Companies Act 1976

7 Transitional provisions and savings

(1) In relation to any accounting reference period of a company ending before the date on which section 1 above comes into operation, if the period allowed for laying and delivering accounts in relation to that accounting reference period determined in accordance with section 6(2) to (4) above would expire before the end of the period of three months beginning with that date, the period allowed for laying and delivering accounts in relation to that accounting reference period shall instead, subject to subsection (2) below, be treated for the purposes of sections 4 and 5 above as expiring at (and not before) the end of those three months.

(2) If for any special reason the Secretary of State thinks fit to do so, he may by notice in writing to a company extend, by such further period as may be specified in the notice, the period which in accordance with subsection (1) above is the period allowed for laying and delivering accounts in relation to any accounting reference period of the company.

(3) The repeal by this Act of section 127 of the Act of 1948 (which is superseded by section 1 above) shall not affect any duty imposed by section 127 to annex to an annual return of a company made after the coming into operation of section 1 above a copy of any balance sheet laid before the company in general meeting before the coming into operation of that section and of any related document.

(4) The substitution by section 1 (9) above of a new definition for the definition of " financial year " in section 455(1) of the Act of 1948 shall not affect the operation of the original definition in relation to a period before the beginning of a company's first accounting reference period.

(5) The substitution by section 1(10) above of a new paragraph in place of paragraph (d) of section 9(3) of the [1972 c. 68.] European Communities Act 1972 shall not affect the operation of the original paragraph (d) in relation to an annual return to which a copy of any balance sheet or related document is annexed in pursuance of section 127 of the Act of 1948.

(6) For the purposes of determining, in any proceedings under section 4 or 5 above, the date on which the first accounting reference period of a company incorporated before the coming into operation of section 1 above began—

(a) where a copy of any profit and loss account of the company which was laid before the company in general meeting before the coming into operation of section 1 above has been annexed to any annual return made by the company, it shall be presumed that no such account has been laid before the company in general meeting since the last such account so annexed was so laid and before the coming into operation of that section; and

(b) in any other case it shall be presumed that no such account has been laid before the company in general meeting since the date of the incorporation of the company and before the coming into operation of that section;

unless, in either case, the contrary is proved.

(7) No proceedings shall be instituted after the coming into operation of section 1 above for an offence under section 148 of the Act of 1948.

(8) For the purposes of subsections (3) and (5) above the following are documents related to any balance sheet laid before a company in general meeting—

(a) any such other document as is mentioned in paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section 127 of the Act of 1948 ; and

(b) any such report as is mentioned in paragraph (b) of that section.