The death of annual returns

From 30 June 2016 companies based in the UK and limited liability partnerships (LLPs) will be required to file a ‘confirmation statement’ each year instead of an annual return.

What is a confirmation statement?

It will serve a similar purpose to the original annual return namely to update records at Companies House relating to key details of companies and LLPs.

At least one confirmation statement must be filed each year. However, unlike the annual return there is no set date by when it has to be filed, so long as the gap between statements is no more than 12 months.

Note the first confirmation statement must not be filed more than 12 months after the date of the last annual return.

What should be included in a confirmation statement?

To complete your confirmation statement, as with the annual return, you simply need to check that the information that Companies House holds for your company or LLP is correct and is fully up-to-date. (The form of the confirmation statement has not yet been released by Companies House.)

The first confirmation statement filed will need to include information about persons with significant control (PSCs). Whilst many companies may have already generated the PSC statutory registers which contain this information (this has been a requirement since 6 April 2016), it will now be necessary for such information to also be filed at Companies House.

Will there be a grace period for filing a confirmation statement? 

The 28-day grace period for annual returns will be reduced to a 14-day period for confirmation statements.

How much will it cost? 

The fee will be the same as for the annual return – £30 when this is filed online and £40 in hardcopy format. You will only have to pay the fee once a year, which will cover you for a 12-month period. During those 12 months you can file as many confirmation statements as you want without having to pay the fee again.

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