Businesses incorporated in Ontario are required to file corporate annual returns each year within six months of their financial year ends. As your business looks forward to the year ahead and begins annual filings, Caravel wanted to share some reminders with you so that your company remains up-to-date and in compliance.
It is necessary to file corporate annual returns, as mandated under the Corporations Information Act. Corporate information returns disclose basic information about your business and should not be mistaken for corporate tax returns.
Don’t forget, in order to have all of your filings up-to-date you need to file both your company’s corporate annual returns and your corporate tax returns! Doing one or the other is not sufficient to maintain compliance.
Previously, businesses had the option to file their annual returns alongside their tax returns. However, with the implementation of the new Ontario Business Registry in late 2021, annual returns must now be filed separately each year with the Ontario Business Registry. Non-compliance for failure to file annual returns is now being enforced under Ontario’s Regulations. Companies that have not brought their outstanding annual returns current are subject to default or cancellation.
If the Corporate Profile Report for your business indicates inactivity or cancellation, it may be due to outstanding annual returns. The Ontario government has released a guide to reading the Corporate Profile report.
Companies should be making the necessary inquiries to ensure their corporate compliance obligations are current to maintain an active status. Caravel offers an entity management service to track and maintain these obligations.
Trusted by over 230 companies, Caravel’s Entity Management Services leverage cutting-edge legal technology to take a digital approach to administering corporate legal work with accuracy, efficiency, and control. Using this service, Caravel is able to automate and track your compliance obligations across Canada and ensure your company’s corporate documents are legally up to date. This service allows us to auto-generate corporate documentation, send documents for signing and store them in a central repository. Our tech tracks dates and reminders in order for us to remind you of upcoming deadlines. Where more hands-on work is needed, our team of legal professionals are ready to step in and assist you through the process to guarantee that your business is up-to-date.
Some other features of our Entity Management Services include:
- Real-time dashboard of corporate entities
- Capitalization table generation
- Entity organization charts
- Virtual minute book central repository
- Share transaction records
- Option and Warrants records
- Send documents for e-signatures
Get in touch with our team today to find out more about our entity management services!