GHANA: Enforcement of Company Obligations

August 17, 2016


The Ghanaian Registrar of Companies has announced that from this month, any local company that fails to file their Annual Return or renew their company registration will be liable for monetary penalties. This also applies to companies that registered with the Registrar General”s Department (RGD) before October 2011; they are now required to re-register.

The monetary penalty for failing to fulfil these requirements is a maximum of 300 Ghanaian New Cedi (approximately $76 USD) per day, from 1st August 2016 up to 31st December 2016, after which date any company that does not comply with the requirements will be removed from the Registry”s records. Therefore, it is in the best interests of any company that is not up to date with its reporting to complete the following as soon as possible:

  • All companies are required by the Companies Act to file their first Annual Return within eighteen months of incorporation and once every year thereafter
  • The Incorporated Private Partnership Act also requires that company partners submit a statement renewing the registration of their partnership once every year

The RGD has also requested all companies incorporated and registered in Ghana prior to October 2011 to re-register as part of an ongoing e-Government Project which seeks to network the RGD and the Ghana Revenue Authority for the purposes of operational efficiency and effectiveness. This process usually takes three weeks.

Advice

All companies registered in Ghana should complete their company registration and file their Annual Returns as soon as possible to avoid fines. Ample time should be afforded for processing delays to ensure that this is completed before 31st December 2016 or the company risks being erased from the Registry”s records completely.

Company partners should make certain that the partnership registration has been renewed, and businesses that were registered before October 2011 should ensure that their re-registration process is completed prior to 31st December 2016.

For further information on this topic, or on Ghanaian immigration in general, please email us at [email protected].