Companies House issued a statement today, Wednesday 25 March 2020, stating that if the coronavirus outbreak has affected your company and you need more time to file your accounts, you can apply for a 3 month extension.
As part of agreed measures between the government and Companies House, although businesses will still need to apply for the extension, those citing issues around Covid-19 will be automatically and immediately granted an extension. Applications can be made through a fast-tracked online system which will take just 15 minutes to complete. You can apply at beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/extensions. If you do not apply for the extension, you will still be issued with a late filing penalty.
Companies House have confirmed that their contact centre is closed and all contact should now be made through email to enquiries@companieshouse.gov.uk
Same day services have been suspended and all offices are now closed to the public, you can still post mail to the Cardiff office, but Companies House have confirmed that there are longer processing times at present for paper forms. They have not confirmed whether the processing of paper forms has stopped entirely for the time being. We have emailed the enquiry line and will report back.
The government is also in consultation with company representative bodies to look at solutions for holding annual general meetings. Guidance will be released in due course.
NTI is working hard to ensure that you are up to date with the latest news and will update you as and when further announcements are released.
