‘Errant’ companies to be struck off - Registrar

The Registrar of Companies is taking steps to strike off several companies that have failed to apply for re-registration which is a requirement under the Companies Act No. 7 of 2007.

Registrar General D.K. Hettiarachchi told the Sunday Tims FT that the names of the companies to be struck off have not applied despite periodic notices in newspapers giving them six months to apply for re-registration. He said names of companies to be removed from the list were published in newspaper notices on December 4 and have still failed to submit their applications.

However several companies raised concerns that they have not received their re-registration certificates despite having applied almost two years ago, leading to problems from banks and lending institutions which require the certificate. Mr. Hettiarachchi said his office has sent out letters through registered post to the lending institutions clearly explaining the law relating to the Companies Act and the position of the companies.

He explained that around 24,000 re-registration applications have been received since May 3, 2007. According to the Act, the closing date for submitting the applications was one year after on May 2, 2008. “Although there was a closing date, we accepted applications from that date also,” he said. “We have gone through about 23,000 applications and we are reviewing and checking the figures for mistakes. If there are any, we inform the particular person who presented the application to submit clarifications and extra documents.” Mr. Hettiararchchi said from the total number of applications received, 15,183 certificates have been issued to date.

When companies apply for re-registration with their documents, the Registrar issues a receipt with the particular form number and date. Mr. Hettiarachchi said they have received complaints from companies on being asked to submit documents which he says is the responsibility of the company and should have been attached to the application itself. He added that following the periodic notices being published, around 10 or 15 applications are submitted for re-registration from the companies listed in the newspapers.