The Registrar General’s Department (RGD) has assured to go tough on all business operators who have refused to file in their annual returns and updates by January 31, 2017.
According to the department, this is coming as the last caution to all companies and registered partnerships business operators that are still yet to update their annual returns. This is coming after all appeals to get them to do the needful has failed.
As stated in a statement contained in a press release which was signed by the department’s the acting Registrar-General, Mrs Jemima M. Oware, a penalty of GHC 300 will be the immediate penalty if those involved do not respond appropriately.
The statement which was made available to thebftonline.com reads thus: “Owing to appeals from our stakeholders on the punitive nature of the penalty regime on Businesses in the Country, the Department has heeded to the plea of the Business Community and has per section 122(7) of the Companies Act, 1963, Act179 staggered the penalty payment to a flat penalty monthly rate instead of the daily rate from Wednesday 1st February, 2017”.
For sole proprietorship businesses, business names must be renewed on or before January 31, 2017, so as not to have such business names inactive from the department’s database from February 2017. Also, for business names that have been deactivated, owners must pay for all the years of failed renewal before they can get back on the database.
The department has also emphasised that the exercise is free. This, however, does include for fees to be paid for renewing the Businesses or filing of Annual Returns for the number of years in default. All such payments are to be made at the Department’s on-site Bank, Fidelity Bank Limited and NOT to any individual.
As pointed by the RGD, following its publications in both the Print and the Electronic Media, some companies and individuals have cooperated, while others are still yet to.
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