The Visitor Accommodation (Register and Levy) Etc. (Wales) Act 2025 (Commencement) Order 2025

Made: 10 December 2025

The Welsh Ministers make the following Order in exercise of the powers conferred on them by section 67(2) and (3)(b) of the Visitor Accommodation (Register and Levy) Etc. (Wales) Act 2025[^f00001].

Title and interpretation

1

• (1) The title of this Order is the Visitor Accommodation (Register and Levy) Etc. (Wales) Act 2025 (Commencement) Order 2025.

• (2) In this Order, “the Act” means the Visitor Accommodation (Register and Levy) Etc. (Wales) Act 2025.

Provisions coming into force on 1 October 2026

2

The following provisions of the Act come into force on 1 October 2026—

• (a) section 4 (register of visitor accommodation providers);

• (b) section 5 (duty of visitor accommodation providers to be registered);

• (c) section 6(1) to (4) (applications to be registered);

• (d) section 8 (power to register persons where no application has been made to WRA);

• (e) section 9 (duty to notify WRA of changes and inaccuracies);

• (f) section 11(1) to (3) (power to change the register where no notice has been given to WRA);

• (g) section 12 (power to require information);

• (h) section 14 (removal of a person from the register on application to WRA);

• (i) section 16(1) to (3) (power to remove a person from the register when no application has been made);

• (j) section 23 (reviews and appeals) for all purposes except for in respect of a decision relating to a penalty under Part 2 of the Act;

• (k) section 24 (registration of partnerships and unincorporated bodies);

• (l) section 25(a) and (b) (interpretation of Part);

• (m) section 26 (registration: powers to make further or different provision);

• (n) section 27 (amendment of the Tax Collection and Management (Wales) Act 2016[^f00002] etc.);

• (o) section 55 (meaning of “relevant business” in this Chapter) in so far as not already in force;

• (p) section 56(1) to (6) (duties and liabilities of partnerships and unincorporated bodies) in so far as not already in force;

• (q) section 57 (power to make further provision about partnerships and unincorporated bodies) in so far as not already in force;

• (r) section 58 (death, incapacity and insolvency) in so far as not already in force;

• (s) section 59 (power to make provision about death, incapacity, insolvency and cases where a person ceases to exist) in so far as not already in force;

• (t) section 60 (power to make provision about transfers of businesses as going concerns) in so far as not already in force;

• (u) Schedule 1 (information to be included in the register of visitor accommodation providers);

• (v) Part 1 of Schedule 2 (amendments relating to Parts 2 and 3).

Provisions coming into force on 1 April 2027

3

The following provisions of the Act come into force on 1 April 2027—

• (a) section 6(5) (applications to be registered);

• (b) section 7 (penalties for failing to register);

• (c) section 10 (penalties for failure to notify WRA of changes and inaccuracies);

• (d) section 11(4) (power to change the register where no notice has been given to WRA);

• (e) section 13 (penalties for failure to comply with notice under section 12);

• (f) section 15 (penalties where a person fails to apply for removal from the register);

• (g) section 16(4) (power to remove a person from the register when no application has been made);

• (h) section 17 (reasonable excuse);

• (i) section 18 (powers to reduce, waive or suspend penalties);

• (j) section 19 (assessment of penalties);

• (k) section 20 (payment of penalties);

• (l) section 21 (double jeopardy);

• (m) section 22 (liability of personal representatives);

• (n) section 23 (reviews and appeals) for all remaining purposes;

• (o) section 25(c) (interpretation of Part);

• (p) section 56(7) (duties and liabilities of partnerships and unincorporated bodies) in so far as not already in force.

Signed

Mark Drakeford — Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Welsh Language, one of the Welsh Ministers — 10 December 2025

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Order)

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This Order is the only commencement order made by the Welsh Ministers under the Visitor Accommodation (Register and Levy) Etc. (Wales) Act 2025 (asc 5) (“the Act”).

The Act makes provision requiring the Welsh Revenue Authority (“WRA”) to establish and maintain a register of visitor accommodation providers in Wales, to grant principal councils the power to introduce a visitor levy on overnight stays in visitor accommodation in their areas, for WRA to collect and manage the levy on behalf of principal councils, and to make miscellaneous amendments to the Tax Collection and Management (Wales) Act 2016 (anaw 6) (“TCMA 2016”).

Section 67(1) of the Act brought the following parts of the Act into force on 19 September 2025, which was the day after the Act received Royal Assent—

• (a) Part 1 (overview of the Act),

• (b) Part 3 (visitor levy) (including Part 2 of Schedule 2), and

• (c) Part 4 (miscellaneous and general provision), save for Chapter 1 of Part 4 as it applies in relation to the register of visitor accommodation providers under Part 2.

This Order brings all remaining provisions of the Act into force and brings Chapter 1 of Part 4 fully into force.

Article 2 of this Order commences certain provisions of the Act on 1 October 2026. These provisions—

• (a) require WRA to establish and maintain a register of visitor accommodation providers and set out the information to be contained in a visitor accommodation provider’s entry in the register,

• (b) impose a duty on visitor accommodation providers to be registered, to provide WRA with notice of any change to or inaccuracy in their entry in the register and to apply to WRA for removal from the register when they no longer provide or offer to provide visitor accommodation,

• (c) specify the requirements for an application to be registered,

• (d) provide WRA with powers to register persons where no application has been made to WRA, change the register where no notice has been given to WRA, require information and remove a person from the register where no application for removal has been made,

• (e) contain powers for the Welsh Ministers to make subordinate legislation about the register and registration requirements,

• (f) introduce Part 1 of Schedule 2 which makes amendments to the TCMA 2016, and to other Acts, relating to Part 2 of the Act,

• (g) make amendments to the TCMA 2016 so that the reviews and appeals regime in that Act applies to decisions relating to the register of visitor accommodation providers under Part 2 of the Act,

• (h) establish how registration applies where the visitor accommodation provider is a partnership or unincorporated body, and

• (i) set out where certain duties and liabilities lie in a number of special cases as they apply in relation to the register under Part 2 of the Act.

Article 3 of this Order commences certain provisions of the Act on 1 April 2027. These provisions introduce a penalty regime that applies where a visitor accommodation provider fails to register, notify WRA of changes and inaccuracies, comply with a notice to provide certain information or apply for removal from the register.

Footnotes

[^f00001]: 2025 asc 5.

[^f00002]: 2016 anaw 6.