This article explores the legal nature, grounds, procedure, and consequences of the procedure for striking off legal entities that do not carry out business activities in several foreign jurisdictions: England, the British Virgin Islands, Cyprus, India, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Cayman Islands.

The article aims to study an alternative to the liquidation method of “cleansing” civil turnover from legal entities that have not been operating for a long time: removal from the relevant public register by deleting the entry on a legal entity.

The authors establish that the rights of creditors of a legal entity removed from the register as a result of the strike-off procedure are ensured by updating the relevant entry to settle with them both within the framework of liquidating the legal entity and settling debts with the continuation of business activities (if such a possibility and expediency exist).

The authors identify the differences between the legal consequences of voluntary (at the request of shareholders or the executive body) and compulsory (at the initiative of the registrar) removal of a legal entity from the public register.

The authors also pay special attention to the peculiarities of the legal regime of bona vacantia property.

 In the context of the research topic, the study analyzes the provisions of Ukraine’s current legislation (in particular, the simplified procedure for state registration of termination of a legal entity provided for in paragraphs 6, 7 of Article 25 of the Law of Ukraine “On State Registration of Legal Entities, Individual Entrepreneurs and Public Organizations.”

The authors conclude that the simplified procedure for state registration of a legal entity’s termination in Ukrainian law partially resonates with the general logic of removing a company from the register in foreign jurisdictions.

 According to the authors, the Ukrainian equivalent of “strike off” is the phrase “dormant mode” because, despite the possible legal consequence of terminating a legal personality, such a procedure does not exclude the possibility of restoring information about a legal entity in the public register.

The objectification of the strike-off procedure in Ukrainian legislation would help cleanse the public register of legal entities that do not carry out any activity. It is proposed to provide for the possibility of applying the strike-off procedure exclusively to entrepreneurial legal entities. The grounds for applying the relevant procedure are failing to conduct business activities after a legal entity’s state registration during the year (notably if the legal entity has not registered for tax purposes or opened bank accounts).

Bibliography

Authored books

1. Beatson J, Burrows A, Cartwright J, Anson’s Law of Contract (Oxford University Press 2010).

2. French D, Mayson S W, Ryan C, Mayson, French & Ryan on Company Law (Oxford University Press 2017).

3. Khomenko V, Prypynennia hospodarskykh tovarystv u tsyvilnomu pravi Ukrainy (Pravo 2019) (in Ukrainian).

Journal articles

4. Kirchwey Karl W, ‘Recent Decisions’ [1910] 10(6) Columbia Law Review 567–584 https:// doi.org/10.2307/1110159.

Conference papers

5. Khomenko V, ‘Prypynennia kompanii cherez protseduru “strike off” za zakonodavstvom Respubliky Kipr’, Pryvatne pravo Ukrainy i yevropeiska intehratsiia: tendentsii ta perspektyvy. Materialy VI Mizhnarodnoho tsyvilistychnoho forumu (Kyiv 2016) 249–251 (in Ukrainian).

Websites

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8. Deregistration, Striking Off and Winding Up (Hong Kong Companies Registry, 2025) <https:// www.cr.gov.hk/en/faq/local-company/dereg-striking-off-winding-up.htm#:~:text=As%20 for%20striking%20off%2C%20the,operation%20or%20carrying%20on%20business> (accessed 10.01.2025).

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15. Strike off, dissolution and restoration under the BVI Business Companies Act (Lexology, 2023) <https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=a2a6d076-eb1e-4465-beda397a6be7309e> (accessed 10.01.2025).

16. Striking-off a local company in Singapore (Acclime, 2025) <https://singapore.acclime.com/ guides/striking-off-company/#:~:text=Striking%20off%20means%20deregistering%20 from,company%20has%20ceased%20to%20exist> (accessed 10.01.2025).

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18. Voluntary Striking off of company (Department of registrar of companies and intellectual property of the Republic of Cyprus, 2025) <https://www.companies.gov.cy/en/businessentities/ 2-company/5-lifecycle/1-closing-a-company/10-guidance/voluntary-striking-off-acompany/ filing-an-application-for-strike-off> (accessed 10.01.2025).

19. Kilkist zareiestrovanykh yurydychnykh osib za orhanizatsiino-pravovymy formamy hospodariuvannia z rozpodilom za oznakoiu stati kerivnyka na 1 sichnia 2025 roku (Derzhavna sluzhba statystyky Ukrainy, 2025) <https://ukrstat.gov.ua/edrpoy/ukr/ EDRPU_2024/ks_opfg/ks_opfg_s_0125_ue.xls> (accessed 10.01.2025) (in Ukrainian).