Companies Act 2014 section 47

Liability for use of incorrect company name

Section 47 deals with offences arising from the failure to correctly display a company's name on its seal, business documents, and financial instruments, and the personal liability that can follow.

• It is a criminal offence (category 4) for a company officer or representative to use a company seal that does not clearly show the company's name in legible characters.
• It is equally an offence to issue business letters, notices, official publications, invoices, receipts, or letters of credit without the company's name being properly displayed as required by section 49.
• Signing or authorising bills of exchange, promissory notes, cheques, or orders for money or goods without the company's name correctly shown also constitutes an offence and can give rise to personal liability.
• Where a financial instrument is issued without the correct company name, the officer or person responsible may be personally liable to the holder for the amount, unless the company pays it or the court decides that imposing liability on the company alone would cause no injustice.