Ghana’s Office of the Registrar of Companies (ORC) has given 453 companies until mid-January to explain why they should not be struck off, while 323 others have already been dissolved.
The action affects 776 companies in total and was announced on Wednesday in Volumes 48 and 49 of the Companies Bulletin, dated Thursday, October 15. Both notices were signed by the Registrar of Companies, Maame Samma Peprah.
The 453 companies have been notified under section 289(3) of the Companies Act, 2019 (Act 992). Their names will be removed and the companies will “stand dissolved” three months after 15 October unless they can show “cause…to the contrary”.
That period is due to end on about Friday, January 15, 2027.
The 323 companies in the second notice have already been dissolved under section 289(5). They were removed after an earlier notice of intention, published in Volume 40 of the bulletin, received no response explaining why they should remain registered.
The ORC has urged the affected companies, along with their creditors, shareholders and other interested parties, to regularise their affairs where possible or contact the office for guidance.
Under section 289, the Registrar can begin the process when there is “reasonable cause to believe that the company is not carrying on business or is not in operation”.
The procedure starts with a letter asking whether the company is still operating. If there is no response within two months, a second letter is sent warning that a strike-off notice will be published after a further two months without a reply. The notice is then placed in the Companies Bulletin and a three-month countdown begins.
The companies facing removal are not all trading businesses. The list includes foundations, churches, a microfinance company and a radio station registered as companies.
The final entries in the dissolved list include the Taiwan Trade and Culture Representative Office, Taiwan-Ghana Private Trade & Investment, Formosa Development Association and Taiwan Ghana Friendship Association. The last three are registered as companies limited by guarantee.
The ORC did not give individual reasons for the removals.
In May, it announced that 318 companies were being struck off for failing to file annual returns. In January, it also began enforcing penalties against companies that had not submitted beneficial ownership information identifying the people who ultimately own or control them.
Companies can check Volumes 48 and 49 on the ORC website. The office advises users to search for the registered name and then try one distinctive word, as long names may continue on a second line and some entries contain typing errors such as “LIMTED”.
Businesses should check every company they control, own shares in or are owed money by, rather than reviewing only their main company.
Any operating company listed in Volume 48 must contact the ORC before mid-January to show cause. The office’s call centre is 0308249841, its WhatsApp and Telegram number is 059-952-5774, and its email address is info@orc.gov.gh.
Section 126 requires every company to file an annual return at least once a year. A company in default, and each responsible officer, can be fined 25 penalty units for every day the failure continues. The ORC lists the processing fee for an annual return as GH¢100.
A dissolved company can be restored only through the courts. Under section 289(7), a liquidator, former officer, member, creditor or anyone claiming through them can apply within 12 years of the strike-off notice being published.
A court may declare the dissolution void and order the company’s name to be restored to the register on terms it considers appropriate. Dissolution does not remove personal liability: section 289(6) states that the liability of every director, officer and member continues and may be enforced as if the company had not been dissolved.
A separate ORC notice issued on Wednesday concerns business names, which must be renewed annually. Names not renewed by Sunday, January 17, 2027 will be treated as lapsed and removed from the register. Continuing to trade under a cancelled name will breach the law and may lead to sanctions.
Owners can renew at any ORC office or via USSD code 222#, settle outstanding fees and update information such as their address. Those no longer using a business name can write to the Registrar to request its removal.
