Companies Act 2014 section 850

Disqualification undertaking — initiation of procedure that provides person opportunity to submit to disqualification

Section 850 sets out the procedure by which the Corporate Enforcement Authority may offer a person the opportunity to voluntarily accept a disqualification undertaking, as an alternative to the Authority applying to court for a disqualification order.

• Where the Authority has reasonable grounds to believe that one or more of the disqualification grounds apply to a person, it may issue a formal notice to that person setting out the facts, the proposed disqualification period, and the proposed start date
• The person is given a notice period of at least 21 days in which to accept the proposed disqualification undertaking, during which time the Authority will not apply to court for a disqualification order based on those same facts
• The notice must also inform the person of their right to request an extension of the notice period, the legal consequences of accepting a disqualification undertaking, and that relief from the undertaking can only be obtained by applying to court
• If the person accepts the undertaking within the notice period by signing and returning the disqualification acceptance document, the Authority will not subsequently apply to court for a disqualification order in connection with the same underlying facts and circumstances