: Start of the aligned fee/billing period (1 January to 31 December 2025) for most fee payers under the proposed fees
• 1 February 2025 to 31 December 2025: Proposed fee period for Deposit-Taking (banking) Business, reflecting its current fee cycle running to 31 January 2025, before aligning to the calendar year from 2026