Company Registration Name

Life of a Company - Part 1 Annual Requirements

This guide will keep you acquainted with the regulations required to file the accounts and the annual returns of the registered companies in UK. If you are on the verge of setting up a new company then you must know about all the documents to be delivered to the Companies House every year. Non-compliance of the norms might lead you to serious results. For, instance, if the company would be in a dormant state then it might appear to The Registrar to be an entity no more operating a business and hence the registrar might strike off the company’s name from the register. In this case the company no more exists and becomes the property to the Crown.

If a company is very much in operation but still never bothered to submit the information of the company within stipulated time, then it will be treated as a criminal offence and the officers of the company will be prosecuted. There is another rule, which lead to an automatic civil penalty on late submission of accounts.

Here are the principal regulations to be referred to,

• The Large and Medium-sized Companies and Groups (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008
• The Companies Act 2006 (Annual Return and Service Addresses) Regulations 2008
• The Small Companies and Groups (Accounts and Directors’ Report) Regulations 2008
• The Partnerships (Accounts) Regulations 2008.

The Annual Returns happen to be one of the most important documents to be delivered to the Companies House once in 12-months.  It is the responsibility of the director(s) or the secretary (if applicable) to ensue the annual return. It is the snap shot of the company’s information to be submitted within 28 days after the company’s incorporation anniversary or the anniversary of the made-up date of the last annual return.

What should be included in the annual returns?

These are the information, which should be included in the annual returns,

• Company’s Name
• Company’s Registration Number
• The made-up date
• Principal Business Activities
• Type of Company
• The Registered Address of the Company
• The Address of the Single Alternate Inspection Location (SAIL), where the records of the company are been kept
• The Details of the Company’s director(s)
• Details of the company secretary (if applicable)

What is meant by made-up date?

The made-up date refers to the anniversary of the incorporation of the company or the made-up date of the previous annual return registered at the Companies House. It is mandatory that the annual returns on the made-up date should be correct.

Apart from that, there are certain other factors, which are very important in this context and they are as follows,

The Accounting Reference Date- this is the date that refers to the end of the financial year, when the accounts are due to be delivered to the Companies House.

Accounting Records- These constitutes the records, which are enough to disclose the financial position of the company and explains the detailed transactions of the company.

Preparation and Filing of the Accounts- Preparation of the necessary accounts and filing them on a specific date.

Auditors- The role of the auditor in a company.

Quality of Documents and Further Information- This include the general quality requirements, all the documents must meet before they are sent to the Companies House.