Companies House has announced that it will put measures in place to temporarily pause the company strike off process.
This will include where an application for voluntary dissolution is made by way of Form DS01, and where the strike off action is brought by the Registrar of Companies for failure by a company to file statutory records.
The idea is to give businesses that have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic extra time to update their records and avoid being struck off the Register.
The announcement comes after the recent statement made by the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy that companies will have the ability to apply for a three month extension to file their annual accounts at Companies House. Although companies will still have to apply for the extension, those citing issues around COVID-19 will be automatically and immediately granted an extension.
In addition, Companies House has confirmed that if businesses have been issued with a late filing penalty as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, they will have their appeal treated sympathetically.
It should be noted that the changes will not apply to companies being dissolved by way of a formal insolvency procedure such as administration or liquidation. Businesses in this position will continue to be dissolved pursuant to the Insolvency Act 1986.
If you have any queries about the latest announcements or concerns about your company during the current pandemic, please do not hesitate to contact a member of Clifton Ingram’s Corporate & Commercial Team – Barry Niven on 0118 9523569 or barryniven@cliftoningram.co.uk or Joel Molloy on 0118 9120229 or joelmolloy@cliftoningram.co.uk.