Companies Office Reviews Fees - Ministry Media Release
[ Last Updated 30 April 2007 ]
Short Description
The Companies Office has announced that following a review of their fee structure some fees will change later this year.
The Companies Office has announced today that following a review of their fee structure some fees will change later this year.
Justin Hygate, group manager Business Registries, said "The Companies Office has been deliberately operating at a loss for the past few years with the aim of returning past surpluses to stakeholders. These surpluses are now virtually depleted and the fees need to be increased back to a cost recovery level."
From 1 July 2007 the fee to incorporate a company over the internet will be increased from $50 to $150. A fee of $250 will apply where documents for incorporation are lodged in paper.
"The incorporation fee is effectively a one-off lifetime fee for a company as there will continue to be no fee for an online annual return," said Mr Hygate.
The fee changes still see New Zealand positioned well compared to its international counterparts. The incorporation fee in Australia starts at $NZ454 while in Hong Kong it can cost up to $NZ6,000. Added to these costs are annual return fees which take the total costs of ownership of a company well beyond just the incorporation fee in these countries.
There are other fee changes too. The fee to view documents on the Companies Register will be removed making it free to view all of the information on a company held on the register.
Re-registration of a Personal Property Securities Register financing statement will be reduced from $5 to $3.
The fee to file financial accounts will be increased from $100 to $250. This fee increase results from a decrease in the volume of companies who have to file financial statements and will affect around 5000 companies.
New Zealand is ranked number 3 in the world for ease of starting a business and these fee changes are unlikely to negatively affect this ranking.
Back to Top