As of 30 June 2016 the Annual Return as we know it will be no more… or will it? It is going to be replaced by the all “new” Annual Confirmation Statement (I say “new”, but as you will see very little is actually changing). Companies House are describing it as a ‘Check and Confirm’ statement, as it will require every UK registered company to confirm that the information currently held by Companies House is accurate and up to date every 12 months.
Now that might sound very similar to those of you already completing the existing Annual Return and that’s because it is! For the most part very little is going to change, the important differences worth noting between the two are as follows:
- The period allowed for filing the Annual Confirmation Statement after the due date is being reduced from 28 days to 14 days.
- A new register is being introduced for ‘People with Significant Control’ that needs to be kept alongside the company’s other statutory records. The details of which will need to be submitted on the first Annual Confirmation Statement and confirmed each year thereafter.
- Currently the Annual Return is required to be filed on a fixed date each year; the Annual Confirmation Statement can be filed at any point within a 12 month period of the last one filed. When a new one is submitted the clock is reset and the company will have another 12 months before the next one is due.
The Annual Confirmation Statement will consist of two forms, the first of which is a single page which requires the Company Number; Company Name; Date of Statement and the confirmation that that all the information required to be filed (including the new PSC register) is either already submitted to Companies House or is being submitted with the statement. The second form is where the fun begins… the full form is a whopping 62 pages!
Now, luckily Companies House have clarified that only the affected parts of this form will need to be completed and filed. It’s also worth noting that over half of the form is actually made up of continuation pages. The five parts of form two are:
- Part 1 - Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code change
- Part 2 - Statement of Capital Change
- Part 3 - Change to trading status of shares
- Part 4 - Shareholder Information Change
- Part 5 - Information about people with significant control (PSC).
Parts 1 to 4 again are very reminiscent to the current Annual Return, Part 5 however will be completely new and will be the area that needs a bit of thought and attention when completing. Each PSC will need to be included along with details of how they have control of the company, this will be done by ticking the relevant statement that applies to them.
As of yet, Companies House have not realised the pricing for online filing of the Annual Confirmation Statement however the paper version has a fee of £40.
If you’re a little unsure of the new changes and would like some help completing your first Annual Confirmation Statement or you would just like some more information please contact us at mail@acreaccountancy.co.uk or if you prefer to call 01432 266270.