Proposed new late filing penalties

This consultation paper issued by Companies House sets out the following proposals for changes to the current late filing regime:

• Penalties will be increased to take into account inflation between 1992 and 2007, so the lowest penalty increases from £100 to £150.
• A faster increase in penalties for companies which file more than one month late (currently no penalties are levied until accounts are 3 months late and maximum penalties apply for accounts which are over 12 months late).
• A doubling of the penalty for any company which files late, having also filed late the previous year.

These proposals will apply to all companies in the UK, and to LLPs (but through separate regulations). The first two proposed changes are intended to come into force on 1 February 2009, applying to accounts filed under the Companies Acts 1985 and 2006. The third proposed change, that of doubling the penalty for repeat offenders, would only apply to accounts filed under the Companies Act 2006. The proposed new penalty table will therefore be:

How late are the accounts delivered?	Penalty – private company	Penalty - PLC
Not more than one month	£150	£750
More than one month but less than 3 months	£375	£1,500
More than 3 months but less than 6 months	£750	£3,000
More than 6 months	£1,500	£7,500