Concise Accountancy

Accountants and Registered Auditors

Company dissolution

Voluntary strike off your company

Voluntary strike off your limited company means a director or directors of your limited company could make an application with Companies House to have your company dissolved. In other words, to have it removed from the register.

This process will terminate your company’s existence for good. Thereafter, your company would be available for the public or your competitors to register as their company names.

To begin with, your company must meet certain criteria before you can apply to strike it off the register.

Firstly, you are obliged to comply in section 1004 and 1005 of the Companies Act 2006. To put it another way, your company must not be involved in any litigation that is still ongoing with the court or under any insolvency arrangement that has not been concluded.

Secondly, you must inform everyone that would be directly affected by the decision to dissolve your company. Everyone in this situation includes your employee, creditor, director, manager, trustee and so on.

In other words, you must make sure that you do not contravene with Section 1006 and 1007 of the Companies Act 2006. Besides, you must serve the notice within 7 days.

Apply for a voluntary strike off your limited company

First of all, you apply using Form DS01. All your directors must sign and date the form before you submit the form to Companies House.

Once Companies House approves your application, the proposal to strike off your company will be published in the Gazette for two months. During this period, if there are any persons or organisation objects to your company being struck off, the process will be on hold. Companies House will get in contact with your directors.

Companies House is likely to put your voluntary striking off process on hold under the following circumstances.

  1. Company’s Value added tax (VAT) still unpaid.
  2. Corporation tax is still outstanding with HM Revenue and Customs.
  3. Creditors are pursuing their debts legally.
  4. Employees were not informed of your intention to strike off your company and you still owed them money.

After your company been dissolved

Subsequently, you do not have to submit your confirmation statement and company account to Companies House.

Late filing penalty

In the event that your company account is overdue. You would be liable to pay the late filing penalty. Usually, Companies House would issue a late filing penalty after they received your accounts.

This happens frequently to dormant companies. The owners either forgot or think that since their company is dormant therefore nothing to file.

For example, if your company account is already three months late. Instead of filing your dormant account and pay the £750 you can apply to strike off for your company. In this case, Companies House would no longer pursue any late filing penalty.

Want to dissolve your company

If you require help with dissolving your dormant company, our accountants would be able to help you. We will handle the dissolution process from start to finish for you and update you of the progress.

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