Ignore calls from individuals for business name renewal – RGD

The Registrar General’s Department (RGD) on Monday called on the public to disregard any call by persons or individuals demanding monies from companies to renew their business names and pay penalty for non-filing of annual returns.

The RGD said it had not authorised any group of persons or individuals to collect monies from companies on its behalf to renew their business names or pay any penalty.

A statement signed by Mrs Jemima M. Oware, the Registrar-General, and copied to the Ghana News Agency, said: “It has come to the attention of the Registrar Generals’ Department that some faceless persons are calling some owners of companies and businesses requesting them to send various sums of money through a mobile money account in order to renew their business names and also pay their penalty for non-filing of annual returns.”

It noted that the Department does not interact with defaulting client through such means but rather through publication in the print or electronics media as well as sending text messages to notify clients.

The statement said the RGD had, therefore, taken steps to investigate the matter in order to bring the perpetraters to book.

It, however, reminded companies, partnership and businesses that have not filed their Annual or Nil Returns and Group Account of External Companies that were registered as far back as 1963 to 2018 to do so on or before Tuesday, April 30, 2019.

“Additionally, all Directors, Secretaries and Shareholders of Companies that have not updated their records into the new database e-Registrar are expected to obtain individual Tax Identification Number (TIN) from the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), as well as update the company records at the Department.”

Section 122 (1 and 2) of the Companies Act, 1963, (Act 179), stated “that a Company shall file its Annual Returns 18 months after Incorporation and once, at least in every year thereafter”

The statement said under section 6(1) of the Incorporated Private Partnerships Act, 1962, “once every year the Partners shall deliver to the Registrar of Partnership a statement in the Prescribed form renewing the registration so sole Proprietors must note that non-renewal of their Business Names has rendered the Business Name inactive in our database effective January 2, 2019 and not in good standing.”

It said the RGD’s main objective of issuing the statement was to ensure compliance of the Companies Act 179 and not to punish businesses.

It said all businesses who wish to be in good standing in the RGD’s Register for Business should make every effort to comply timeously with the directive.

The statement said all payments should be made at the Department’s on-site Bank, Fidelity Bank Limited and not to any individuals of group of persons.