Fox Evans Chartered Accountants Coventry 

Coventry Money Matters Blog - Companies Act

Fox Evans Accountants in Coventry warn: 

Don't Mess with Companies House!

Any business owner will be fully aware of just how much red tape is involved in keeping their business on the straight and narrow these days. It seems that every aspect of business administration just gets more and more time consuming, and to be honest, a bit of a distraction from getting out there and making some profit.

Companies House is no exception to this, and following the implementation of the final parts of the new Companies Act, we have a raft of new, more complex forms to contend with, as well as some changes to the deadlines for filing the information.

In the past, penalties have been fairly modest, and some companies have been allowed to persistently file late information, at the expense of a small penalty each year. However, we seem to be seeing a new approach to persistent late filing of company information, with anything from an expensive fine to striking off the company altogether.

The new, tougher stance from Companies House means that there is not much scope for filing information persistently late. Annual returns have historically not been stringently pursued if filed late, but Companies House are now more than happy to wind up the company, and strike it off the Register if it is six months late. Bearing in mind that most companies do not receive a reminder until it is months late, this does seem pretty tough. Accounts filed late for a private company now receive an automatic penalty of £150, rising to £375 at one month late, £750 at three months late, and £1,500 at six months late. File them late again the following year, and these penalties double!

Should your company be struck off, there is a great deal of time and expense involved in getting it restored to the Register. Should you decide to leave the company to be struck off, any assets remaining in the company automatically become the possession of the Treasury.

So, the moral of the above is not to let your paperwork get into arrears, otherwise Companies House will not hesitate in penalising your company, or worse, strike it off completely.

If you are unsure about the state of your Companies House filing, please get in touch before it is too late.

Fox Evans Accountants - Coventry 024 7696 0710

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