As you are all aware, you can no longer supply your own Memorandum of Association within software created formation submissions.
We have become aware however of a number of submissions where Bespoke Articles have been selected, and where a Memorandum of Association has ALSO still been included (attached to, and in addition to, the Articles).
Companies House would be grateful if you could advise / remind your clients that this is no longer possible - the result of doing this is that a duplicate Memorandum would have been created in each case.
We do have examination procedures in place to try and intercept non-compliant documents before they are registered (and have as such rejected a number of these recently), but as stated in section 13 of the Companies Act 2006 (“the Act”), we are entitled to rely on the statement of compliance in the application to incorporate a company as sufficient evidence of compliance with the requirements of the Act. Ultimately, it is the presenter’s responsibility to make sure that documents delivered meet all the requirements for incorporation under the Act.
Where a company has been incorporated with a duplicate Memorandum, we cannot amend. We also can’t give a view about the effect of two Memorandums with different dates. We recommend that your clients seek independent legal advice as to the effect of the company having an additional Memorandum with a different completion date, and reach their own conclusions.
SDN