Posted by jonathanfullarton - July 2, 2020 12:07 pm
Temporary filing changes at Companies House
What you need to know
Companies affected by the COVID-19 pandemic have been able, (since 25 March), to apply to Companies House for a three-month extension for filing their annual accounts. However, the Companies House Filing Requirements (Temporary Modifications) Regulations 2020 became law and came into force on 27 June 2020. This contains additional measures to provide further relief to businesses during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
Affected filings include:
- accounts
- confirmation statements
- event-driven filings (changes to your company)
- mortgage charges
Who does this affect?
The regulations will affect:
- public companies,
- private companies
- limited liability partnerships (LLPs)
- Societas Europaeas (SEs), overseas companies and,
- European Economic Interest Groupings (EEIGs) (“relevant entities”) when those entities have to file documents or notices with Companies House.
However, public companies and SEs whose original filing deadline fell before 30 June 2020 received an extension to their accounts filing deadline under the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 and therefore will not receive a further extension under the regulations.
What are the main changes?
- The accounts filing deadline is extended from 9 months to 12 months for private companies and limited liability partnerships and from 6 months to 9 months for public companies
- The deadline for filing the annual confirmation statement, after the end of a company’s yearlong confirmation period, is extended to 42 days, previously 14 days
- Meanwhile, the deadline for notifying Companies House about the change of director or person of significant control is also extended from 14 days to 42 days
- Finally, the deadline for registering a charge against a company’s assets is extended by ten from 21 days to 31 days.
A summary of extension periods is outlined below:
| Company type | Company has not had an extension or shortened their accounting reference period |
| Public limited companies (PLCs)* | Filing deadline extended from 6 to 9 months |
| Private company | Filing deadline extended from 9 to 12 months |
| LLP | Filing deadline extended from 9 to 12 months |
| Overseas companies who are required to prepare and disclose accounts under parent law | Filing deadline extended from 3 to 6 months |
| SEs* | Filing deadline extended from 6 to 9 months |
*For PLCs and SEs whose original accounts filing deadline fell on or after 30 June 2020 before it was extended by the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020, this extension will apply and supersede the extension under the Act.
For more information please read the Companies House Guidance notes or contact your local MFW office for further assistance.
