Company Director – do you know your responsibilities?

The Avanti Group (UK) Ltd provide a guide for Limited company directors and their responsibilities.

As a company director you will be responsible for ensuring that your accounts are submitted to Companies House, failure to do so could result in;

• A fine
• A criminal record
• Disqualification
• The company being removed from the company register which may also impact on your future credit rating.

When should your accounts be filed?

Private companies and LLP’s (Limited Liability Partnerships)  first accounts must be filed within 21 months of incorporation.

From your second year , 9 months after the year end date.

What are the penalties for late filing?

If your accounts are submitted to companies house late, you will receive a late filing penalty, and the fine will increase the longer your accounts remain overdue.

Late filing penalties for limited companies and LLP’s are as follows;

Up to 1 month               £150

1 month – 3 months       £375

3 months – 6 months     £750

Over 6 months             £1,500

Beware – if 2 successive years are filed late the penalty could be doubled.

So how can you avoid a late filing penalty?

Submit your accounts early, this gives you a time buffer to allow for errors such as rejection and re-submission of the accounts.

Provide your accountant with accurate and complete information to ensure that there are no errors or unnecessary delays

Apply for an extension In exceptional circumstances, HMRC may grant an extension, so if you are having difficulties, call them or speak with your agent ahead of time, so you may arrange more time to submit. If you are doing it yourself, make sure you get references for the call.

Note that documents filed with Companies House are not considered to be ‘delivered’ until they are received in an acceptable  electronic or paper format emphasising the need to allow time for the completion of submission of your accounts.

What does striking off mean for your company?

Failure to meet statutory deadlines may result in Companies House publishing in The Gazette, this is the UK’s official public record. 2 months from publication of the first notice, your Company could be struck off the register.

Avanti’s advice

Filing with Companies House can often be complex, time consuming and understanding the intricacies of it are not for the faint hearted. Surprisingly, accountancy is often one of the things that gets overlooked in the first year of trading until the notifications to file accounts is received from Companies House.

So, if you are yet to appoint an accountant to assist you, why not give Avanti a call (08000) 388 799  to see how they can help you stay one step ahead of HMRC, with proactive advice and accountancy, updating you with changes to legislation, reminding you of deadlines, and ensuring that your accounts are filed online, on time, no fine.