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How the new legislation affects a company's website and emails

In response to recent changes in the legislation governing companies in the United Kingdom, we would like to inform our clients of the new statutory disclosure requirements as they relate to a company's stationery, website, order forms, and emails, and to offer advice on how companies can comply with these new requirements. Companies which no not comply with the statutory requirements will be in breach of the Companies Act 2006, and will face the possibility of fines.

Information to be included in emails

It is a statutory requirement for a company to state its name, its place of registration, its registered number, and its registered office address on all business stationery, including order forms. Provisions have been introduced by the new legislation governing companies in the United Kingdom, the Companies Act 2006, to extend this requirement to electronic stationery and correspondence.

In order to comply with the provisions of the new legislation, we recommend that you include the name, place of registration, registered number, and registered office address of your company in all of your business emails. This can be easily achieved by including these details in your company's email template as a footer. If you already include a confidentiality notice or disclaimer in your emails, the details of your company can be included with this information.

Information to be included on websites

The following information need not appear on every page. Most company website will already contain some, if not all, of this information, but it is important to ensure that all of this information is present, legible, and easily accessible.

At minimum, the following information must be included on a company's website:

• the name of the company
• the place of registration of the company
• the company's registered number
• the company's registered office address

Additional requirements for certain companies

There are additional requirements for certain companies; they are as follows:

• if a trading name is being used, both it, and the official registered name of the company must be included, and the difference between the names must be explained
• if a company is being wound up, this fact must be stated
• if a company is an investment company, this fact must be stated
• if the company is a member of a professional or trade association, the details of such a membership must be stated
• if the business has a VAT number, this should be stated
• any prices stated on the website must be clear and unambiguous, and it should be made clear whether or not the prices include VAT and delivery costs

Added: 10/02/2007