Companies Act: The Final Implementation
All companies operating in the UK are affected by the final stage of implementation of the Companies Act 2006 which took place on 1st October 2009. It applies to all companies and includes various changes to company law and the rules and regulations by which companies must abide.
All Companies House forms have changed. The new forms have been updated to include the new section numbers of the Act, new guidance notes and updated fees. The new forms should be used for all company events that take place on or after 1st October 2009. An old form will be rejected. Any company event which took place prior to 1st October must still be submitted on the old Companies Act 1985 forms.
Every director can now have two addresses registered with Companies House, a service address and a residential address. The service address is made public available but the residential address will only be made available to public authorities and credit reference agencies. For all directors their current residential address automatically became their service address on 1st October, a director can easily change their service address to a different address Online.
New arrangements have also been introduced for inspecting company and LLP registers. Registers can now either be held at the registered office address or a single alternative inspection location (SAIL). Companies House must be notified if a SAIL is set up and a company can only have only one SAIL at any one time.
From 1st October a new requirement has been introduced that all companies must complete a Statement of Capital either on incorporation or when submitting an Annual Return. The Statement is intended to be a ‘snapshot’ of a Company’s share capital at a given time.
Other changes included in the Act mean it should now be easier for a new company to be incorporated. Also if a company amends its articles, it must notify Companies House of the amendments within 15 days, otherwise the directors could be liable to a criminal offence and civil penalty of £200.
The implementation of the Companies Act 2006 has been a long drawn out process and affects all companies. It is well worth seeking professional advice surrounding any company matters to ensure you are abiding by the new rules and regulations.
Biggleswade Chronicle - 6 November 2009