The Office of the Registrar of Companies (ORC) has begun a sensitization drive to encourage institutions and business owners to engage their services.
The ORC, carved out of the Registrar General’s Department, will handle the registration of businesses such as private-public companies limited and unlimited by shares, private-public companies limited by guarantee, including churches, schools, non-governmental organisations, civil society organisations, associations, unions, external companies and professional bodies.
Officials of the state agency, on Wednesday 19 April, marched through the principal streets of Kumasi to educate such institutions on its mandate.
A chief state attorney at the Ashanti Regional Office of the registrar of companies, Nana Ama Akyiaa Prempeh spoke to Asaase Radio on the sidelines of the event.
She stated that many companies fail to renew their certificates or file their annual returns due to a lack of qualified officers.
She said, “There are responsibilities for businesses when they register. Sole proprietors are supposed to renew every year and companies are to file their annual returns every year, just so we know that your business or company is in good health.
“So, from June, it is nationwide: we are going to strike off 500,000 companies which have not renewed their businesses, and companies which have not filed their annual returns.”
Prempeh said the new act has made provisions to address such issues as the office will only register companies with qualified officers including directors and secretaries who will meet the necessary criteria.
She said, “One of the new things that this new act has brought about is that we want qualified personnel to man the companies, so a secretary for instance needs to have a qualification in company law or must have studied something relative to that because a secretary actually ensures that the company complies with the provisions in the act.”
Highlighting the penalties for defaulters, Prempeh urged all entities to renew their certificates to avoid any inconveniences.
She said, “The law says that they are supposed to pay GHC300 a day for each day that they default but the office has been generous, we had a flat rate of GHC600 as a penalty for those who haven’t filed their annual returns, but come June we are going to enforce the law to the latter. Meanwhile it costs just GHC90 to file your annual returns and GHC60 to renew your business.
“We are sending the message out that it is important to register your business if you are involved in any endeavour that is related to trading otherwise.”
Reporting by Irene Pomaa Kumi in the Ashanti Region
Asaase Radio 99.5 broadcasts on radio via 99.5 in Accra, 98.5 in Kumasi, 99.7 in Tamale, 100.3 in Cape Coast and on our affiliates Bawku FM 101.5 in Bawku, Beats FM 99.9 in Bimbilla, Somua FM 89.9 in Gushegu, Stone City 90.7 in Ho, Mining City 89.5 in Tarkwa and Wale FM 106.9 in Walewale
Tune in or log on to broadcasts online: www.asaaseradio.com, Sound Garden and TuneIn
Follow us on Twitter: @asaaseradio995
Live streaming: facebook.com/asaaseradio99.5. Also on YouTube: Asaase Radio Official.
Join the conversation. Call: 020 000 9951 or 059 415 7777. Or WhatsApp: 020 000 0995.
#AsaaseRadio
#TheVoiceofOurLand
