{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/companies-act-1989-commencement-no-4-and-transitional-and-saving-provisions-order-1990/note",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/companies-act-1989-commencement-no-4-and-transitional-and-saving-provisions-order-1990/note.json",
  "legislation": "uksi/1990/355",
  "legislation_title": "The Companies Act 1989 (Commencement No. 4 and Transitional and Saving Provisions) Order 1990",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/companies-act-1989-commencement-no-4-and-transitional-and-saving-provisions-order-1990",
  "path": "note",
  "kind": "note",
  "number": null,
  "heading": "Explanatory note",
  "text": "(This note is not part of the Order)\nThis Order brings into force certain of the provisions of the Companies Act 1989.\nArticle 3 of this Order brings into force the provisions of Part I of the 1989 Act (Company Accounts) with the exception of:\nSection 15 (Public listed companies: provision of summary financial statement) which is already in force; and\nsections 7 (in so far as it inserts a new section 233(5) into the Companies Act 1985 (Offence where annual accounts approved which are defective)), 11 (in so far as it inserts a new section 242A into the Companies Act 1985 (Civil penalty for failure to deliver accounts)) and 12 (Remedies for failure to comply with accounting requirements), which will be brought into force by a later order.\nThe provisions of Part I commenced by this Order come into force on 1st April 1990 except for one consequential amendment to the Companies Act 1985 which comes into force on 1st August 1990.\nArticles 6 to 9 of, and Schedules 2 and 3 to, the Order set out a number of transitional and saving provisions which relate to the commencement of Part I. Most importantly, with certain exceptions, the existing rules relating to the accounts and reports of companies will continue to have effect for financial years of a company commencing prior to 23rd December 1989 instead of the amended provisions inserted by the Companies Act 1989. Saving provisions are made to ensure the continuity of the law between the old and the new Part VII of the Companies Act 1985.\nArticle 4 of this Order brings into force, in Part V (Other amendments of company law), sections 113 to 117 (De-regulation of private companies), 118 to 124 (Appointment and removal of auditors and related matters), 131 (Member’s rights to damages, &c), 132 (Financial assistance for purposes of employees' share scheme), 136 (A company’s registered office), 137 (Effecting of insurance for officers and auditors of company) and certain minor amendments made by section 145 and Schedule 19.These minor amendments are those made by paragraphs 15 and 16 (Exemptions from limit of 20 on members of partnership), 17 (meaning of “officer who is in default”), and 18 (Offences committed by partnerships and other unincorporated bodies) of Schedule 19.All these provisions come into force on 1st April 1990.\nArticles 11 and 12 to 14 of the Order set out certain transitional or saving provisions relating to sections 115, 118 to 124, 131, 136 and 137 of the 1989 Act.\nArticle 5 of this Order brings into force section 212 and Schedule 24, which set out the repeals of enactments made by the 1989 Act, to the extent (with certain exceptions) that they relate to the other provisions of the Act brought into force by this Order on the date those provisions come into force, 1st April 1990.\nArticle 15 of this Order inserts a reference to the actual date of commencement into a provision of he new Part VII of the Companies Act 1985.\nArticle 16 of this Order revokes a reference in article 7(d) of the Companies Act 1989 (Commencement No.2) Order 1990 which purports (due to a clerical error) to commence a reference to a repeal in the repeals Schedule to the 1989 Act which does not in fact exist.The correct reference to the repeal is commenced by article 5(e) of this Order with effect from 1st March 1990, though the repeal is already made by virtue of section 76(8) of the 1989 Act commenced by article 4 of the Companies Act 1989 (Commencement No. 2) Order 1990.\nArticle 17 revokes, with effect from 1st April 1990, the transitional provisions relating to section 15 of the 1989 Act in article 8 of the Companies Act 1989 (Commencement No.2) Order 1990 (which has been superseded by the transitional provisions in this Order).",
  "extent": null,
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1990/355/note",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T15:26:48.493330+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}