The Companies (Northern Ireland) Order 1986 (revoked)

Registrar may strike defunct company off registerF2 N.I.

603.—(1) If the registrar has reasonable cause to believe that a company is not carrying on business or in operation, he may send to the company by post a letter inquiring whether the company is carrying on business or in operation.

(2) If the registrar does not within one month of sending the letter receive any answer to it, he shall within 14 days after the expiration of that month send to the company by registered post or recorded delivery service a letter referring to the first letter, and stating that no answer to it has been received, and that if an answer is not received to the second letter within one month from its date, a notice will be published in the Belfast Gazette with a view to striking the company's name off the register

(3) If the registrar either receives an answer to the effect that the company is not carrying on business or in operation, or does not within one month after sending the second letter receive any answer, he may publish in the Belfast Gazette, and send to the company by post, a notice that at the expiration of 3 months from the date of that notice the name of the company mentioned in it will, unless cause is shown to the contrary, be struck off the register and the company will be dissolved.

(4) If, in a case where a company is being wound up, the registrar has reasonable cause to believe either that no liquidator is acting, or that the affairs of the company are fully wound up, and the returns required to be made by the liquidator have not been made for a period of 6 consecutive months, the registrar shall publish in the Belfast Gazette and send to the company or the liquidator (if any) a like notice as is provided in paragraph (3).

(5) At the expiration of the time mentioned in the notice the registrar may, unless cause to the contrary is previously shown by the company, strike its name off the register, and shall publish notice of this in the Belfast Gazette; and on the publication of that notice in the Belfast Gazette the company is dissolved.

(6) However—

(a )F1 the liability (if any) of every director, managing officer and member of the company continues and may be enforced as if the company has not been dissolved, and

(b) nothing in paragraph (5) or sub-paragraph (a) affects the power of the court to wind up a company the name of which has been struck off the register.

(7) A notice to be sent to a liquidator under this Article may be addressed to him at his last known place of business; and a letter or notice to be sent under this Article to a company may be addressed to the company at its registered office, or if no office has been registered, to the care of some officer of the company.

If there is no officer of the company whose name and address are know to the registrar, the letter or notice may be sent to each of the persons who subscribed the memorandum, addressed to him at the address mentioned in the memorandum.

F1 mod. by SR 2004/307

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 Art. 603(2) modified (prosp.) by Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2008 (c. 12), ss. 95(4), 185(1)

F2 Order repealed (prosp.) by Companies Act 2006 (c. 46), ss. 1284(2), 1295, 1300(2), Sch. 16 and the repeal being partly in force, as to which see individual Articles (with savings (with adaptations) by Companies Act 2006 (Commencement No. 6, Saving and Commencement Nos. 3 and 5 (Amendment)) Order 2008 (S.I. 2008/674), arts. 2(3), {4}, Sch. 2) and subject to amendments (6.4.2008) by Companies Act 2006 (Consequential Amendments etc) Order 2008 (S.I. 2008/948), arts. 2(2), 3(1)(b)(2), Sch. 1 paras. 135, 147, 148 {Sch. 2 Note 1} (with arts. 6, 11, 12) and subject to amendments (6.4.2008) by S.R. 2008/133, {regs. 2, 3}