IEIM902220 - Who are Due Diligence Procedures Carried out on?
Reporting Platform Operators (RPOs) must carry out due diligence procedures to collect and verify information about ‘Sellers’. A Seller is defined in the model rules as a Platform user who is registered on the Platform at any time during the Reportable Period for the provision of relevant services or for the sale of goods (see 901600). This applies regardless of whether the Seller registered on the Platform as an individual, a company or a partnership.
Due diligence procedures must be carried out in relation to both individual Sellers and Entity Sellers such as companies that are registered on the Platform.
RPOs do not have to carry out due diligence on ‘Excluded Sellers’ (see 901630). Only Entity Sellers can be ‘Excluded Sellers’ in relation to the provision of relevant services. However, both individual and Entity Sellers can be ‘Excluded Sellers’ in relation to the sale of goods. RPOs will have to determine which of their Sellers are excluded and hence not subject to due diligence procedures (see 902510).
Optionally, RPOs can elect to only carry out due diligence procedures on ‘Active Sellers’ (see 902530). A Seller is active if they provide any relevant services or sell any goods on the Platform, or are paid or credited in relation to any relevant services or the sale of goods provided via the Platform, during the Reportable Period.
Where a property being rented out on a Platform is jointly owned, the RPO only has to carry out due diligence on the Seller who is registered on the Platform. The RPO does not have to undertake further investigations to find out if someone else has an interest in the property, or is in fact partially entitled to the rental income from the property.