Company registration, Other Legislation : Conducting Business in Welsh

This is a short guide, which will provide you information about usage of Welsh language while conducting business with the Companies House if your company is having a registered office or a proposed registered office or a LLP (Limited Liability Partnership) located in Wales (not England and Wales). We will be referring to these companies as LLPs or Welsh for convenience. This guide will also list the several bilingual statutory forms.

1. What do the Welsh Companies and LLPs require for filing?

There are a bunch of Companies forms and Limited Liability Partnerships Forms, which have to be completed and delivered to the Registrar’s office. The information which has to be furnished while filing include details of the director, corporate director, secretary and corporate secretary, registered office address, notification of change of name, annual return, details of termination or appointment of director and secretary and plenty of other details. The company forms which have to filled up while filing include AP01c, AP02, AP03c, AP04c, CH01c, CH02c, CH03c, CH04c, TM01c, TM02c, AA01c, AR01c, SH01c, IN01c, NE01c, NM01c, AD01c, AD02c, AD03c, AD04c, AD05c, DS01c & DS02c. The Limited Liability Partnership Forms include LLAA01c, LLAD01c, LLAD02c, LLAD03c, LLAD04c, LLAD05c, LLAP01c, LLAP02c, LLCH01c, LLCH02c, LLTM01c, LLAR01c, LLDE01c, LLIN01c, LLNM01c, LLDS01c & LLDS02c.

2. Is incorporation of LLPs & Companies possible in Welsh?

Yes, it is possible, if the incorporation application shows that the registered place of business is located in Wales (remember not in “England and Wales). The applicant need not have to provide a translation of all the documents in English because the Companies House will generate a translation for the public record of the company. If you require an incorporation certificate in Welsh, the Companies House will issue it.

3. Is it possible for an existing LLP to change the site of its registered office to Wales?

Yes, it is possible for an existing company to change its registered office to Wales. If a company has its registered office at “England and Wales” it can pass a resolution to change the memorandum in order to declare that the registered office will be located at Wales. The company can then change its name from “ Public Limited Company” to a Welsh ending like “cyfyngedig or cwmni cyfyngedig cyhoeddus”.

4. What are the documents that can be delivered to the Companies House in Welsh language?

According to the Companies Act 2006 all documents related to LLPs or Welsh companies can be delivered in Welsh accompanied by an authorized English version. But there are certain exceptions, which don’t require an English translation.

5. What are the documents, which can be submitted without English translation?

The documents, which can be submitted to the Registrar without any English translation, are listed beneath:

• The Memorandum of Association
• Articles of the Company
• Report on community interest
• The Agreement
• Annual accounts
• Revised reports or accounts
• Report of the auditor on revised accounts and annual reports
• A document which is added to group accounts

It should be kept in mind that the forms, which are not prescribed bilingually, should be used as per requirements.

6. Who has the power to certify English translations?

There are certain rules and regulations regarding the certification of the English translation. The following people can do authentication and certification of the translated documents:

• Administrative receiver
• Receiver manager
• Secretary
• A director
• Administrator
• Designated member
• LLP member
• Liquidator
• Authorised signatory or judicial factor
• CIC manager who has been appointed as per s.47 of the CAICE Act 2004.
• Manager and Receiver appointed according to the Charities Act 1993

Whatever documents are delivered to the Companies House are stored as electronic image which eventually turns out to be the working document. The customer gets to see the electronic image while searching for company records online. It is suggested that the originals should be legible so that they get a clear copy of it. It is also equally important to go through the rules and regulations laid down for electronic filing.

Documents to be delivered to the Registrar must be clearly written in black ink and must be on A4 size paper. Most of the documents submitted to the Registrar do not require any fees but there are some documents for which a one-time fee may be charged.

If you want to deliver papers by post then it should be addressed to:

The Welsh Document Examiners
Companies House
Crown Way
Cardiff
CF14 3UZ

If you are keen on having an acknowledgement receipt then mention it in the cover letter and enclose an addressed and stamped envelope. The documents can be delivered by hand also.