asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce the reason for the substantial increase which he recently imposed in fees payable on the registration of a company.
Written Answers. - Company Registration Fees.
32.
The fees charged for the registration of companies, prior to the recent increases, were last fixed in 1908. They had long ceased to bear any relationship to the cost to the State of providing the service involved and I felt that there was no justification for the State bearing most of the cost of registration which should properly fall upon the promoters of the company. Furthermore, I considered it wrong that the privilege of limited liability should be available at a trivial fee which could be as low as £2 and which encouraged the casual establishment of companies without adequate planning or financial backing. The new flat rate of £50 should be no obstacle to the establishment of any company which deserves to enjoy limited liability.
I should mention that the new fee is similar to the existing comparable fee in the United Kingdom and was examined in full by the National Prices Commission before the increase involved was approved. The Deputy will no doubt be aware that the new fee does not necessarily represent an increased outlay in all cases where a company is being registered. Heretofore, the fees concerned were scaled according to the amount of nominal capital or number of members, subject to a maximum of £50. Depending on the size of its nominal capital and membership, prospective promoters of a company therefore may well have had to pay a fee of £50.