A set of consultations on the future of Companies House could see a reduction in the current filing deadlines for companies.
The proposals include mandatory digital filing, requirements to tag accountants digitally with IXBRL and shortening filing deadlines to three months for public companies and six months for private companies.
The Department for Business and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) is also seeking feedback on extending the powers of Companies House to allow it to undertake further checks on filings before they are added to the register, with the authority to reject them where necessary.
Finally, BEIS is consulting on banning corporate directors, meaning only individuals could hold the position of a company director. At the moment, companies are only required to have a single individual director.
There is no guarantee that any of the proposals being discussed will be implemented and, if they are, it is likely to take some time.
Lord Callanan, the Minister for Corporate Responsibility, said that “proposals set out further detail on our far-reaching reforms to ensure the Companies House register is fit for the 21st century – allowing us to crack down on fraud and money laundering while providing businesses with greater confidence in their transactions”.
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