Companies Act Update for general interest |
1st October 2009 Implementations |
The Companies Act 2006 received Royal Assent on 8th November 2006 and effectively replaced existing company legislation by re-writing, updating and modernising company law. The changes in the Act have been implemented in a number of phases and will be complete by October 2009.
The following topics have been raised by our customers as areas that require further clarification. These have been outlined below in question and answer format.
IMPORTANT INFORMTION: Companies House have informed us that it will not be accepting incorporations on 29th and 30th of September while the new Companies Act 2006 implementations are rolled out. This information has not officially been released but we will keep you informed as and when more details are made available.
Northern Ireland Registry
When the Companies Act 2006 is fully commenced in October 2009 it will provide for a single company law regime applying to the whole of the United Kingdom. Companies will be UK companies rather than GB or Northern Ireland companies, and the same legislation will apply to all.
Q. When will the Northern Ireland Registry be integrated with Companies House?
A. 1st October 2009.
Q. How will companies be incorporated in Northern Ireland?
A. The Act is UK wide and Northern Ireland companies will be incorporated as UK companies.
Q. Will NI forms be the same as UK?
A. Yes.. Q. When will Northern Ireland company information be available to search from Companies House?
A. 1st October 2009. Q. Will the Northern Ireland office remain in Belfast?
A. Yes. Q. Will the Northern Ireland company information include access to historical documents or just those filed after 1st October 2009 A.Historical Northern Ireland data, and documents from 2000, will be available immediately, older documents will have a slightly longer delivery time as they will be scanned prior to delivery. Q. How many companies are there in Northern Ireland? A. There are approximately 38,000 companies registered in Northern Ireland. Q. Will Northern Ireland company information be able to be filed online? A. Yes, Northern Ireland companies will have access to the WebFiling service from 1st October 2009. Q. Will Northern Ireland companies still retain the prefix NI in their company numbers? A. Yes, the NI prefix will be retained. Q. When the Northern Ireland Registry is integrated with Companies House what will be the effect on the registration of branches? A. Under the 2006 Act overseas companies will be companies registered outside the UK, and if a NI company wants to open a branch in England, Wales or Scotland they do not have to register with the Registrar for that jurisdiction and vice versa. Existing companies will no longer be required to register. Changes to Forms There are in the region of 200 forms required by the Act, some are revised versions of existing forms and some are completely new. There will be changes to all Companies House forms if only to remove the number, which at present refers to the relevant section on the 1985 Companies Act. Q. Will there be changes to the current company forms? A. There will be changes to all forms, if only to remove the number as this number e.g. 288, aligns to the relevant Section in the 1985 Companies Act. It is likely that the new forms will have a descriptor relating to their functionality; however they will still contain a reference to the Section of the 2006 Act. Please note: The Insolvency act remains unchanged therefore these forms remain an altered.
Q. When will form changes come into force? A. Changes to company forms will be introduced on 1st October 2009 Q. Are specimen forms available yet? A. Specimen forms should become available on the Companies House website from 1st July 2009. Q. Will new form types have the appropriate clause within the form? A. The section number will appear on the form but not in the heading as currently. Q. For how long can the old forms be used? A. New forms will be implemented on 1st October 2009. Old forms can still be used as long as the date of execution is before 1st October 2009. Q. Will the same form be required for appointing a corporate director? A. No, different forms will be required for appointing and changing the details of corporate directors and secretaries. Q. Corporate Appointments have to show if the company is in the EEA. What is this?
A. The EEA refers to the European Economic Area. Countries comprising the European Economic Area are listed here.
A copy of a draft table showing the known Companies Act 2006 forms, together with their proposed form number, can be found by clicking here. The table is still subject to change as there is legislation that has not been received from BERR (e.g. Confirmation of the LLP legislation).
Should you require further information in the interim please don’t hesitate to contact kathryn.hopkins@7side.co.uk. Alternatively visit the Companies House website. |
