The Registrar of Companies has issued an announcement regarding the requirement for limited partnerships to submit audited annual financial statements. Law 146(I) of 2011 introduced new provisions into the Partnership and Business Names Law, Cap. 116, requiring the submission of audited annual financial statements by partnerships whose partners include:

(a)    limited liability companies incorporated under the Companies Law, 
(b)    companies incorporated in EU member states within the meaning of section 2 of the Companies Law
(c)    companies incorporated in other countries, that have the same legal form as those in (a) and (b) above;
(d)    partnerships incorporated under the Partnership and Business Names Law; and
(e)    partnerships and private companies of other EU member states, stipulated in article 64A (1) (e) of the Partnership and Business Names Law.

These partnerships are required to prepare audited annual financial statements in accordance with the Companies Law in the same way as limited companies and submit them to the Registrar of Companies within six months after the end of each financial year. This obligation applies to the year 2012 and subsequent years.

Failure to comply with these requirements is a criminal offence punishable by a fine, imprisonment for up to a year, or both, together with a default fine for every day the breach of the law continues.

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