On 1 October 2009 the new rules under the Companies Act 2006 came into effect. This means that all companies incorporated after this date will be legally obliged to register a service address and a country of residence for every individual director. The address must be where documents can be delivered and an acknowledgement or receipt can be provided if required – it cannot be a PO Box or a DX number. The provisions will designate a director’s residential address as ‘protected information’ which neither the director’s company nor Companies House can make public (except in special circumstances).
Companies Act 2006 – more changes taking place on 1 October 2009
The provisions of the Companies Act 2006 have been brought into force in stages and the remaining changes will come into force on 1 October 2009.
Changes to the Memorandum & Articles of Association have been described in our previous article ‘Companies Act 2006 – impact on company’s constitutional documents’. The remaining new provisions are as follows:
Companies Act 2006 – impact on company’s constitutional documents
From 1 October 2009 companies should be anticipating significant changes to their administration and management as new provisions contained in the Companies Act 2006 come into force. One of the areas which will require a professional review and possible amendments is the company’s Memorandum and Articles of Association. This article explains the main alterations and steps which need to be taken to comply with the 2006 Act in respect of the Memorandum and Articles.
Penalties for late annual accounts filing
It is a legal requirement for all companies, regardless if they are trading, non-trading or dormant, to submit their annual accounts to Companies House before the due dates. Failure to do so automatically results in financial penalties imposed on businesses for late accounts filing. Continue reading
Shareholders’ Rights Directive
The Shareholders’ Rights Directive will be introduced into UK law in August 2009. According to the Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (‘BERR’), which is responsible for implementing the Directive, the aim is to: ‘improve corporate governance in EU companies traded on regulated markets by enabling shareholders to exercise their voting rights and rights to information across borders’.
Many of the provisions in the Directive are already in force in the UK, through the existing legal and governance framework. BERR is currently consulting on the following changes which, when agreed, will be implemented through amendments to the Companies Act 2006:
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