What happens after a company is struck off?
After the Registrar strikes a company off, its name is off the register and it is dissolved. It cannot contract or carry on business as that company. The way the name is removed is on the strike-off page. Dissolution does not, by itself, pay the creditors or hand the assets to the members.
What is the company’s status?
“Struck off” on the register means the name has been removed. Banks, vendors, and the tax authorities see a company that is not active. Annual forms are not a way to keep trading after that order. A company that is only behind on filings, and is still on the register, is not struck off yet. Those filings are on the annual compliances page.
Who remains liable?
Section 248(7) says the liability of every director, manager, or other officer, and of every member, continues and may be enforced as if the company had not been dissolved. That preserves liabilities that already existed. It does not make a director the guarantor of every trade debt. A director who was disqualified for not filing for three continuous years is a separate rule, on the annual compliances page.
What happens to assets?
The company should have extinguished its liabilities before it applied. Property that is left when a company is dissolved can vest in the government as unclaimed property. It is not automatically sold and divided among the members. A creditor who was not dealt with can ask the Tribunal to restore the company so the claim can be pursued.
Can the company be restored?
Yes. Section 252 lets a person aggrieved by the removal apply to the Tribunal within three years. Where the Registrar is satisfied the name was removed inadvertently, the Registrar may also apply within three years. A company, member, creditor, or workman may apply before twenty years expire from the notice of dissolution, if the company was carrying on business or was in operation. Restoration puts the name back. It is not the same as incorporating a new company.
Frequently asked questions
Four questions cover trading, directors’ liability, restoration, and the old name.
Can the company keep trading after its name is removed?
No. It is not on the register and cannot carry on business as that company.
Do directors become personally liable for every company debt?
The liabilities of directors and officers that could already be enforced continue as if the company had not been dissolved. Strike-off does not create a new personal guarantee of every debt.
Is restoration impossible?
No. Section 252 lets an aggrieved person apply to the Tribunal. A company, member, creditor, or workman can also apply where the company was carrying on business or was in operation.
Can the same name be used for a new company the next day?
Only if the Registrar approves that name under the name rules. Strike-off does not reserve the name for the old members.
Sources
The effect of removal is section 248. Restoration is section 252.