Company Fresh Start Filings

What accumulates while a company drifts

• Per-day additional fee on each overdue annual form, uncapped
• Director disqualification after three consecutive years of default
• Deactivation of the directors’ identification numbers
• The Registrar initiating strike off of the company
• Bank facilities and transactions stalling on diligence
• Penalties on the company and on officers in default, separate from the filing fee

The order in which to regularise

Filings must generally be completed in chronological order, because each year’s annual return depends on the financial statements for that year having been filed.

That means the accounts for every missed year have to be prepared and audited before anything can be filed. For a company several years behind with incomplete records, reconstructing those accounts is usually the bulk of the work and the bulk of the time.

Director disqualification is separate

Bringing the company’s filings up to date does not by itself lift a disqualification already incurred. Disqualification under Section 164 operates for five years and attaches to the individual, affecting every other board they sit on.

Relief generally requires an application to the National Company Law Tribunal, and the outcome depends on the circumstances of the default. It should be addressed alongside the filings rather than assumed to resolve with them.

Or close it

Where the company holds nothing of value and has no prospect of trading, regularising in order to strike it off is still necessary — the Registrar will not accept a closure application from a defaulting company.

But it is worth deciding early whether the destination is revival or closure, because it changes how much of the historical position needs reconstructing. We quantify both before you commit.

How we handle it

1. 1 Establishing the exposure We compute what is outstanding and the accumulated additional fee, so the cost is known before anything is committed.
2. 2 Deciding the destination Revival or closure is decided early, since it changes how much historical reconstruction is required.
3. 3 Reconstructing the accounts Financial statements for each missed year are prepared from bank records and available documents, and audited.
4. 4 Chronological filing AOC-4 and MGT-7 are filed year by year, in order, since each depends on the previous.
5. 5 Director position Where disqualification has been incurred, we advise on the tribunal application separately.
6. 6 Ongoing calendar The compliance calendar is set up so the position does not recur.

Frequently asked questions