Registrar-General reviews list of companies to be deleted on its database

The exercise is to validate companies that complied with the directive for dormant companies to file their returns or risk being delisted from the companies register at the end of June 30, 2021.

A statement from the Department, issued and signed by Jemima Oware, the Registrar-General, said the three-month long review began on July 1, 2021 and would end on September 30, 2021.

It said the review had become necessary after the final notice was issued on March, 18, 2021, to officials of dormant companies to file their annual returns to be in good standing with the Department.

It said the Department had earlier issued two notices on March 12, 2020 and December 1, 2020, and had published them in the national dailies and the Department’s website respectively in accordance with the Companies Act 2019, Act 992.

The statement said the Companies were Public/Private Companies Limited by Shares, Public/Private Companies Limited by Guarantee (Associations, Fun Clubs, Churches, etc.), Private Unlimited Companies and External Companies.

The strike off exercise became necessary because the Department’s Company database became bloated with names of dormant Companies entered onto the Companies Register.

257,241 companies existing in the new database had not filed their Returns or Amendments with the Department and 670,282 Companies in the Legacy system had not carried out their re-registration as at the release of the first Notice in March, 2020.

The statement said Companies due for strike off still in default after the three-month review would be published in the national dailies and on the Department’s website.

It said a Company’s status during the period would be classified as being inactive and would not be able to be access any business transaction for 12 years except by a court order to the Registrar.

The statement said such Companies were, therefore advised to use the three-month review to undertake all the needed measures to be in good standing with the Department.

The Department urged all clients to visit its website for redress.

The statement said penalty for late filing remained GH¢450.00 with GH¢50.00 for filing of Annual Returns for each year.