The business still has obligations to file tax returns and other annual and potentially quarterly documents, even if it has no assets and was never involved in any transactions. If you have such an entity, definitely find an accountant and get them to help you sort it out because the late filing fees are likely accumulating whether you're aware of it or not. Someone's name is on those articles of incorporation and the government isn't just going to forget that entity exists. From what I understand, California is even more aggressive about these sort of fees than the federal government but I don't know that for a fact.