Since 2016 all UK-registered companies and LLPs have been required to file a Confirmation Statements (Form CS01) at Companies House, which replaced the Annual Return.

When the new legislation came into force, Companies House also reduced the amount of time allowed to file the CS01 to 14 days from its “made-up” date (previously 28 days were given to file an Annual Return). This timeframe is still in place; however, we have noted recently that Companies House is issuing reminder letters in advance of not only the filing deadline, but also in advance of the made-up date.

Taken in isolation this would seem to be a positive step, in that it is highlighting filing requirements to the directors / members, but the tone of the letters has led to some concern.

The current reminder letter appears to suggest that the Confirmation Statement is already overdue and includes statements such as “Your company will be struck off if you don’t send us your Confirmation Statement” and includes notes in red type saying: “File now!”.

Whilst the information included in the reminder letters is correct, it should be noted that the Confirmation Statement cannot be filed until the made-up date, and that the entity will have 14 days from that date to file the form. Therefore, assuming that there has not been a delay in the post, it is likely that at the point at which you receive such a letter, the form cannot be filed, as the made-up date hasn’t yet passed.

It does therefore appear that Companies House is taking a tougher stance on the late filing of Confirmation Statements, and so care should be taken to ensure that the form is filed by the deadline.

If you have any queries regarding this area of compliance, please speak to a member of the Barnes Roffe team.

Blog written by: Nick Bartlett