Privately-owned companies must soon declare their accounts one month earlier to avoid cash penalties for late filing, which will be inflated by as much as 275 per cent.
Companies House said it had begun alerting firms to the bringing forward of the annual accounts deadline in October, when the final provisions in the Companies Act 2006 come in.
But business groups have expressed concern, as not only will companies have less time to file, but they also face heftier cash penalties if they miss the new deadline.
Instead of the current 10 months, companies will have only nine months in which to prepare and file their accounts for periods beginning on or after April 6, 2008.
This means that if a company normally files its accounts on January 31, the deadline this year will be December 31, nine months after the end of the year as opposed to 10.
Filing three months after the deadline will result in a penalty of £375, up from £100, while accounts just over six months late will attract a penalty of £1500, up from £500.
Also from next year, late filing penalties for public companies will increase, but all types of company will be fined double the amount if their previous accounts were filed late.
Further provisions in the Companies Act 2006 dictate that companies, both public and private, must send any amendments to their articles within 15 days to avoid a new penalty of £200.
Companies House said: “The penalty will only trigger if a company receives notice from the Registrar requiring it to deliver a copy of its amended articles and it does not comply within 28 days.”
The act also scraps a 14-day concession, which gave firms two weeks from the date of a letter rejecting their documents, say for being illegible, to amend and return in an acceptable format.
For coming at a time of challenging business and economic conditions, the commencement date for the final provisions in the Companies Act 2006 should be postponed, according to the Federation of Small Businesses.
But Companies House says now, more than ever, the “economy needs to be underpinned by an up-to-date and effective register in which companies and investors can have confidence.”
Aug 18, 2009
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