FAQ's Compliance - Companies Act

(a) Does Companies House notify when the accounts and returns are to be filed?

Companies House delivers several letters annually to companies and concerned officials conveying information relevant to the immediate situation. These include deadline notification for submission of various documents and pieces of information that are demanded from companies. The responsibility of maintaining proper records of accounts and returns and filing them on time is on the directors; it is unwise to solely rely on such correspondences. The directors should be aware of the appropriate due dates for each particular event.

Please note that all correspondences from the Companies House, Inland Revenue and other government authorities and agencies are sent to the registered office of the company. Make sure that the Companies House has your current office address on record to avoid any inconvenience.

Our system will inform you of the deadline of the annual return one month before the due date. The reminder will be e-mailed to the address you have set uo in the system

(B) How can Business Tax Centre help me with the compliance issues of my clients companies?

Our system is an electronic gateway into the Company House System. You as an account holder have your own secure area from which you can quickly deal with a number of compliance issues. These include the filing of the annual return, the cost of which is billed to your account, Companies House Forms for appointment, termination and change of officer details can be filed as well as change of accounting date. Change of company name can also be submitted. All information and filings are recorded and stored for you in your secure area for retrieval at a later date.

(c) Can I use the system for compliance for clients companies that have not been formed through Business Tax Centre?

Yes, as long as you have the company authentication code (CAC) you can enter your clients company details onto the system and enjoy the benefits, once again information is stored in your own secure area.

(d) My client has lost his Company Authentication Code (CAC) what can I do?

If the company was formed through the Business Tax Centre system the CAC will be stored in your secure area. If it was not formed through the BTC system your client will need to create a 6 digit alpha/numerical code to use e.g. ‘A12B34’. By entering the details into our system we will automatically generate a letter which is emailed to you to be reproduced onto the company’s stationary, which requests Companies House upon receipt to action the new CAC code. After 7 days the CAC will be live and ready to use through our system.

(e) Can your service help prevent fraud being attempted against my clients company?

We offer the Companies House ‘monitor’ service for all companies you represent. For a initial set up fee of just £2 plus vat per company, all filings made at Companies House will be notified directly to you, by email, by Companies House. This service can be set up upon incorporation as an additional service or at a later date.

(f) How long must accounting records be kept?

The CA2006 s388(4) states Accounting records that a company is required by section 386 to keep must be preserved by it-

• (a) in the case of a private company, for three years from the date on which they are made;
• (b) in the case of a public company, for six years from the date on which they are made.

subsection (4) is subject to any provision contained in rules made under section 411 of the Insolvency Act 1986 (c.45) (company insolvency rules) or Article 359 of the Insolvency (Northern Ireland) Order 1989 )S.I. 1989/2405(N.I.19))

(h) What is the current audit requirement?

Companies Act 2006 S382 - Companies that satisfy two or more of the following three criteria;

1. Have a turnover not more than £5.6m per annum 

2. A balance sheet value not more than £2.8m 

3. Has not more than 50 employees are deemed to be small companies.

Companies falling below the thresholds indicated are considered small companies and may submit abbreviated financial statements that do not require auditing. These abbreviated accounts consist of a balance sheet and shortened notes.

(i) 1 February 2009 Late Filing Regime, What Are The Changes?

The main changes introduced are:

• All penalties increased to take account of inflation since 1992.
• A faster rate of increase in penalties for companies and LLPs who file more than one month late.
• A doubling of the penalty for any company or LLP which files late having also filed late in the previous year.

For late filing penalties levied from 1 February 2009 the rates are:                                            

In addition where there was a failure to comply with filing requirements in relation to the previous financial year, the penalty will be double that shown in the above table.