In April 2022, ArtAML™ was made aware that a gallery was receiving a penalty for late registration as an Art Market Participant (“AMP”). The gallery had only learned of anti-money laundering for the art market in early 2022 and promptly registered.

Since that time, we’ve heard of multiple reports of late registration fines, including an art dealership, gallery and art advisory.

Art Market Participants are now on public record for penalties (with many more to come):
On 4th October 2022, HMRC’s public register of ‘Businesses that have not complied with the regulations (2021 to 2022)‘ was updated. This lists penalties from Q1 2022 (1st January – 31st March), which includes one AMP business. The listing states that, “this breach is for failing to apply for registration at the required time,” with the amount totalling £7,500 without appeal by the business.

As we’re aware of multiple other businesses that have received penalties in Q2 & Q3 2022, the public listing of non-compliant art businesses has only just begun.

The long and short is that if you’re doing business in the UK as an Art Market Participant and have conducted transactions of 10K+ EUR since 10th June 2021 (the deadline to register), you are likely to receive a penalty that is subject to publication on gov.uk.

As for some good news?
Providing that you voluntarily register with HMRC, the penalty is set to be reduced by 50%. To ensure receipt of this reduction, email [email protected] immediately after submission of registration, accompanied by the reference number received for AMP registration, thereby creating an audit trail. Providing a given penalty is paid within 30 days, a further reduction of 25% will be applied. Between the two discounts, the total amount reduced will be 62.5%.

See our blog post that provides a detailed example of a penalty calculation:
https://artaml.com/how-penalties-are-calculated-for-late-registration-as-an-art-market-participant/

What to do if you or a colleague hasn’t registered with HMRC?
Take swift action and register as an Art Market Participant.
>> Key links for registration: https://artaml.com/register-or-renew-for-money-laundering-supervision-and-contact-hmrc-for-uk-art-market-participants/
>> Guide for registration: https://artaml.com/guide-for-registering-as-an-art-market-participant-uk/

Do you need to register if your business is based elsewhere but you transact in the UK?
Yes. Read this blog post.

We’re glad to help you get everything in place to successfully register.
Get in touch.