Annual Return The Annual Return provides a snapshot of the constitution of the company at a certain date for inclusion on the public register. It is a statutory filing requirement for all UK Limited Companies and LLP’s, and needs to be filed at Companies House every 12 months, even if the details remain unchanged. Confirmation Statement With effect from 30^th June 2016, the Annual Return will be replaced by the Confirmation Statement. This has been  introduced as part of the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment (SBEE) Act 2015. The Confirmation Statement will serve the same purpose as the Annual Return, providing up-to-date information on the constitution of the company. It needs to be filed at least once a year, but can be filed more often if information needs to be updated. If filing online, then you only need to ‘check and confirm’ that the corporate details held at Companies House and displayed on public record are correct. If filed in hard copy, then all of the information needs to be repeated and entered on to the hard copy form again. The filing fee for the confirmation statement is the same as for the Annual Return, being £13 if filed online and £40 if filed in hard copy. The main difference between the Annual Return and the Confirmation Statement is the new requirement to report People with Significant Control, as part of the Confirmation Statement. The filing period has also been reduced from 28 days allowed with the Annual Return, to 14 days for the Confirmation Statement. Register of People with Significant Control (PSC) Under the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment (SBEE) Act 2015, Limited Companies and LLP’s now need to maintain a Register of People with Significant Control. This register has been introduced to improve transparency, by making it clear who owns and controls the business. When filing the Confirmation Statement, the majority of Limited Companies and LLP’s will have to submit information about PSC’s. The date of birth and address of PSC’s will not be accessible to the public. A PSC is someone who meets at least one of the five following requirements:

• They hold more than 25% of the company’s voting rights
• They own more than 25% of the company’s issued shares
• They have the power to appoint or remove the majority of the board of directors
• They have the right to exercise significant influence or control over the company
• They have the right to exercise control over a company or trust that meets one of the other four conditions