A&I forms for companies, incorporated societies and other corporate bodies

Which A&I form to complete and who should sign when your dealing involves a company, government department or agency, local authority, incorporated society, chargeholder or other corporate body.

Which A&I form to complete and who should sign

There are 3 different A&I forms available: private individual, private corporate and public corporate. The A&I form you need, and who should sign, depends on the type of entity you are acting for. The most common examples of corporate bodies are included below.

Corporate Body

A&I form to complete

Who signs

Non-publicly listed company

Private Corporate

Director(s) and/or authorised signatory

Publicly listed company

Public Corporate

Director(s) and/or authorised signatory

Government departments and agencies (e.g. Ministry of Health, Dept. of Conservation, Legal Services Commissioner)

Public Corporate

Authorised signatory

Local authority (e.g. Waikato Regional Council, Whakatane District Council)

Public Corporate

Authorised signatory

Incorporated society

Private Corporate

Authorised signatory(s) in line with the society’s governing statute

 

Chargeholder A&I form to complete Who signs

Institutional chargeholder

None required – letter of instruction may be obtained

 

Private chargeholder (individuals)

Private Individual

All individual chargeholders

Private chargeholder (company)

Private Corporate

Director(s) and/or authorised signatory

 

Unit Title Body Corporate A&I form to complete Who signs

Individual unit owners (individuals)

Private Individual

All individual unit owners

Individual unit owners (company)

Private Corporate

Director(s) and/or authorised signatory

Body corporate

Private Corporate

Authorised signatory(s)

The Authority and Identity Requirements for E-Dealing Guideline 2018 – LINZG20775 includes definitions of private corporate, public corporate and institutional chargeholder.  If you are in doubt as to whether the entity you are dealing with is a private corporate or a public corporate, you should use the Private Corporate A&I form.

Each corporate body must also provide a land transfer tax statement, unless one of the non-notifiable reasons applies.

A&I Forms

Signing under a power of attorney

A power of attorney for a company must be given by the company under s181 Companies Act 1993. It must not be given by the directors of the company personally.

In all cases:

  • the power of attorney must be clear in terms of the powers conferred on the attorney and the attorney’s authority to act in relation to the specific transaction; and
  • a certificate of non-revocation of power of attorney (dated the same date or later than the power of attorney) must be held with the A&I form.

Registration requirements for enduring powers of attorney and ordinary powers of attorney

Verifying the identity of the signatories

For non-publicly listed companies, charitable trusts, incorporated societies, bodies corporate or any other entity which is a private corporate, you must verify the identity of the authorised signatories, the office they hold in the company/entity and their authority to sign on behalf of the company/entity in accordance with the Companies Act 1993 or other relevant governing statute and the corporate entity’s constitution.  This applies even where two or more directors have signed on behalf of the company.

For publicly listed companies, local authorities and government departments/agencies or any other entity which is a public corporate:

  • If you initiated contact with the public corporate you can reasonably rely on the authenticity of the documents provided without the need for further verification of the signatory’s’ identity or authority to sign;
  • If you did not initiate contact with the public corporate, you must independently contact the public corporate to verify the authenticity of the documents.

Public corporates can be expected to properly manage their delegations to officers / authorised signatories to authorise transactions on their behalf in accordance with their governing statutory requirements.  For this reason, the authorised signatories’ identities do not need to be verified.

If an A&I form is signed by an attorney under a power of attorney (whether for a private individual or a corporate body), you must verify the identity of the attorney.

Companies executing under seal

When executing under seal, a corporation should affix the corporation’s seal to the authority and instruction form (A&I).

Corporations not incorporated under the Companies Act 1993 include territorial authorities, incorporated societies and charitable trust boards. These entities each have a governing statute, and are required to execute in accordance with the method of execution prescribed in that particular Act.

When a corporation is required to execute by affixing its seal, the seal should be placed in section 4 of the A&I form. If necessary, the confirmation statements under section 4 may be amended to suit the needs of the corporation as long as the content of the A&I form is not compromised.