Companies Act 2006

479 Availability of small companies exemption in case of group company U.K.

(1) A company is not entitled to the exemption conferred by section 477 (small companies) in respect of a financial year during any part of which it was a group company unless—

[F1 (a) the group—

(i) qualifies as a small group in relation to that financial year, and

(ii) was not at any time in that year an ineligible group, or]

(b) subsection (3) applies.

(2) F2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(3) A company is not excluded by subsection (1) if, throughout the whole of the period or periods during the financial year when it was a group company, it was both a subsidiary undertaking and dormant.

(4) In this section—

(a) “group company” means a company that is a parent company or a subsidiary undertaking, and

(b) “the group”, in relation to a group company, means that company together with all its associated undertakings.

For this purpose undertakings are associated if one is a subsidiary undertaking of the other or both are subsidiary undertakings of a third undertaking.

(5) For the purposes of this section—

(a) whether a group qualifies as small shall be determined in accordance with section 383 (companies qualifying as small: parent companies);

(b) “ineligible group” has the meaning given by section 384(2) and (3);

(c) F3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(d) F3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(e) F3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(6) The provisions mentioned in subsection (5) apply for the purposes of this section as if all the bodies corporate in the group were companies.

Textual Amendments

F1 S. 479(1)(a) substituted (1.10.2012 with application in accordance with reg. 2 of the amending S.I.) by The Companies and Limited Liability Partnerships (Accounts and Audit Exemptions and Change of Accounting Framework) Regulations 2012 (S.I. 2012/2301), regs. 1, 5(a)

F2 S. 479(2) omitted (1.10.2012 with application in accordance with reg. 2 of the amending S.I.) by virtue of The Companies and Limited Liability Partnerships (Accounts and Audit Exemptions and Change of Accounting Framework) Regulations 2012 (S.I. 2012/2301), regs. 1, 5(b)

F3 S. 479(5)(c)(d)(e) omitted (1.10.2012 with application in accordance with reg. 2 of the amending S.I.) by virtue of The Companies and Limited Liability Partnerships (Accounts and Audit Exemptions and Change of Accounting Framework) Regulations 2012 (S.I. 2012/2301), regs. 1, 5(c)

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 Ss. 475-481 applied (with modifications) (1.10.2009) by The Unregistered Companies Regulations 2009 (S.I. 2009/2436), regs. 3-5, Sch. 1 para. 11 (with transitional provisions and savings in regs. 7, 9, Sch. 2)

C2 Ss. 477-479 applied (with modifications) (1.10.2008) by The Limited Liability Partnerships (Accounts and Audit) (Application of Companies Act 2006) Regulations 2008 (S.I. 2008/1911), reg. 34 (as amended (1.10.2012 with application in accordance with reg. 2 of the amending S.I.) by S.I. 2012/2301, regs. 1, 20(3), as amended (E.W.S.) (1.10.2018) by The Occupational Pension Schemes (Master Trusts) Regulations 2018 (S.I. 2018/1030), regs. 1(2), 31(4) and as amended (31.12.2020) by The Statutory Auditors and Third Country Auditors (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/177), regs. 2, 50(a); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1))