The Registrar-General, Jemima Oware, says her outfit will, from October 1, publish the names of two hundred and twenty-two dormant companies whose names have been struck out of the Companies Register.
According to her, these companies will be classified as being inactive and will not be able to be accessed for any business transaction for the next 12 years except by a Court Order to the Department for reinstatement.
Speaking at the launch of the Companies Insolvency Act 1015, Registrar-General, Jemima Oware, urged the general public to inform the Department of any company that owed them before they are expunged of the Companies Register.
“We have about 222 companies that have voluntarily given us the permission to strike their names off the register because they are not doing business. So, what we intend to do is that, from the 1st of October we will publish these names in the Dailies and in the gazette. After which we will strike their names off the register. What this means is that, they cannot come back and anybody who wants to do business with them will not find their names in the register,” she said.
“If there is anybody out there that these businesses owe, it’s an opportunity for them to come and inform us so that we will put a hold on the company while they settle their debts before the names are taken off the register. We will continue this process of updating the records till the end of the year and then we will put out another list. As we put out the notices, people will realise that we are really serious. The companies have to make sure that they update us. By not updating us it means that they are not in business and people should not do business with them,” she added.
Companies are required by the Companies Act 2019 (Act 992) to update their records and file their financials with the Registrar-General eighteen (18) months after incorporation and at every financial year whether the Company was in business operation or not in operation.
Since 2011, about 200,000 companies have failed to file their annual returns and financial statements despite several notices and reminders.
As part of efforts to curtail the trend, the Registrar General’s Department has issued numerous warnings to this effect.
In April 2021, the RGD issued its third and final public warning of its intention to purge its Register of names of dormant companies pursuant to Section 289 of the Companies Act, 2019 (Act 992).
The Department recently served notice to the Business Community and the general public that it will end its validation of dormant companies at the end of September this year.
The exercise which commenced on 1st July, 2021, was to validate dormant Companies which adhered to the directive of the Registrar of Companies to file their Annual Returns with the Department or risk been delisted from the Companies Register.
