What are late filing penalties?

Late filing penalties were introduced in 1992 to encourage directors of limited companies to file their accounts on time because they must provide this statutory information for the public record.

What are the changes being introduced?

All penalties to be increased to take account of inflation between 1992 and 2007
A faster rate of increase in penalties for companies who file more than one month late
A doubling of the penalty for any company which files late having also filed late in the previous year.

What are the new late filing penalties?

The new table of penalties is a follows:

Private Limited companies
Not more than one month £150
More than one month but not more than three months £375
More than three months but not more than six months £750
More than six months £1500

Public Limited Companies
Not more than one month £750
More than one month but not more than three months £1500
More than three months but not more than six months £3000
More than six months £7500

In addition where there was a failure to comply with filing requirements in relation to the previous financial year (and that the previous financial year had begun on or after 6th April 2008), the penalty will be double that shown in the table.

When do these new penalties apply?

1st February 2009