The new Companies Act provisions come into effect 1 October 2009.
The final few changes to affect Companies are:
Similar and Same Names
The ‘same as’ provisions are to be a lot more strict. Companies House will disregard items that are shown at the end of a similar name. This will stop the use of ending such as .com, UK or (region) etc.
If a company is part of the same group as a company already on the register, a consent letter needs to be sent and approved by Companies House.
Directors’ addresses
Director will need to provide Companies House with their residential address, and for each other directorship held, a service address. The service address will be public information on the Comany Register; however, the residential address will be protected. The service address can be the registered office address of the company. This must be where documents can be delivered and an acknowledgement or receipt can be provided where required. The director can still choose to use their residential address if they wish.
The private home address will only be available to certain authorities such as the police and HM Revenue and Customs, as well as credit reference agencies.
Company Forms
The Companies act 2006 has a new indexing system and a completely new range of forms have been produced for this. These will be available on the Companies House website, www.companieshouse.gov.uk .
SERVICES AFFECTED
Companies House has said that its services will be affected for a short period of time as it alters its systems to deal with the final implementation of the Companies Act 2006.
As it prepares for the changes, Companies House will be running a limited service between Wednesday 30 September and Monday 5 October.
Companies House will not be closing during this period, but some of its services may be affected despite efforts to minimise any disruption.
For more information on the Companies Act changes please feel free to get in touch with me or check out the Companies House website.