The introduction of the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (the Act) was a welcome relief for companies during the pandemic as it recognised the unprecedented burden COVID-19 had caused on companies’ administrative obligations.
One benefit of the Act was that it automatically extended a company’s deadline for filings at Companies House. This applied to filing accounts, confirmation statements, event-driven filings (such as updating a company’s Persons of Significant Control register) and charges.
The UK Government has now announced the withdrawal of these automatic extensions. This means that, from 5 April 2021 onwards, companies will need to fille these documents by their usual deadlines.
The guidance does however indicate that companies can still apply for a three-month extension for accounts filing that fall after 5 April 2021 by citing issues around COVID. Companies should check eligibility and apply for the three- month extension, if required, before their filing deadline. Filing deadlines can be checked on Companies House.
The outlook for Government guidance is seemingly based on a ‘return to normal’ with a roll-out of the vaccine. However, there are several elements of the Act still in place. For example, companies can still apply for a moratorium to consider a rescue plan and there is still a relaxation of the legal requirements in relation to general meetings. More detail can on both of these can be found here (moratoriums) and here (general meetings).
To find out more about our corporate team or to get in touch, visit our dedicated page.