Companies House have reviewed the fees they charge and have released details of the new charges that will apply from 1 May 2024.
Companies House work on a cost recovery basis, so the fees are set to cover their costs rather than to make a profit. Due to the measures introduced by the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency (ECCT) Bill, costs for Companies House are increasing and so the fees are being adjusted in part to cover this.
The increases are quite significant. For instance, the fee for an annual confirmation statement, if submitted digitally, will rise to £34. The cost is currently £13. Depending on your current filing date, it may be worth filing early to pay the lower fee one last time.
Some of the main points include:
- Email addresses required for all companies, although they won’t be on public record, from March 24 onwards;
- PO Box addresses no longer being accepted as registered offices;
- A statement of confirming that company will only undertake lawful activities on the annual confirmation statement;
- A requirement for all officials related to a company to prove their identity;
- A requirement for all companies to file a profit and loss statement. This is a massive change and will have a real impact – with competitors, staff and customers being able to view PNL information. We do not yet know a date of implementation for this; and
- An increase in filing fees.