Companies House urges all companies to go paperless

Companies House have recently announced that they have stopped their paper service which includes paper reminders to file Confirmation Statements and Annual Accounts.

You can register with Companies House to receive electronic reminders and thereby reduce the chance of late filing which can result in penalties being levied.

Please see below link on how to register:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/register-for-email-reminders-from-companies-house

A brief reminder of the current filing requirements:

Confirmation Statements

A company is required to file its first Confirmation Statement (formerly an Annual Return) no later than one year and thirteen days after the incorporation date. Subsequent Confirmation Statements are then due on a yearly basis. It is important a company files its Confirmation Statement at least once a year irrespective of whether it is dormant or not. Companies House may assume the company is no longer required and could start ‘striking off’ proceedings.

Annual Accounts

A company is required to file its first Annual Accounts no later than twenty-one months after the incorporation date. Subsequent Annual Accountants are then due for filing no later than nine months after the year end date. Please note that this filing deadline has generally automatically been extended as a result of the current COVID-19 pandemic. As with failing to submit a Confirmation Statement on time, there are consequences for not filing Annual Accounts. Companies House will issue automatic fines for late filing of accounts and can also start ‘striking off’ procedures in certain circumstances.

Whiting & Partners can provide you with a Company Secretarial service so you can focus on your company without the worry of filing deadlines.

Please do get in touch if this is something you think you and your company could benefit from.

Disclaimer - All information in this post was correct at time of writing.