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If a company claims exemption from audit under section 479A of the Companies Act 2006 (the subsidiary exemption), Silverfin cannot submit its accounts to Companies House. This article covers what section 479A requires, why the Submit to Companies House button does not work for these accounts, the error Companies House returns if you try, and how to file them instead.

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When does this apply?

This applies when Audit exemption used is set to section 479A in the General settings template. The dropdown appears when Audit required or company was audited? is set to No. It covers FRS 102, FRS 102 Section 1A and FRS 105 accounts.

You will see this message in the Export data window after generating the iXBRL:

This file is exempted from audit based on section 479A. Companies House does not accept e-filing of audit-exempt subsidiaries. These need to be submitted by paper.

The Submit to Companies House button is still shown, but these accounts will be rejected if you use it.

What is section 479A?

Normally a company's accounts must be audited unless it qualifies for an exemption. The three main exemptions are:

  • Section 477: small companies
  • Section 479A: subsidiary companies
  • Section 480: dormant companies

Under section 479A, a subsidiary does not need its own audit because its parent company guarantees the subsidiary's liabilities instead. The parent's group accounts are audited, so creditors are still protected.

What does section 479A require?

The company can only use the exemption if all of the following apply:

  1. It is a subsidiary, and its parent is established under the law of a part of the United Kingdom.
  2. All members of the subsidiary agree to the exemption for that financial year.
  3. The parent guarantees all outstanding liabilities of the subsidiary at the year end until they are satisfied in full.
  4. The subsidiary is included in the parent's audited consolidated accounts, and those accounts disclose that the subsidiary is using the exemption.
  5. The company is not excluded from the exemption. For example, quoted companies and certain banking, insurance and other regulated companies are excluded.

Which documents must be delivered to Companies House?

As well as the subsidiary's own accounts, the directors must deliver the following to Companies House on or before the date the accounts are filed:

  1. A written notice that all members agree to the exemption
  2. Form AA06, the parent company's statement of guarantee
  3. A copy of the parent's consolidated accounts
  4. A copy of the auditor's report on those consolidated accounts
  5. A copy of the parent's consolidated annual report

If any of these are missing, Companies House will not accept the exemption and the accounts will need to be audited.

Why can't Silverfin submit these accounts?

Companies House only accepts section 479A accounts electronically as package accounts: a ZIP file that includes the subsidiary's accounts together with the documents listed above in one submission.

Silverfin does not support package accounts submissions. The Submit to Companies House function sends only a single set of accounts (the subsidiary's iXBRL file). The parent's documents cannot be included.

Without them, Companies House treats the submission as ordinary unaudited accounts and looks for a section 477 (small company) or section 480 (dormant company) statement. It does not find one, so the submission is rejected with this error:

StatementThatCompanyEntitledToExemptionFromAuditUnderSection477CompaniesAct2006RelatingToSmallCompanies - element must be provided for the current accounting period

This error does not mean your accounts are wrong. If section 479A is selected, the balance sheet correctly shows the section 479A exemption statement, and the iXBRL tags it correctly.

How do I file the accounts?

  1. Complete the accounts in Silverfin as usual, with section 479A selected in the General settings template.
  2. Download or print the accounts (for example with View PDF in the Export data window).
  3. File the accounts with Companies House on paper, together with all five documents listed above.
  4. Make sure everything reaches Companies House by the subsidiary's filing deadline. The documents must arrive with or before the accounts.

Frequently asked questions

Can I add a note to the accounts claiming the exemption so it can be submitted?

No. Free-text notes are not read by Companies House's validation, so the submission will still be rejected.

Can I change the exemption to section 477 so the accounts go through?

Only select section 477 if the company genuinely qualifies for the small companies exemption. Selecting it just to get the submission through would misstate the basis of the exemption. A subsidiary in a group that is not small usually cannot claim section 477.

Do I still need the other Silverfin exports, such as Corporation Tax?

Yes. This only affects filing with Companies House. You can still use Attach to Corporation Tax in the Export data window as usual.

This article is guidance only and does not constitute advice.