We will delete names of companies that fail to file returns by June 30 – Registrar General’s Dept

• The Registrar-General said companies that fail to file their returns by June 2021 will risk having their names deleted from their system

• Jemima Oware said, about 200,000 companies have failed to file their annual returns and financial statements since 2011

• She said the process of expunging can be avoided if the dormant businesses pay the required GH¢50 in addition to the yearly penalty of GH¢450

Jemima Oware, the Registrar-General, has stated that companies that fail to file their returns by the end of June 2021, will risk having their names deleted from the list of registered businesses in the country.

According to her, about 200,000 companies have failed to file their annual returns and financial statements since 2011 despite several notices and reminders.

Speaking on Citi TV closely monitored by GhanaWeb, Madam Oware said the deletion process will kick start in July 2021 through to the end of the year.

“Since 2011 when we introduced the new e-registrar software, I have over 200,000 businesses that have not filed their annual returns basically because some of them think they’ve not done business, COVID-19 has come among others. We gave extensions for people to file annual returns, and we extended it to almost one year, and we allowed businesses to hold Annual General Meetings virtually. We gave all these dispensations, but now the time is up. By the end of June 30, we are going to start another round of penalties,” she said.

“Anytime you come back and want to resurrect it [your company after its name is struck out], you would have to go to the court, and at the court, the decision is at the judge’s discretion,” she added.

Meanwhile, the Registrar General’s Department in April 2021, issued the third and final public warning of its intention to purge the Register of names of dormant companies pursuant to Section 289 of the Companies Act, 2019 (Act 992).

It said companies that have their names expunged from the register would have to go to the law courts to have their business restored.

Jemima Oware said such a process can be avoided if the dormant businesses pay the required GH¢50 in addition to the yearly penalty of GH¢450, and file their returns as expected of them.

“When you file an annual return, you are updating the Registrar General on changes that have taken place in your company, whether you’ve carried out any business or not. It is just GH¢50,” she stated.

She further dispelled the notion that companies must have carried out business within the year under review before they file their returns.