From 30 June 2016, UK Limited companies and LLPs will have to file a Confirmation Statement annually at Companies House instead of the current annual return.
Information needed for the Confirmation Statement
To complete the Confirmation Statement, each company/LLP will need to check the following information held at Companies House about them is correct:
- Registered office;
- List of directors;
- Locations of registers;
- Shareholder information;
- Statement of capital; and
- Standard industry classification (SIC) code.
Once you are happy that the above information is correct and current, you will confirm this to Companies House through the confirmation statement.
If any information noted at Companies House is incorrect and/or needs updating, a separate form will need to be completed to update the records before you file your Confirmation Statement.
Filing at Companies House
The Confirmation Statement must be filed at Companies House at least once every 12 months. The process has been simplified from the Annual Returns process which should make administration a little easier.
With the current Annual Returns there is a statutory deadline for filing, however with the Confirmation Statement there is no statutory deadline, companies/LLPs can therefore file a Confirmation Statement on whatever date they wish. However, the new legislation states that each company/LLP will have a due date for their Confirmation Statements. A company's/LLPs due date will usually be the date on which the company/LLP was incorporated or the date they last filed their Annual Return. The Confirmation Statements must be filed at Companies House no later than 14 days after this due date.
Fees and updating Confirmation Statements
As with the previous Annual Returns, there will be a fee payable to file the Confirmation Statement at Companies House. At present this will be £13 if filed online and £40 if filed by paper. You can update your records as many times as you need to within the 12 month period, but you will only be charged once a year. This moves away from being charged every time an Annual Return was filed.
Do you still have to file an Annual Return for this year?
Annual Returns cannot be filed after 30 June 2016, from this date Confirmation Statements must be filed with Companies House instead.
If you require further details on the above or you would like some assistance with filing a Confirmation Statement, please contact me on 01159 853473 or email charlotte.stojak@buckles-law.co.uk.
