# Companies (1986 Order) (Audit Exemption) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001, Regulation 3: Insertion of new Article 257AA


The following Article shall be inserted after Article 257A.
“Dormant Companies
257AA (1) Subject to Article 257B(2) to (5), a company is exempt from the provisions of this Part relating to the audit of accounts in respect of a financial year if—
(a) it has been dormant since its formation, or
(b) it has been dormant since the end of the previous financial year and paragraph (2) applies.
(2) This paragraph applies if the company—
(a) is entitled in respect of its individual accounts for the financial year in question to prepare accounts in accordance with Article 254, or would be so entitled but for the application of Article 255A(1)(a)(i) or (b), and
(b) is not required to prepare group accounts for that year.
(3) Paragraph (1) does not apply if at any time in the financial year in question the company was—
(a) a banking or insurance company, or
(b) an authorised person for the purposes of the Financial Services Act 1986.
(4) A company is “dormant” during any period in which it has no significant accounting transaction.
(5) “Significant accounting transaction” means a transaction which—
(a) is required by Article 229 to be entered in the company’s accounting records; but
(b) is not a transaction to which paragraph (6) or (7) applies.
(6) This paragraph applies to a transaction arising from the taking of shares in the company by a subscriber to the memorandum as a result of an undertaking of his in the memorandum.
(7) This paragraph applies to a transaction consisting of the payment of—
(a) a fee to the registrar on a change of name under Article 38 (change of name),
(b) a fee to the registrar on the re-registration of a company under Part III (re-registration as a means of altering a company’s status),
(c) a penalty under Article 250A (penalty for failure to deliver accounts), or
(d) a fee to the registrar for the registration of an annual return under Chapter III of Part XII.”.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/nisr/2001/153/regulation/3 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/companies-1986-order-audit-exemption-amendment-regulations-northern-ireland-2001/regulation-3
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.