Article

Companies Act 2006 - New disclosure requirements for company websites and email

These new requirements are part of the process of company reform that has led to the passing of the Companies Act 2006, which was discussed in the January edition of Business Law. They relate to the information which electronic companies are now required by law to make available on their websites and in other communications.

The Background

United Kingdom companies have been obliged to make disclosure of certain information relating to them for over 20 years. For example, the Business Names Act 1985 requires companies to incorporate their business name in all business documents issued by them. The most recent changes, which came into force on 1st January 2007, affect company websites, business letters and order forms. By virtue of regulations linking company law and the law relating to limited liability partnerships, the changes also affect LLPs.

Details of the changes

All companies registered in the United Kingdom must now include on their websites and on all hard copy or electronic business letters and order forms:

= the company’s name and its trading name, if it has one
= its place of registration and the number with which it is registered
= the address of its registered office (and please note that PO Box addresses are not
permitted)
= in the case of an investment company, the fact that it is an investment company
= where a company’s share capital is referred to, the reference must be to its paidup
share capital
= in the case of a company that is being wound up, the fact that it is being wound up
= the company’s VAT number, whether it is a member of any trade or professional
body and a contact email address.

Things to note

A company must also disclose its name on virtually every other document that it issues, such as notices, official publications, bills of exchange, promissory notes and orders for money or goods purporting to be signed by or on behalf of the company. The obligation applies both to existing and new companies, LLPs and to registered branches of foreign companies. Where a website relates to an overseas business, the regulations apply to those parts of the site relating to business in the United Kingdom.

Conclusion

It is already relatively common to see most, if not all, of this information within the footer of a company’s emails and on its websites. This means that in many instances the practical steps which a company will need to take in order to ecomply with the regulations should be fairly limited. Nevertheless, it would be prudent for companies to verify that they are compliant with the regulations, not least because failure can result in a fine, both for the company and for any officers responsible for the non-compliance.

For further enquiries please contact James Partridge (view full profile) on 01892 701280 or email james.partridge@ts-p.co.uk.

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