Companies House implements new non-compliance penalties

Registered companies and their directors are being warned of new penalties being introduced by Companies House for non-compliance with their legal responsibilities.

As part of new powers granted to the body in the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, businesses could face financial penalties for ignoring warnings from Companies House, or for failing to comply with legal obligations, such as filing confirmation statements on time. The new regime aims to improve compliance overall, raise the accuracy of the UK company register and address economic crime.

More serious offences could also result in civil action, director disqualification or even criminal prosecution and will work in partnership with the Insolvency Service and other enforcement partners where necessary.

Director of Intelligence and Law Enforcement Liaison at Companies House, Martin Swain, said:

“The introduction of these new penalties marks another significant step forward for Companies House and our transformation.

“Where our guidance and support are not enough to encourage users to comply with the law or discourage misuse of our registers, we won’t hesitate to use these new powers available to us.

“We’ll take a consistent and proportionate approach to these new powers to firmly, but fairly, enforce the law. This will improve the quality of the data on our registers and help us play greater role in identifying, disrupting and preventing economic crime.”

Director of Legal Services at the Insolvency Service, Jonathan Lupton, said:

“We are committed to working collaboratively with Companies House to help improve the integrity and transparency of the data on its register.

“Where it is appropriate and proportionate to do so, and as part of our overall approach to tackling economic crime and wrongdoing, we will utilise the powers available to us to take enforcement action against misconduct on the register.”