The Companies (Registrar, Languages and Trading Disclosures) Regulations 2006
The Companies (Registrar, Languages and Trading Disclosures) Regulations 2006 (the "Regulations") came into force on 1 January 2007 and implement The First Company Law Amendment Directive.
The principal practical impact of the Regulations on a day to day basis is to amend sections 349 and 351 of the Companies Act 1985 and the Limited Liability Partnerships Act 2000 so that they extend to all companies and LLP’s electronic communications and websites.
As a result, every company/LLP now requires to state its full corporate name legibly on all:
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business letters;
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order forms;
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notices and other official publications;
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cheques, promissory notes, bills of exchange, endorsements or orders for money or goods;
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invoices, receipts, letters of credit and bills and parcels; and
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all websites.
All business letters, order forms and websites must also contain legible details of the Company/LLP’s:
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place of registration;
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registered number;
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registered office address; and
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if a limited company is not required to use the word "limited" as part of its name, the fact it is a limited company;
It is important to appreciate that for these purposes such documentation includes not only a hard copy (such as a letter) but now also electronic versions (such as e-mails (including those sent from mobile devices such as a Blackberry) and faxes).
Any officer of a company who issues or any person on its behalf who authorises the issue of any document of the type mentioned above or the appearance of a website which does not comply with these provisions is liable to a fine.
It is also important to bear in mind that an officer of a company could be found personally liable for any cheque, promissory note, bill of exchange or order for money or goods in breach of these provisions of the Companies Act 1985.
Immediate Action Required
You should ensure that all relevant corporate documentation and websites comply with the amended provisions of the Companies Act 1985/Limited Liability Partnerships Act 2000. The principal checks that will be required are:
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that all business correspondence and order forms, including those sent electronically (including e-mails and faxes), contain the necessary information – in our experience many emails do not contain this information in their standard disclaimer or footer and this especially applies to e-mails sent from mobile devices such as a Blackberry; and
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that your website complies.
If you wish to discuss any aspect of these changes or you wish us to review your templates, headed notepaper, order forms and other company documentation, or carry out an audit of your website for compliance with this and other legislation (including data protection laws), then please do not hesitate to contact any member of our Corporate Group.
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