Business alert: Companies House suspends striking off for late filings and voluntary applications

Late Filing

If a company fails to file their annual accounts or confirmation statement on time, it will usually receive two letters from Companies House notifying the company of the overdue filings. If the company still fails to file the overdue documentation, Companies House will file a notice in the London Gazette to tell the public that the registrar intends to strike off the Company.

Companies House has confirmed that it will continue to write to companies if their annual accounts or confirmation statement are overdue, but will not publish a notice in the London Gazette.

However, the penalties for late filing of annual accounts will still apply and are imposed automatically. The Registrar has very limited discretion to not collect the penalty, therefore, it is important that companies utilise the immediate and automatic 3 month extension if they are unable to file their accounts on time.

Voluntary Strike Off

Companies House will continue to process and register applications to strike off a company and publish the required notice in the London Gazette. However, they will suspend any further action to strike the company off to give creditors and interested parties time object to the company being struck off.

Normally, unless an objection was received by Companies House, a company would be struck off the register two months after the publication of the notice in the London Gazette.

Companies House has not confirmed how long the suspension will last but have confirmed it is a temporary measure and will be reviewed from 1 May 2020.