To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the basis was for the decision to abolish the three-month Companies House filing date extension for companies with overseas interests; and if he will make a statement. (152708)

I have been asked to reply.

The automatic three-month extension which companies with overseas interests could claim for filing their accounts with the registrar of companies, conferred by section 244(3) of the Companies Act 1985, was repealed by the Companies Act 1985 (International Accounting Standards and Other Accounting Amendments) Regulations 2004 (S.I. 2004/2947, regulation 9).

It was considered that this provision (which was introduced in 1976) was no longer justifiable in an era of rapid global communications, and there is no such provision in the Companies Act 2006.

Any company that anticipates real difficulty in meeting the deadline for filing accounts may apply for a discretionary extension to be granted under section 244(5) of the 1985 Act (section 442(5) of the Companies Act 2006).