On 16^th April 2020, further alterations were made by Companies House in light of the on-going Covid-19 pandemic.

Following on from their announcement that organisations due to file their annual accounts could apply for a three month extension, Companies House has also revised its policies for company strike offs and penalties for late filing of documents. Companies House has stated that these changes in policy are temporary and they will be reviewed throughout the course of the pandemic.

Company Strike Offs

Companies House have confirmed that they will ‘ease strike off activity’. This means that when a company completes an application for strike off, Companies House will publish a notice of the proposed strike off in the Gazette. However, they will take no further action shall to strike off and dissolve the company, in order to protect those who may wish to object to the company being struck off (i.e. creditors).

Companies House also has the power to strike off a company should it fail to file its annual accounts or confirmation statement on time. Usually, Companies House would publish a strike off notice in the Gazette, however, they have confirmed that they will not publish the notice and will continue to send reminders to the company that its filings are overdue.

Penalties

Companies House have confirmed that they shall ‘provide a break’ for companies to pay late filing penalties and shall ‘provide additional support including payment plans’ for those companies struggling to pay existing penalties.

Legal Support

For more information about the temporary modifications to policies at Companies House or if you require any legal assistance as a result of changes to your business as a result of Covid-19, please contact a member of our Corporate team on 01743 218 450 or email us enquiries@terry-jones.co.uk