The provision for enabling private companies to choose whether they wish to have a company secretary has come into force. A private company will have the option whether or not they maintain their company secretary. If the company decide they no longer need a company secretary they will need to inform Companies House via WebFiling or on the 288b form.

The company will be required to amend the Articles if there is a specific reference to the company having a secretary. However if the Articles only refer to the secretarys duties there is no need to make an amendment.


DIRECTORS

Directors will no longer need to provide details of their interests in shares or debentures of the company or its group. The result is that Companies House will no longer accept Form 325 (Location of Register of directors interests in shares), or Form 325a (Notice for inspection of a register of directors interests in shares kept in a non-legible format).
Directors will not be required to disclose their interests in shares in the Directors report of the Annual Accounts for reports signed on or after 6 April.
From 1st October 2009 every director must provide Companies House with both their usual residential address, and for each directorship they hold, a service address. The service address will be on the public record and will be public information but the residential address will be protected information.
A director can choose any address as the service address including the registered office address of the company. The address must be where documents can be delivered and an acknowledgement or receipt can be provided if required. The address can not be a PO Box or a DX number. If the director chooses to use his residential address as the service address the fact that the two addresses are the same would not be apparent from the public record.
Directors will be able to file a service address for the public record. This address can be the same as the residential address, or the registered office address, or it can be somewhere different. This will be introduced from 1st October 2009.
Every director must provide both their usual residential address and, for each directorship, a service address. The service address will be on the public record; the residential address will be protected information. A director may choose to use his residential address as his service address; in which case the fact that the two addresses are the same will not be apparent form the public record


LATE FILING PENALTIES

Section 441 of the Companies Act 2006 requires all companies to deliver annual accounts to the Registrar of Companies by the due date. Section 453 specifies that a civil administration penalty shall be payable if the accounts are delivered late, and provides for the Secretary of State to specify the level of this penalty through regulations.

The new penalties will apply from 1st February 2009.

Not more than one month £150
More than one month but not more than three months £375
More than three months but not more than six months £750
More than six months £1500