Companies Law applies to any business that is registered in the UK and sets out a business’s legal obligations, which they must comply to. There are a set number of requirements which need to be adhered to and if business fail to do so then punishments can be severe. This can include financial risks or penalties, personal liabilities for debts and potential removal of directors. To find out more about the full details of Companies Law please follow this link – https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/46/contents.
Recently the Government has advised that some changes are being made to Companies Law. These will impact any limited companies that are registered with Companies House. The key reason for the update is to give businesses greater transparency and to allow Companies House to have clearer recognition that the standards and requirements they set for each and every business, are being adhered to.
As with any communication released by the Government, they never seem to be able to express exact requirements in a simple and easy to understand method. So, we thought it would be beneficial to offer our own translation. All the changes are being introduced this month (March 2024):
- Companies House will be able to query more businesses, for example if they feel certain elements are incorrect or they perceive some inconsistences then it will be much easier for them to seek further guidance with less ambiguity.
- When registering company names a more stringent approach will be taken to ensure the business name is unique and does not include any connotations of other businesses who are already registered.
- A business‘ registered office must be a fixed and official location; it can no longer be registered using a PO Box.
- For registration a company must include an office e-mail address
- Companies will have to declare that the business is being established to undertake activities which comply with UK law (nothing can be unlawful). Also, a declaration confirming the same is then required thereafter for every year the business is running.
- Finally, the register for all UK businesses will be cleansed to ensure any data flagged as misleading or not accurate will be removed. Notes will be added for potential issues which Companies House can then act on. All up to date data will be accessible by other government agencies and law enforcement authorities.
So, to conclude these changes are being introduced to help eliminate fraudulent information being used by companies, business owners and directors. It is also expected that more changes will follow in the coming months.
Overall, the changes will simply be to allow limited companies to ensure that all their registered data is accurate.
If you have any questions or queries, then the Stepping Stones Accountancy team can offer both help and support. Please call us on 01173 700 079 or e-mail hello@steppingstonesaccountancy.co.uk.
You can also book a free 20-minute call with Yarka – https://calendly.com/yarka-ssa/20min
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