By the end of June 2024, fifty-eight thousand (508,000) public and private business organizations must be removed from the Office of the Registrar of Companies (ORC) registry.
This comes after the businesses neglected to submit their yearly returns in order to maintain their excellent standing.
Throughout the past two years, the companies have received notices and reminders through a variety of publications and sensitization campaigns.
The Office of the Registrar of Companies (ORC) originally granted the companies until the end of 2023, but they chose to extend the deadline in order to give the ORC more time to educate the public and provide the defaulting enterprises more time to prepare so they could comply with the mandate.
This was stated in a news statement that the Registrar of Companies, Jemima Mamaa Oware, signed and released on Monday, June 3, 2024, in Accra.
Penalty
According to Section 289 (5) of the Companies Act 2019 (Act 992), a company removed from the register cannot do business under its name for twelve years. Similarly, sole proprietorships lose their business name, which enters the public domain after being struck off the register due to non-compliance with Section 59(A) of the Registration of Business Names 1962 (Act 151).
Additionally, the release noted that a company removed from the register can only be reinstated by the Registrar of Companies if a court orders it, having found sufficient cause as stated in Section 289 (7) of the Companies Act 992.
It revealed that “over 8,000 businesses limited by Shares (both Private and Public) which were published in the national dailies and on our official website have been served notices and reminders through vigorous sensitisation and multiple publications for the past two years and were recently notified again in a release dated February 12, 2024, urging them to file their Annual Returns to be in good standing.”
It therefore reminded companies and businesses in default to file their Annual Returns and Renewals as directed by the Registrar of Companies because the Office will end the validation process of the entities in default by June 30, 2024.
Annual returns
The release stated that filing Annual Returns is vital for maintaining compliance and transparency within the business community.
It ensures that companies and businesses fulfil their statutory obligations and remain in good standing with the Office.
In addition, the release advised that failure to meet these obligations not only jeopardised the entity’s legal standing but also undermined public trust and confidence and therefore requests that these entities take immediate action to be in good standing to avoid paying penalties and suffering potential legal repercussions.
“The ORC encourages compliance from all stakeholders to uphold the integrity of the business environment and foster trust and confidence among investors, consumers, and the public,” it stated.
It urged defaulting companies to visit the ORC’s website to check the names of affected companies in default to be stricken off.
ORC
The ORC is the government of Ghana’s agency established by the Companies Act, 2019 (Act 992) with the purpose of facilitating orderly conduct of business and provision of business registration, insolvency, and regulatory services and in the process, to create an attractive business environment in the country.
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