As mentioned in previous articles, there are a number of changes from Companies House coming down the line. And one of these is going to have a major impact on many Companies across the UK…
Confirmation Statements must be filed at least annually by every Company registered in the UK. A statement will often have no updates which the statement filled will show, however updates in certain areas of a company are summarised in the statement. Some of these areas include: the number and type of shares, who the shareholders are, and that the company’s activities are lawful.
This has long been an area where enforcement has been weak by Companies House, with there being little to no impact on companies who file a confirmation statement late - until it is significantly late, at which point strike off action will start to be taken, which is usually the prompt to get this sorted.
Whilst the strike off action will still be in force and late filing will still be accepted there will penalties to be paid alongside the usual filing fee of £33 (£44 if paper based). A warning system will still be in force and Companies House will attempt to work with companies to resolve this, however this is a significant change.
What to expect
Regretably, there has been no confirmation of when this will come into place or what it will look like. The latest from Companies House makes reference to the late filing penalties already in place for accounts. Applying the same principles, this would mean the following penalties for private companies:
Less than 1 month late - £150
1 – 3 months late - £375
4 – 6 months late - £750
6+ months late - £1,500
In addition, there has been further reference to the powers other than financial penalties have been made. This includes civil court action, director disqualification and in extreme cases criminal prosecution. These cases would be extreme but are not unheard of (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/york-company-director-must-pay-40000-in-proceeds-of-crime) and Companies House will work with directors and action would only be taken after warnings have been ignored.
If you would like any help understanding these requirements or how M&S could help you in your role as a company director, please get in touch.
Callum McKinnon, M&S Accountancy and Taxation Ltd
