719,973 businesses in default as Registrar-General extends deadline for filing of annual returns and renewals

According to recent data from the Office of the Registrar of Companies (ORC), out of the 1,023,715 business entities registered since 2011, a staggering 719,973 businesses in Ghana are currently not in good standing. Only 257,038 entities have complied with the necessary filings, highlighting a significant compliance gap. In response, the ORC has announced an extension of the deadline for filing annual returns and renewals, now set for September 30, 2023.

The extended deadline aims to provide businesses in default with the opportunity to complete the required processes for filing their annual returns and renewals. The categories of entities covered include companies limited by shares, companies limited by guarantee, external companies, partnerships, business names (sole proprietorships), and subsidiary business names.

The Registrar of Companies, Jemima Mamaa Oware, explained that the deadline extension acknowledges the challenges faced by businesses in completing the necessary filings due to software application downtimes experienced over the period. The ORC is committed to facilitating compliance and ensuring that businesses can fulfill their obligations.

The extended deadline applies to various types of entities, including business names, companies limited by shares, companies limited by guarantee (such as churches, schools, NGOs, CSOs, foundations, associations, unions, societies, and charities), external companies, partnerships, and professional bodies.

However, the ORC warns that failure to comply with the extended deadline will result in the initiation of the process to strike off these entities from the register by the end of September 2023, as per Section 5A (2) of the Registration of Business Names Act, 1962 (Act 151). This provision grants the ORC the authority to remove defaulting business names and subsidiary business names from the register after a three-month period.

Furthermore, the ORC emphasizes that it will fully implement Section 126(7) of the Companies Act, 2019 (Act 992) for the first time. This section stipulates an administrative penalty of GH¢300 (approximately GH¢12 per unit for 25 penalty units) to be charged against companies and every officer for each day the default continues in terms of non-filing.

Registrar Jemima Mamaa Oware urged companies to use the deadline extension as an opportunity to promptly prepare the necessary documents and file their annual returns to avoid incurring the administrative penalty or jeopardizing their good standing status.

The following is a breakdown of companies and businesses registered by the ORC since 2011, as well as the number of compliant entities that have filed their annual returns and renewals and are currently in good standing as of June 30, 2023.

Source: Norvanreports, with files from the B&FT