Companies House - Changes to Fees
From February 2005, there are changes to the fees charged by Companies House for various administrative processes.
The changes (which include a combination of increases and reductions) aim to raise revenues overall in order to maintain an ever-increasing register of companies.
There is also a drive to encourage company officers to file documents online. Companies House reports a significant reduction in the number of certain forms (for example, Form 225 - changing the accounting reference date for a company) being rejected when filed electronically as opposed to paper form.
Some of the notable fee changes include:
a reduction from £80 to £50 for a same-day incorporation, change of name or re-registration,
an increase in the annual return processing fee from £15 to £30 (unless filed electronically in which case it remains at £15);
an increase in the fee to register a charge from £10 to £13; and
a £30 fee for a same-day electronic incorporation - a reduction of 62.5% from the previous fee of £80 for a same-day paper incorporation (now £50).
E-filing
Companies House clearly see the processing of documents through secure online means as the most desirable and cost-effective way of managing the register of over 2 million companies.
As mentioned above, one possibly incidental benefit which has arisen from electronic filing is a huge reduction in the number of documents being rejected by Companies House.
Practicalities
An obvious question is how does this new system deal with issues of security and the requirement for consent signatures?
In response it could be argued that this is irrelevant as Companies House does not currently have any means of checking whether a signature that is provided is genuine.
In order to make use of the electronic filing facility, the company should write to Companies House on its letterhead (this term is used loosely, it can simply be notepaper with the company's details on it) stating its desire to use the electronic filing facility, the identity of an approved presenter and signed by an officer of the company. Companies House will then issue an authentication code which is then used by the "approved presenter" for the company in future communications.
The issue of consent signatures is dealt with through what is referred to as the "three from seven" requirement. This is simply providing 3 pieces of information from a choice of 7 including town of birth, phone number, NI number, passport number etc.
Advantages in filing electronically are numerous:
Wright Hassall Company Secretarial Service
Although all of the above is designed to facilitate effective company administration, in practice these administrative requirements (as well as other statutory requirements under the Companies Act 1985, for example, maintenance of company registers) are not only time-consuming but, if breached, attract a sizable fine.
We can offer a competitively priced company secretarial service which includes:
- checking and filing the annual return (inclusive of the £30.00 filing fee);
- keeping and maintaining the statutory registers;
- supervising an inspection of the registers (where necessary);
- drafting the AGM notice and minutes to approve the financial statements (where appropriate); and
- the benefit of a team of experienced corporate lawyers on hand should you require any further services in relation to company administration or otherwise.
