Each market sets its own clock for preparing, approving and publishing accounts, and the clocks rarely line up with the group's year-end timetable. The UK gives private companies 9 months to file at Companies House with automatic penalties after that, Germany allows up to 12 months for publication but only 3 to 6 months to prepare, France ties filing to approval within 6 months, and Singapore ties filing to the AGM. Digital filing is tightening, with UK software-only filing from April 2028.
Preparation, approval and publication are separate deadlines
In Germany the managing directors must prepare the annual accounts within three months of year end, or up to six months for a small company, while publication through the company register may take until twelve months after the balance sheet date. In France accounts are normally approved within six months and must be filed with the commercial court registry within one month of approval, or two months if filed online.
The UK sets one public deadline: a private company files its accounts with Companies House within 9 months of its year end, with first accounts due within 21 months of incorporation. Companies House charges automatic penalties from £150 to £1,500 for a private company, and late filing is also a criminal offence.12345
Singapore: AGM, annual return and XBRL
Singapore links filing to the annual general meeting, which must be held within four to six months of year end. Financial statements are filed with ACRA in XBRL: full XBRL by default, or simplified XBRL for smaller non-publicly accountable companies with revenue and assets each up to S$500,000. A solvent exempt private company need not file its accounts, but a company owned by a foreign parent company cannot be an exempt private company because a corporation holds its shares.678
Tax returns that depend on the accounts, and the move to digital filing
In the UAE there is no public accounts register equivalent to Companies House for most mainland companies, but every taxable person must file a corporate tax return within nine months of the end of the tax period, built on its financial statements.
Filing is becoming more digital. From 1 April 2028 UK accounts must be filed through commercial iXBRL software, small companies will have to file a profit and loss account and abridged accounts disappear. These changes were announced but not in force when this was researched.910
| Market | Prepare or approve | Public filing | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | Not separately stated | Companies House within 9 months (30 September) | GOV.UK |
| Germany | Prepare within 3 months (small: up to 6 months) | Company register within 12 months | §§ 264, 325 HGB |
| France | Approve normally within 6 months | Greffe within 1 month of approval (2 months online) | Service Public F31214 |
| Singapore | AGM within 4 to 6 months | Financial statements in XBRL with the annual return, unless a solvent exempt private company | ACRA |
| UAE | Not stated | No public filing confirmed; corporate tax return within 9 months | Decree-Law 47 of 2022 |
Decisions to make
- Does the group year-end timetable leave enough time for local preparation deadlines?12German accounts must be prepared within three months unless the company is small, well before the public filing deadline.
- Is the company eligible for any filing exemption or confidentiality option?83Singapore exempts solvent exempt private companies from filing and France lets micro and small companies keep some accounts confidential, but foreign-owned companies often do not qualify.
- Which filing format will each registry require, and is the software in place?710Singapore already requires XBRL and the UK will require commercial iXBRL software from April 2028.
- Who will sign off and file if local directors are not finance specialists?54UK late filing triggers automatic penalties and can be prosecuted as a criminal offence.
Documents usually needed
- Statutory filing calendar for every entity, showing preparation, approval and filing dates
- Approved and signed annual accounts and management or directors' report
- Shareholder approval resolution or AGM minutes
- XBRL or iXBRL version of the accounts where required
- Corporate tax return and supporting financial statements
Common mistakes
- Working only to the public filing deadline and missing an earlier preparation or approval deadline
- Assuming a foreign-owned Singapore company is an exempt private company
- Filing UK accounts a day late; the deadline is calculated to the exact day and the penalty is automatic
- Leaving iXBRL tagging to the last week before filing
- Treating the UAE tax return as unrelated to the statutory accounts
Questions businesses ask
When must a UK private company file its first accounts?
Within 21 months of incorporation, and afterwards within 9 months of each year end.4
Is there a penalty for late filing in Germany?
The disclosure duty requires electronic transmission within one year of the balance sheet date; the German penalty regime was not researched here and should be confirmed.2
What this guide does not yet confirm
These points need checking with a qualified local professional before you rely on them.
