
Companies House filing deadlines have changed
The Corporate Governance and Insolvency Act became law at the end of June and with it came a raft of extensions to filing dates at Companies House.
Where an extension is possible it has been automatically processed by Companies House and you no longer need to apply for permission to extend the deadline.
Annual Accounts filing deadlines
Most companies will be given an extra three months to file their accounts, although companies that have already applied for and received a three month extension from March to June 2020 will apparently not be entitled to this further postponement in their accounts filing deadline.
For private companies, which would ordinary have nine months from the end of the relevant accounting period to file their accounts, the regulations apply a three month extension in most circumstances.
Example
Small Company Limited’s accounting year ended on 31 December 2019. As a private company, they have nine months following the end of the accounting year to file accounts with Companies House, so their accounts would ordinary be due by 30 September 2020. However, by virtue of the regulations, the company gains an extra three months to file. They must still submit their accounts by the revised deadline of 31 December 2020 or face the standard penalties.
I understand that companies that are waiting to be struck off, where the Strike Off action is currently frozen, have also received this filing extension.
Confirmation Statement filing deadlines
In normal circumstances, companies and LLPs have 14 days from the end of their confirmation period which is usually 12 months to file the confirmation statement.
Companies House has now extended this to 42 days.
Example
Small Company Limited’s last confirmation statement was based on a confirmation date of 20 September 2019, covering the preceding year. The company had 14 days to file with Companies House, with a deadline of 4 October. Let’s say they filed on 2 October, ahead of the deadline.
Companies House will next expect a confirmation statement made up to 20 September 2020, unaffected by the regulations. But the company will now have 42 days to file the statement meaning they now have until 1 November 2020. It’s still important to file by this revised due date.
Where the 14 day period for filing the confirmation statement has already expired, Companies House have confirmed to us that the new extension to 42 days will not be granted.
Advising Companies House of notifiable events
Companies usually have 14 days from the date of various events to file relevant details at Companies House. These cover such events as:
- A change in the company’s registered office
- Movement of the location of statutory registers between the registered office address and a Single Alternative Inspection Location (SAIL)
- The appointment of new Directors or officers and / or changes to their details
- Changes or notification of a new Person with Significant Control (PSC’s)
The regulations temporarily extend the 14 day period to 42 days, meaning companies have longer from the date of an event to submit details to Companies House.
Example
A new director is appointed to the board of Small Company Limited on 5 October 2020. In normal circumstances, form would need to be filed with Companies House within 14 days, by 19 October 2020. Despite the temporary easement, the form must still be submitted, but only within 42 days – so with an effective deadline of 16 November 2020.
While the extra time will be welcome in many cases, I would recommend filing as soon as reasonably possible after the event.
Overall, the extension of filing deadlines is good news however make sure you file as soon as you can and don’t forget to be within the new deadlines or fines may apply.
If you have any queries just get in touch.
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