§ Mr. Andrew F. Bennettasked the Secretary of State for Trade (1) what proportion of companies registered at Corn-panics House are six months late in filing their company accounts, 12 months late, 18 months late and over two years late, respectively;
(2) during the most recent period of 12 months for which figures are available, how many companies have been proceeded against for not filing their company accounts, or for filing them late at Companies House.
§ Mr. Clinton DavisBecause of imprecision in the existing legislation it is not possible for the registrar to identify, without special inquiry, when a particular company enters into default in filing its accounts.
The Companies (No. 2) Bill, which has just completed its Committee stage, seeks to remedy the defect by requiring companies to have a fixed accounting reference period, normally of 12 months, and requiring the directors to prepare accounts in respect of each accounting period which must be filed with the registrar within a specified time. During the year ended 30th June 1976 proceedings for failure to file accounts were instituted in 13 cases. A further six are pending.