Failure to deliver annual accounts to the Registrar of Companies on time is a criminal offence for which a company's directors may be prosecuted, whilst the company itself is liable to an automatic civil penalty.  With effect from 1 February 2009, the level of the civil penalties has significantly increased in order: (a) to improve the effectiveness of the penalty in encouraging directors to abide by their statutory duty to deliver accounts, which are a matter of public record, by their due date; and (b) to take account of inflation since 1992 when the penalty was first introduced. (See sections 441 – 453, Companies Act 2006.)

The increased penalties are as follows:

For repeat offences, where accounts are filed late on or after 1 February 2009 and the company failed to comply with filing requirements in relation to the previous financial year (and that previous financial year had begun on or after 6 April 2008), the penalty will be double that shown in the table. 

If accounts are delivered late, Companies House will automatically issue an invoice in the amount of the penalty to the company's registered office.  If the penalty is not paid when due, it will be referred to collection agents and legal action may be taken.

Companies should bear in mind the following:

• The increased penalty applies regardless of when a company's accounts first became overdue, even if this was before 1 February 2009.
• The penalty applies to dormant companies.
• The penalty will not be waived if accounts are delayed in the post.
• The current 14-day grace period for companies to re-file accounts which have been rejected by the Registrar on the grounds of illegibility will be scrapped from 1 October 2009, therefore companies will no longer be able to take advantage of this potential extension to the date at which the penalty is triggered.

Michael Simkins LLP can advise you on the new timescales for filing accounts introduced by the Companies Act 2006 and on your statutory filing obligations generally.  If you are struggling to keep on top of statutory filing duties, Michael Simkins LLP can also provide a comprehensive company secretarial service for an annual fee, giving you peace of mind that your statutory records are being kept up-to-date.  For more information please contact Nicole Globe (nicole.globe@simkins.com) or Susan O'Mahony (susan.omahony@simkins.com).