Late Filing Penalty Appeals - GBA11

May 2009 - Version 6

* All fees must be made payable to 'Companies House'

PDF version of this page (231KB)

1. What is a penalty notice?

A Penalty Notice gives details of the penalty/penalties levied against a company because we did not receive the company's accounts and reports on time. The notice includes information on how to pay the penalty.

2. What are late filing penalties?

All private and public limited companies must send their accounts and reports to Companies House. As a director, you are personally responsible for ensuring that you deliver your company accounts and reports before the time allowed runs out. Delivery means actual receipt at Companies House in the correct format. If they are late, the law automatically creates a penalty.

The size of the penalty depends on how late the accounts reach Companies House and is shown in the following table. The rates of penalties have increased for accounts submitted late after 1 February 2009.

The amounts set out in the table above will be doubled where the accounts are filed late under the Companies Act 2006 and the previous year’s accounts under that Act were also filed late.

3. Can I appeal?
You may appeal against a penalty but it will only be successful if you can show that the circumstances are exceptional.

4. What is exceptional?
The Registrar has very limited discretion not to collect a penalty. It may be applied when an unforeseen catastrophe strikes a company at a critical time. This might include, for example, a personal tragedy affecting a sole director immediately before a filing deadline or a fire destroying records a few days before the time allowed runs out. The Registrar may also apply discretion if a mistake by Companies House has contributed to the late filing.

The limited nature of the Registrar's discretion underwent a Judicial Review in 2002. To see a full copy of the ruling please click on the attached link, The Queen upon the application of (1) POW Trust and (2) Al's Bar and Restaurant v (1) The Chief Executive and Registrar of Companies and (2) The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (December 2002).

5. What is not exceptional?
The Registrar cannot consider an appeal in the following circumstances as they are outside the Registrar’s discretion:

• your company is dormant
• you cannot afford to pay
• your accountant was ill
• you relied on your accountant
• these are your first accounts
• you are not familiar with the filing requirements
• your company or its officers have financial difficulties (including bankruptcy)
• your accounts were delayed or lost in the post
• the directors live or were travelling overseas

6. Do you still want to appeal?
If, after reading the above, you still wish to appeal, then you must do so in writing and address your letter to the Late Filing Penalties Appeal Section at the address shown on the front page of the penalty notice. We will normally reply within 10 working days and will suspend recovery action  while we are considering your appeal.

7. What happens if you reject my appeal?
You can write to the Senior Appeals Manager in the Late Filing Penalties Department. If the Senior Appeals Manager upholds the penalty, you can ask the independent Adjudicators to review your case.

All communication with the Adjudicators must be in writing. Please do not write to the Adjudicators until you have heard from the Senior Appeals Manager.

Please note Parliament decided that discretion resides solely with the Registrar, and the Adjudicators cannot force the Registrar to not collect a penalty that lies outside his limited discretion.

Finally, you can write to ask the Registrar of Companies for England and Wales (or the Registrar of Companies for Scotland for Scottish companies) to look at your case.

8. Can I pay the penalty by instalments?
Yes. If you have difficulty in paying the penalty outright, we will normally accept payment by monthly instalments. These are usually over four months and exceptionally over ten months, depending on the amount you have to pay. You must make any request to pay by instalments in writing and explain why you cannot pay the penalty immediately.

9. What happens if I do not pay the penalty?
If you do not pay the penalty, we will ask our debt collectors to take action. Ultimately the County Court or Sheriff Court will decide the matter.  You will have the opportunity to file a defence before that court.

You may wish to consider seeking professional advice, because we may seek to recover legal costs if the court finds in favour of the Registrar.

10. Further help?
If you need further advice about a late filing penalty, please call our contact number shown on the front of the penalty notice.

General advice on filing requirements and information about companies is also available on our website www.companieshouse.gov.uk.

Late Filing Penalties Appeals Manual (PDF 117KB)

How to pay your penalty