Companies Act changes from October 2009
8 September 2009
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With only weeks to go before implementation of the final phase of the Companies Act 2006, we take a look at some of the key incoming changes to help you prepare for the 1 October deadline.
Annual Return
 
There is a new Annual Return form as well as additional information required to complete the form. The required information regarding the issued share capital is changing; a statement of capital (voting rights) has been added and, if your company has any corporate directors or secretaries, additional information will be required.
 
Accounts
 
You have one month less in which to file accounts. The filing period is reduced to nine months for a private company. In addition, the financial penalty for late filing of statutory accounts has doubled and now ranges from £150 to £1,500 depending on how late they are filed.
 
Alternative address for registers
 
There are changes to the arrangements for inspecting a company's registers. These registers may be held at the registered office address or at a single alternative inspection location (SAIL). You must notify Companies House if you set up a SAIL address or if the SAIL address changes. You may only have one SAIL address for a company at any one time.
 
Company Constitution – articles
 
The Companies Act 2006 introduces a new model form of articles of association for private companies limited by shares (with different forms for public limited companies and companies limited by guarantee). Whilst your company may continue to operate under its existing constitution after 1 October, this may be an opportune time to review the constitution.
 
Updating the articles of association could not only give the company all the advantages of the new model articles but also cover those areas where additional powers or clarification of rights and obligations is desirable to make the administration of the company easier to understand and manage.
 
Directors' address protected from disclosure
 
Every director will have a service address and a usual residential address. The service address for each directorship will be publicly available. The residential address will only be made available to public authorities and credit reference agencies. On 1 October a director's current residential address will automatically become the service address and, as such will appear on the public record. Existing directors may therefore wish to consider filing a change of address after this time. The service address does not have to be a residential address and may be the company's registered office.
 
Forms
 
Every form is changing and, on many of them, so is the data to be submitted. New forms must be submitted for company events that take place on or after 1 October.
 
About the author
 
This article was contributed by Jordans Limited, the UK's leading corporate service provider. Cut through the confusion of the Companies Act 2006 by visiting www.companiesact.co.uk. For all the new forms and a useful convertor visit www.formsontheweb.co.uk.
 
For more information on these and other legislation changes coming into force on 1 October 2009, click here.


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