Every BC company has a small filing due with BC Registries each year, tied to the anniversary of when it was incorporated. The fee is $43.39. Miss it two years in a row and the company can be dissolved.
When it's due
Under section 51 of BC's Business Corporations Act, a company has to file an annual report with the registrar every year, within 2 months after each anniversary of the date the company was recognized. BC's own page puts it as within 2 months of the anniversary of the company's incorporation, amalgamation, extraprovincial registration or continuation into BC. The information in the report has to be current as of that most recent anniversary.
So a company incorporated on March 10 files each year in the two months after March 10, with its information as it stood on March 10. The date has nothing to do with your fiscal year end.
How to file it
- Most companies file through Corporate Online. You'll need the access code from your annual report reminder, or the company password.
- Benefit companies, and other companies incorporated in the BC Business Registry (including ones moved over from Corporate Online), file through the BC Business Registry instead.
- You can pay by credit card or pre-authorized debit card, or through a BC OnLine account.
- If you can't file electronically, BC says to prepare the paper forms and have a lawyer, notary or other service provider submit them. They may charge their own fee.
Financial statements and meeting minutes don't get filed with the annual report. Keep them with the company's other records at the registered office. You can ask for a yearly reminder email through Corporate Online, and for benefit companies the reminder is set up automatically and goes to the registered office email address.
What happens if you don't file
BC's registrar can dissolve a corporation that doesn't file its annual report for two consecutive years, or that doesn't file another return, notice or document the Act requires. Dissolution notices go out in batches. If you get one, file the overdue annual reports as the notice tells you to. If the company has received a dissolution notice but you want to keep operating, you can request a delay of dissolution through Corporate Online. Benefit companies ask BC Registries directly.
Being behind causes other problems before it gets that far. A company has to be up to date with its annual reports to change its name or amalgamate, and to get an extension on its annual general meeting. A dissolved company can sometimes be restored, either for a limited period of up to 2 years to finish specific business (like tax issues or moving assets out of the company's name) or in full, and some situations need a court application. It's far easier to keep the reports current.
Keeping company details current
The annual report isn't the only filing that keeps your record accurate. A BC company must keep a registered office and a records office in BC. When your directors change, or a director's address changes, the company has to file a notice of change of directors within 15 days. That filing is $20 through Corporate Online. Other changes, like a new office address, are made through Corporate Online or the BC Business Registry, or on BC's paper forms.
It's separate from your T2
The annual report goes to the province and says nothing about income or tax. Your corporate tax return goes to the CRA. All resident corporations, apart from a few exceptions like registered charities, have to file a T2 for every tax year even if no tax is owing, and that includes inactive companies. The T2 is due within six months of the end of the company's tax year. Filing one doesn't take care of the other, so both dates belong on your calendar (see our tax due dates page).
How we help
Corporate registry filing is one of the other filings we handle, alongside the year end, the corporate return and the planning that goes with them. If you're still deciding whether a company is worth having at all, our consulting work covers incorporation versus staying a sole proprietor.