Consultation on extension of payment practices reporting regulations

The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy has published a consultation paper on its proposals to extend and strengthen the Reporting on Payment Practices and Performance Regulations 2017 and the Limited Liability Partnerships (Reporting on Payment Practices and Performance) Regulations 2017.

The Regulations, which have applied since financial years beginning on or after 6 April 2017, require entities within scope to produce a report on their invoice payment practices every six months and to submit that report to a government-hosted website for publication. For further information see our briefing on the Regulations, available here.

In April 2022 the government published a statutory report on the Regulations, noting that they had brought greater transparency and symmetry to the payment practices and performance of large businesses but concluding that more needed to be done. Almost 90% of the respondents to the call for evidence prior to the statutory review said that the Regulations should remain in place after their current expiry date of 6 April 2024.

The current consultation seeks views on:

• the extension of the Regulations beyond 6 April 2024;
• imposing an additional requirement to disclose the total value of payments that have not been paid within the agreed terms in the reporting period;
• imposing a new requirement to include a summary of a group's payment practices in its annual report;
• clarification around reporting in relation to supply chain finance; and
• additional requirements to report separately on disputed invoices and, in the construction sector, standard retention terms.

The consultation closes on 28 April 2023.