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Bristol Rovers have been threatened with being dissolved and struck off the companies register for being two months late filing their annual accounts for last year.

The accounts detailing the financial position of the League One club in 2017/18 were due by law to be sent to Companies House by March 31 but the official register is highlighting that they have still not been filed.

On Wednesday, May 29, the Registrar of Companies issued a notice to the company which owns and runs the Gas, Bristol Rovers Football Club Limited, that it will be “struck off the register and the company will be dissolved” unless action is taken.

That would mean the club could not legally operate. A football finance expert has spoken to Bristol Live about what this actually means for Bristol Rovers.

However Bristol Rovers claim the club's accounts were filed by its auditors last week.

If that is the case, providing the club pay the small fine, it would remedy the situation immediately.

A statement from the club explains: 'The accounts were filed by the club's auditors, Grant Thornton, on Thursday evening.

‘The delay in the process was subject to technical accounting assurances that the auditors wished to obtain, which were provided with no further issue by the club.

‘We expect Companies House to upload the accounts to their system over the next two to three working days.’

Companies House confirmed that because of the volume of cases they are dealing with it is possible the paper work has yet to be processed.

All limited companies must by law file accounts to Companies House within nine months of the end of their designated financial year, which is June 30 for Bristol Rovers.

The last accounts on record with Companies House from the football club are up to June 30, 2017.

Failure to file accounts can often be a sign a company is having problems in its own administration, is in financial difficulties or that the accountants auditing the club's accounts have raised concerns with the company's directors which have not been fully resolved.

Bristol Rovers are not the only English Football League club to have failed to submit their accounts on time with Bury, Oldham, Blackpool, Sheffield Wednesday, Notts County and Bolton Wanderers also yet to register them.

Thousands of companies regularly miss the deadline to submit their accounts each year and the financial penalties for failing to do so are minimal with a fine of £100 for being a day late, and another £100 for missing the deadline by three months.

If the accounts are six months late HM Revenue and Customs will estimate a company's Corporation Tax bill and add a penalty of 10 per cent of the unpaid tax, however the Pirates will not face that if their accounts are officially registered next week.