Commission Fees for 2024

The Commission plans to increase licence fees paid by firms from 1 January 2024 by 6.3%.  1% less than the figure upon which it consulted.

On 26 July 2023, the Commission issued a consultation paper on the fee rates and administrative penalties to apply from 1 January 2024, which contained the following proposals:

• an overall proposed increase in fees of 7.3%, with the exception of fees introduced in 2023;
• a rebalancing of fees within the insurance sector on request of the industry body with an aim to provide greater comparability with other jurisdictions;
• an increase in the regulatory fee for operating an investment exchange within the Bailiwick of Guernsey; and
• an update to the fees for VASPs within an Actively Managed Certificate (‘AMC’) structure. 

The consultation period ran for eight weeks, until 20 September 2023 and the Commission’s response to the feedback received as part of the consultation is available on our Consultation Hub.  It is fair to say that, given the current inflationary environment, there was little opposition to the Commission’s proposed increases.

Since the Commission issued its consultation, a more recent inflation figure has been released by the States of Guernsey showing a small decrease in the overall rate of inflation to 7% RPI for the Bailiwick. In the light of this, taking into account both its anticipated funding needs in the next year, the state of its reserves, its likely 2023 end year financial outturn, and the likely economic environment in 2024, the Commission has decided to proceed with an increase lower than that upon which it originally consulted.

Speaking about the proposals, the Commission’s Chairman, Julian Winser, said: “We are aware of the pressures on industry from both cost inflation and a competitive labour market and as such we are proceeding with an overall fee increase of slightly less than inflation. In doing so, the Commission aims through 2024 to use reserves to cover some portion of its ongoing costs, including our technology investment programme. We are conscious however, that there are a range of uncertainties in 2024 including economic headwinds in the UK and the need for the Commission to respond to the outcome of the MONEYVAL evaluation. We also need this fee increase in order for the Commission to retain and recruit skilled and experienced staff to maintain good quality, proportionate regulation to international standards within the Bailiwick.