Businesses accepting cash payments of €10,000 or more in exchange for goods are required to register with HMRC for supervision under money laundering regulations (MLR).
If your business currently accepts or is looking to accept goods or cash payments of more than €10,000, you need to be aware of your limits and what you need to do to register with HMRC.
CASH LIMITS FOR HIGH VALUE DEALERS
As of 26 June 2017, any business or sole trader that accepts or makes high value cash payments of €10,000 (or equivalent in any currency) or more in exchange for goods is deemed a high value dealer and therefore are required to register under MLR with HMRC.
The types of business that are often classed as high value dealers include:
- Jewellers
- Dealers in cars, boats, art or antique
- Builders, bathroom or kitchen suppliers
- Auctioneers and brokers.
- The following transactions are considered as high value payments:
- Single cash payments of €10,000 or more for goods
- A series of payments for a single transaction totalling €10,000 or more
- Payments of €10,000 or more broken down into smaller amounts so they come below the high value payment limit.
DO I NEED TO REGISTER?
If your business accepts or makes high value cash payments, then you need to register through HMRC.
However, your firm doesn’t need to register if:
- You only receive the payments for mixed goods and services where the value of the goods is less than €10,000.
- You always receive large payments by credit card, debit card or cheque.
- It is usually good practice to have a written policy in place to inform staff that your business does not accept of high value cash payments.
Those accepting cash payments must register immediately. There is a non-refundable application fee of £100 when you first register, while you need to pay £115 for each of the premises on your application.
RENEWAL
You will receive a renewal notice from HMRC, which is £115 for each of the premises on the application.
Failure to pay the fee may result in the cancellation of your registration.