How to Avoid 2 Common ASIC Late Fees and Save an Easy $333

As an accountant, you start to see patterns, and this is no different from small business owners continually penalised with ASIC late fees.

The two most common ASIC late fees we see clients receive are late lodgement penalties for annual statement review fees and late lodgement of change of detail penalties for your company.

In this guide, I'm going to show you how you can avoid these two common ASIC late fees:

What are ASIC late fees?

ASIC late fees apply if you do not lodge changes or pay your annual fee on time:

• Payment up to one month is $80
• Payment more than one month late is $333

ASIC Annual Statement Review Late Fees

This is an annual review for companies that are incorporated in Australia and comply with the ASIC's regulatory and reporting requirements.

Each year, ASIC will send through your company's annual statement within a few days of your company's review date.

This generally falls in line with their date of registration or incorporation. These are typically sent through one of the following methods:

• Online inbox if you have registered to use ASIC's online lodgement systems
• The mailing address of your registered agent of the company
• Your company's nominated mailing address
• Your company's registered office, if none of the above is applicable

What is included in the annual statement?

The annual statement will contain:

• A statement of your company's current details
• Invoice for your company annual review fee
• Your company's corporate key

Here's an example of what it looks like.

How do I avoid being penalised with an ASIC late fee?

1. Ensure you pay the invoice for the company annual review fee by the due date

2. Ensure you check details on the annual statement carefully.

If any details are incorrect or you have made changes to company details, then you will need to lodge these changes online, by lodging a Change to company details (Form 484).

Feb 2020: Note that Form 484 is no longer available. Instead, all changes must now be made online. Visit this ASIC page for instructions on how you can do this.

You will need your corporate key to make these changes online, located on your most recent annual statement. Failure to lodge changes within 28 days of the annual statement issue date will result in the ASIC late fees shown above. It's possible to be charged both a late lodgement fee and a late review fee.

3. Finally, a solvency resolution must be passed and stored by the company directors within two months of the annual review date, unless you have lodged a financial report with ASIC in the past 12 months.

This essentially is a resolution made by the directors of a company that, in their opinion, the company can or cannot pay back its debts when they are due. This can be either two outcomes:

- Positive solvency resolution - passed when directors believe that the company will be able to pay its debts when they are due

- Negative solvency resolution - passed when directors think that the company is unable to pay its debts when they are due. 

Changes to Company Details & ASIC Late Fees

While you only receive one annual statement each year, changes to your company details must be lodged as they occur to avoid a late lodgement fee.

Changes may include:

• Registered office
• Principal place of business
• Ultimate holding company
• Officeholders
• Company share structure
• Members

How do I avoid being penalised with an ASIC late fee?

Any changes must be lodged within 28 days of the changes being made.

If any company details have changed, then you will need to lodge these changes online, by lodging a Change to company details (Form 484). Again, you will need to ensure you have your corporate key to lodge these changes online.

Key Takeaways

Being aware of these deadlines and scheduling this in is vital in ensuring that late fees don't hit you.

For many companies, having a company secretary or a designated director to oversee the administrative compliance of regulatory requirements is necessary to ensure that you aren't in breach of any.

Box Advisory Services can assist in these lodgements and ensuring that any changes made with your company are being lodged appropriately with ASIC as well as other governing bodies.

To find out more information, simply get in touch with me for a free initial consultation.

Disclaimer:

Please note that every effort has been made to ensure that the information provided in this guide is accurate. You should note, however, that the information is intended as a guide only, providing an overview of general information available to contractors and small businesses. This guide is not intended to be an exhaustive source of information and should not be seen to constitute legal or tax advice. You should, where necessary, seek your own advice for any legal or tax issues raised in your business affairs.