A look at the latest guidance on directors’ filing responsibilities
September is always a busy time with many companies due to file accounts with Companies House before the end of the month. Targeting new and existing directors, Companies House has launched a campaign to help directors understand their filing responsibilities, and the importance of remaining compliant, as well as providing information about the tools and resources to help companies to file on time and online.
For information on the campaign, please see: latest directors’ responsibilities campaign.
Useful guidance and digital tools and resources to support directors can be found on the Companies House campaign site. Companies House is also holding webinars (live and on demand) to support Directors to file on time and to highlight the support available from Companies House: webinar series.
The law imposes an automatic penalty if a company’s accounts are filed late. Directors could also get a criminal record and a disqualification if accounts are not filed on time.
Directors can appeal against a penalty but it will only be successful if they can show that the circumstances are exceptional. The Registrar has very limited discretion not to collect a penalty.
If you need to appeal a penalty, it’s quicker and easier to appeal online through the ‘appeal a penalty’ service.
How to extend the time for delivering accounts
The Register of Overseas Entities was launched on 1 August. Overseas entities that already own UK land or property in scope, or that intend to acquire land or property in the UK, must register with Companies House and declare their beneficial owners or managing officers. On registration, Companies House allocates a unique Overseas Entity ID (OE ID) for each overseas entity.
From Monday 5 September, applications to any UK Land Registry to register a relevant disposition in land will require an OE ID from Companies House.
Register an overseas entity and get an OE ID number from Companies House
Read HM Land Registry's guidance on the Register of Overseas Entities
Read Registers of Scotland's guidance on the Register of Overseas Entities
Read HM Land Registry's blog post on how the Register of Overseas Entities affects land transactions
Companies House will soon be introducing a new WebFiling account, which will have more functionality and improved security features.
If you file on behalf of more than one company, you will be able to manage all your companies from one account and you will not need to enter your authentication code every time you file online. This is the first step in creating a single sign-in across all Companies House services.