Time's up for the annual return!

From 30 June 2016 Companies began to file a “confirmation statement” in place of the document which was previously known as the “annual return”.

The confirmation statements, like the annual returns, are a yearly update of the information about the company which is included on the public records at Companies House.

As part of the quest to simplify the administrative burden on companies the confirmation statements do not require the company to re-enter data, but rather to check the information which is already on record and make appropriate amendments and updates as needed, or, if nothing has changed from the previous year, to confirm that the information on record is correct.

The type of information which may need updating includes changes to the shareholders, or changes to the share capital details (such as when shares have been transferred to a new shareholder during the year). If the kind of business the company does has altered then it may be appropriate to change your company’s SIC code.

Some information still needs to be updated at the time when the change happens and not later in the year. Amongst this category of information are changing to a new registered office address, or the appointment of a new director, or the resignation of a director from the board, or the issue of new shares.

Also the Confirmation Statement must include details of your Persons with Significant Control (PSCs), being people who exercise significant control over the company, which may be by other means than holding shares – please ask if you would like further information on this point.

Online filing is an easy and quick way to file the Confirmation Statement. If your company is not yet registered for online (electronic) filing you can contact Companies House, whose staff will assist you with the necessary steps to set up an online filing option. This can also save you money as some of the official filing fees payable to Companies House are cheaper when the filing is done electronically. The fee for the confirmation statement will be £13 when filed online or £40 when filed on paper.

Please contact Pauline Gillard in the Corporate department if you need further information or advice pauline.gillard@cookco.co.uk.