Late Filing Penalties
There is a requirement for all companies regardless of their company formation structure (i.e PLCs, companies limited by shares and guarantee, unlimited companies and so on) to submit their accounts to Companies House by certain due dates.
Failure to meet these submission deadlines will result in standard penalties being imposed by the Registrar of Companies.
It is therefore advisable to be aware of the various reporting dates and to ensure that all due dates are met.
1. Why have Late filing fines?
These penalties were brought in 1992 to provide impetus to the company officers to adhere to the filing requirements of Companies House.
2. What are the penalties?
There is a sliding scale of fines which increase with the length of time that the company's accounts are late (measured from the date the accounts are due):
For private limited companies these are follows:
Not more than 1 month: £150
More than 1 month but not more than 3 months: £375
More than 3 months but not more than 6 months: £750
More than 6 months: £1,500
For public limited companies these are follows:
Not more than 1 month: £750
More than 1 month but not more than 3 months: £1,500
More than 3 months but not more than 6 months: £3,000
More than 6 months: £7,500
3. Company accounts filing deadlines
Private limited companies generally have 10 months from the date of the end of their accounting period to prepare and submit accounts. Public limited companies have a shorter time limit of 7 months.