After section 167M of the Companies Act 2006 (inserted by section 43 of this Act) insert—

“167NProhibition on acting unless directorship notified

(1)

This section applies where—

(a)

a person has become a director of a company otherwise than on its incorporation, and

(b)

notice under section 167G of the person having done so has not been given within the period mentioned in subsection (6) of that section.

(2)

The person may not act as a director of the company until notice is given under section 167G.

(3)

A person who contravenes subsection (2) commits an offence.

(4)

Where the offence is committed by a firm, every officer of the firm who is in default also commits the offence.

(5)

It is a defence for a person charged with an offence under this section to prove that they reasonably believed that notice had been given under section 167G.

(6)

A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable on summary conviction—

(a)

in England and Wales, to a fine;

(b)

in Scotland or Northern Ireland, to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale and, for continued contravention, a daily default fine not exceeding one-tenth of level 5 on the standard scale.

(7)

The only consequence of a contravention of subsection (2) is the offence provided for by this section (so that, for example, a contravention does not in any way affect the validity of a person’s acts as a director).”