- Singapore: the exact AGM and annual return deadlines for listed and non-listed companies (ACRA due-dates pages) could not yet be checked.
- India: AOC-4 and MGT-7 filing deadlines and AGM timing under the Companies Act 2013 could not yet be checked on the MCA site.
- Saudi Arabia: the deadline for filing financial statements with the Ministry of Commerce was not confirmed.
- UAE: free zone accounts filing requirements (for example DMCC, DIFC, ADGM) were not researched.
- Germany: the penalty regime for late disclosure (§ 335 HGB) could not yet be checked.
- United States: state annual report requirements were not researched.
Sources and review status
Each statement is numbered to the source it was checked against. We use official sources where we can, and each statement says whether it was checked against an official or a secondary source. Sources last checked on 19 October 2026. None of it has been professionally reviewed yet: it is research checked against official and secondary sources by WONE Global, not legal or tax advice.
The legal representatives of a German corporation must prepare the annual accounts and management report for the previous year within the first three months of the financial year; small corporations need no management report and may take up to six months. Kapitalgesellschaften including GmbH; small as defined in § 267 Abs. 1 HGB. The six-month period applies only where consistent with proper business practice.
Annual accounts must be transmitted electronically to the body operating the company register (Unternehmensregister) no later than one year after the balance sheet date. Disclosure duty of corporations; scope of documents depends on size class.
French SARL, SA and SAS companies must file their annual accounts with the commercial court registry (greffe) within one month of their approval by the shareholders, or two months if filed electronically through the online formalities portal; accounts are normally approved within six months of year end. SARL, EURL, SA and SAS. Micro and small companies can file a confidentiality declaration; failure to file exposes the manager to a fine of EUR 1,500 (EUR 3,000 for a repeat offence).
A private company must file annual accounts with Companies House within 9 months of its financial year end (first accounts within 21 months of incorporation), pay corporation tax within 9 months and 1 day of the end of its accounting period, and file its Company Tax Return within 12 months. Private limited companies. Different payment dates apply to large and very large companies.
Companies House charges an automatic civil penalty for late accounts: for a private company £150 if up to one month late, £375 up to three months, £750 up to six months and £1,500 beyond six months; for a public company £750, £1,500, £3,000 and £7,500. UK companies. Failure to deliver acceptable accounts on time is also a criminal offence for which directors can be prosecuted.
Singapore companies must hold their annual general meeting within four to six months of their financial year end. Companies Act 1967; the ACRA overview page does not separate listed and non-listed deadlines, and private companies can in some cases dispense with an AGM.
The ACRA due-dates subpage, which separates listed and non-listed companies, could not yet be checked.
Singapore-incorporated companies file their financial statements with ACRA in XBRL: full XBRL as the default, and simplified XBRL with a PDF copy for smaller non-publicly accountable companies whose revenue and total assets each do not exceed S$500,000. Banks, finance and insurance companies regulated by MAS file financial statements highlights; companies limited by guarantee file PDF only. Consolidated figures are used where the company has subsidiaries, associates or joint ventures.
A solvent exempt private company in Singapore need not file financial statements with ACRA, although it may file voluntarily. Exempt private company: fewer than 20 members and no corporation holding a beneficial interest in its shares (or a gazetted government-owned company). A company wholly owned by a foreign parent company is therefore not an exempt private company. Solvency is declared when filing the annual return.
Every taxable person must register for corporate tax and file a corporate tax return no later than nine months after the end of the relevant tax period. Federal. The Minister may prescribe registration exceptions. Registration is required even where the business is already VAT-registered.
The FTA Corporate Tax page carries a news item that returns and payment for financial years ended 31 December 2025 were due by 30 September 2026.
From 1 April 2028 accounts must be filed with Companies House using commercial software in iXBRL, WebFiling and paper filing end, small and micro-entity companies must file a profit and loss account, and abridged accounts are abolished. Announced changes, not yet in force on 19 October 2026. Small and micro companies may opt out of publishing the profit and loss account on the register. Audit exemption claims will require an enhanced directors' statement.
Questions on this topic
10 statements on filing deadlines and public registries
