Striking a company off the register might sound like a clean exit from its problems. CAC's own notice suggests it is not, at least not for the penalty already owed.
Why being struck off does not erase what a company owed
A struck-off company stops being an active, filing entity. CAC's notice does not describe that as clearing any penalty the company built up while it was still on the register and still missing annual returns.
The logic follows from how the penalty already works: the company and each of its directors and officers were liable while the company was active, and nothing in the notice suggests strike-off resets that.
Who CAC says it will pursue next
CAC's notice, dated 3 Nov 2023, specifically named directors and officers of struck-off and wound-up companies as within scope for recovering unpaid penalties. That is a direct, published statement of intent, not a guess by a filing guide.
For anyone who assumed a struck-off company was a closed chapter, this is the detail that changes that assumption.
Wound-up companies get the same treatment
The notice does not separate struck-off companies from wound-up ones. Both appear in the same sentence. That suggests a formal winding-up gives no more shelter from this recovery than a plain strike-off does.
That is a meaningful detail for anyone who assumed a formal winding-up closed the book more completely than simply letting a company lapse.
What this means for a director's other companies
This article has not found a CAC statement about a penalty from one company reaching a director's other, unrelated company. CAC staying quiet on this is not proof that no such link exists.
If you sit on more than one board, and one company has a history of missed returns, raise it with a company secretary or lawyer. Do not assume the two companies are walled off from each other.
What to do if this applies to you
Start by checking whether the struck-off company's penalty history is actually documented anywhere you can see it. CAC's public search is the starting point for confirming a company's current status, and it costs nothing to look before you plan any next step.
Write down what you find, including the date you checked. That small record can matter later if the figures on the portal change or a dispute comes up.
From there, a company secretary can advise on two things: whether restoring the company is worth it, and what a director's own exposure is either way. Our guide on how many years of default lead to strike-off explains how a company reaches this point, reported at 10 consecutive years of missed filings.
For the underlying penalty figures, see the CAC annual returns hub. If the company is still active and you are trying to avoid reaching this point, you can start your CAC annual return before the backlog grows any further.