reviewed-by
Reviewed by
Chris Andersen
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Reviewed by Chris Andersen

Chris became an Insolvency Practitioner in 2014 and is currently regulated by the IPA.

He is experienced in contentious insolvency with excellent analytical skills and strong knowledge of both general and technical insolvency matters.

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28th November 2022

You’ve received a letter stating that HMRC is objecting to the striking off a company of which you are a director from the Companies Register.

The first question you will probably ask is what does this mean and what can you do?

Read on for the answers but you may also want to call, email or us or speak to us via live chat. We are highly experienced in helping directors in your situation.

Contents
  1. What is an Objection to a Striking off Application?
  2. Did You Inform Creditors?
  3. What Should you do if you Receive an Objection from HMRC?
  4. Requirements for Striking off a Dormant Company
    1. Need HMRC Arrears Advice?

What is an Objection to a Striking off Application?

Objection to a Striking off Application means that, while a company owes HMRC outstanding tax, HMRC won’t let the company be struck off the register before it makes these payments.

Any creditor may also object and request that the striking of action be suspended until any outstanding liabilities have been paid. If this happens you will receive a letter informing you that the Compulstory Strike off is suspended.

Did You Inform Creditors?

If you’ve applied to have your company struck off the register using the form DS01, you should have sent a copy of the application to all of the company’s creditors within 7 days of filing the application with Companies House. Even if you didn’t notify HMRC, Companies House automatically publishes the details of all companies applying to be struck off from the register in The Gazette.

The purpose of this process is to alert creditors to any applications from debtor companies applying to be dissolved / struck off and to enable the creditors to ensure the company pays any outstanding debts before it is dissolved.

What Should you do if you Receive an Objection from HMRC?

The simplest answer is that you will need to arrange to repay any outstanding taxes with HMRC before they will allow the company to be struck off the register.

If you disagree with the amount of outstanding tax specified in the objection letter, you should contact HMRC to discuss this further.

If the company cannot meet its outstanding tax liabilities (for example, where the company can’t pay its corporation tax bill), it is insolvent and liquidation rather than striking-off will be the appropriate way to close the company. If this is the case, then the application for the company to be struck-off should be withdrawn and you should seek company liquidation advice about the most appropriate way to terminate the company.

Requirements for Striking off a Dormant Company

Be aware that you should be careful about the actions the company takes to provide funds for repaying the outstanding taxes as it may be that actions taken would render it ineligible for being struck off. One example is if the company were deemed to be trading again, the application would have to be withdrawn as one of the requirements for a company being struck off the register is that it should be dormant and not traded for a period prior to its removal.

Need HMRC Arrears Advice?

We understand that this is a tricky area, which can be difficult to understand, yet it is important that you get it right or you might face difficulties later on. For company debt help, HMRC arrears advice or about dissolving or liquidating a company, speak with one of our specialist team members today on 0800 074 6757. Alternatively, use the live support facility at the bottom of the page to get an answer fast.