Companies House
The vehicle of a company structure is used by many people – whether to run a business or management company, for example. A company is a separate legal entity to those involved in its setting up or financing of it and being a company director or shareholder carries significant legal responsibilities.
Accordingly, everyone involved in running a company should be prepared for changes which will be introduced by Companies House in the coming couple of years. Companies House has summarised some of the changes made in 2024 as follows:
From 4 March 2024
Companies House has been able to improve the quality of information on the register by:
- querying and rejecting new information received in customer filings which we suspect to be wrong or fraudulent
- removing more inaccurate information from the register, including removing names and addresses of citizens which have been used without consent – the processes for removing information are being streamlined and more information can be removed administratively, without people needing a court order
- querying and rejecting company names which have been chosen to mislead customers, facilitate fraud or give the false impression that the company is connected to a foreign government
- improving the accuracy and reliability of registered office addresses by introducing a new definition for an appropriate address (companies are not able to use a Royal Mail PO Box and equivalent services offered by other parties) – we will be able to commence strike off measures against companies if they do not provide an appropriate address within a specified period.
Companies House has been able to improve investigation, enforcement and data sharing by:
- sharing more information with law enforcement agencies and regulatory bodies to help tackle money laundering, fraud and other criminality
- undertaking greater analysis of information held, including comparison against other data sets obtained externally.
Companies House has been able to better prevent disqualified directors from acting by:
- rejecting documents notifying appointment of a new director to an existing company where the individual is a disqualified director.
Companies House has also been able to require companies to
- provide a registered email address to allow Companies House to contact companies about matters relating to their filing quickly and efficiently (this email address will not be shared on the public register)
- confirm that the future activities of the company are lawful at the point of incorporation, and to confirm this every year on the confirmation statement.
From 1 May 2024
Companies House has been able to:
- charge higher incorporation and annual fees to fund investigation and enforcement activities against those misusing the register.
By Autumn 2024
Companies House should be able to:
- issue financial penalties for any relevant offences under the new Act and the Companies Act.
By Winter 2024 into 2025
Companies House should be able to:
- expedite the striking off of companies where the registrar has concluded the company has been formed for a false basis
- annotate the register in a wider range of circumstances, such as when a company has a director who has been disqualified but has yet to terminate their appointment on the register, or where Companies House has issued a statutory notice to require more information from a person, but the matter remains unresolved.
Given the increased enforcement powers that Companies House now has, everyone involved in the running of a company should ensure that they are fully compliant and should take legal advice if they have any doubts.
To discuss this or any other company matter, contact us.