When the Registrar removes your company
Why this happens and how to object
The Registrar of Companies has authority to remove a company from the Companies Register if you haven't complied with your obligations under the Companies Act 1993, or if your company has been liquidated or amalgamated with another company.
If you don't meet your obligations under the Act
We can remove your company from the Companies Register if:
- you intentionally provide inaccurate information to us
- your company's directors or shareholders persistently fail to comply with duties relating to the company under the Act
- it doesn't have a director living in:
- New Zealand, or
- Australia and who is a director of a company incorporated in Australia.
Your company can also be removed if we're satisfied that you're no longer in business and there's no reason for your company to continue to be on the Companies Register. For example, we may conclude that your business is no longer operating if you don't:
- file an annual return for your company
- respond to requests for information that you must supply to us.
If your company is in liquidation
We must remove the company if:
- your liquidator has sent the final report for the liquidation, or
- no liquidator is acting for the company.
Amalgamating with another company
If your company no longer exists because of an amalgamation, we remove it from the register on the day we issue a certificate of amalgamation.
If you don't want your company removed
We send you a notice if your company is going to be removed from the register. We also publish a notice on our website.
News and
To stop the removal, within 20 working days, you must:
- comply with any conditions stated in the notice, or
- object to the removal.
If you want to apply to have your company removed
If, after the Registrar has initiated the process of removing your company, you wish to request its removal voluntarily, you’ll first need to file with us any outstanding annual returns.
Other guides in
Closing a company
- Before you close your company
- Removing your company from the register
- How to remove a company from the Overseas Register
- Objecting to the removal of a company
- Withdrawing an objection
- How companies amalgamate
- Before you apply for amalgamation
- Preparing documents for a short-form amalgamation
- Preparing documents for a long-form amalgamation
- Applying for company amalgamations