In a report shared by Kenyans, the Registrar of Companies has issued a strict 30-day deadline to private firms that have failed to comply with legal reporting requirements. These companies are now required to provide their financial statements, tax filings, copies of active trade licences, contracts, and invoices to prove they are operating legally.
The directive was issued through an official notice dated Tuesday, April 15, and it comes as part of a wider government effort to ensure transparency and compliance among private businesses.
The notice also asked the companies to confirm in writing whether they are still active. In addition to financial documents, these firms are expected to submit any outstanding statutory documents, including annual returns and the register showing the real owners of the companies.
The Registrar of Companies instructed the affected firms to send their responses through the email compliance@brs.go.ke within the next 30 days.Failure to meet these requirements, according to the notice, will lead to serious consequences.
The Registrar mentioned that if the companies do not respond within the set period, they will face penalties as provided under Section 894(2) of the Companies Act. One of the potential penalties includes the issuance of a final warning letter followed by a public notice in the Kenya Gazette, which will lead to the removal of the company’s name from the official register.
This new directive comes after a previous letter that had already been sent out on October 17, 2024. That earlier letter had given companies one month to file their annual returns and submit the list of beneficial owners.
It was part of an effort to tighten oversight following increased cases of money laundering.
According to the government, these illegal financial activities are also linked to the funding of terrorism, making it necessary to know who owns and controls private firms.
The government also warned that if a company fails to submit this ownership information for five continuous years, it risks being permanently removed from the register.
Companies that have not filed their beneficial ownership records face a penalty of Ksh500,000, along with an additional fine of Ksh50,000 for every day they remain non-compliant.
On top of that, any firm or officer who fails to submit annual returns will be fined Ksh2,000 and Ksh100 for every extra day of delay.
The Registrar made it clear that private companies and Limited Liability Partnerships that ignore these demands will be removed from the government’s database under Section 894 of the Companies Act and Section 33A of the LLP Act.
The crackdown shows the government’s seriousness about curbing financial crimes and maintaining accountability in the private sector.