- Covid-19 had a significant impact on the operations of the CRO, processing times and the suspension of enforcement activity
- There was a number of filing extensions announced allowing companies more time to file annual returns and financial statements
- The new CORE Portal went live on 16th December 2020 and some of the key features of the new portal are:
- Paperless online filings – all attachments and
- signature pages can now be uploaded.
- Twenty new forms are available to file online, including many solvency forms.
- Online payments can now be redirected to a third party which is useful in the case of large fees.
- Online signatures can be redirected for example directors can be emailed a line to sign and upload signature pages.
- Filing forms and document ordering are now available through a single portal.
- The commencement of the Companies (Amendment) Act 2019 introduced the single 56 day filing period for annual returns.
- 251,275 Irish companies were in existence on the register at the end of the year, resulting in over 431,000 submissions being filed with the CRO during 2020.
- New companies:
- the number of new companies incorporated was 21,873. This represents a decrease compared to 2019 volumes and was mainly due to a significant reduction in the number of incorporations during March, April and May 2020 due to the COVID 19 pandemic.
- Volumes of incorporations dropped to a low of 1,067 during April and increased gradually to reach an all-time monthly record of 2,830 in November.
- Over 81% of all documents filed with CRO in 2020 were filed electronically
- Voluntary strike-off : A total of 5,479 companies were struck off voluntarily in 2020, which is a decrease of 9% over 2019. Voluntary strike off was also suspended for some time due to the pandemic and resumed in August 2020.
- District Court Applications
- The CRO issued a total of 336 Letters of Acknowledgement/No Objection/Objection and processed 278 Orders granted by the District Court/High Court. Two applications were refused by the Courts and six applications were withdrawn. Forty-one applications were adjourned from 2020 to 2021.
- Twenty official complaints were received during 2020, four of which were referred to the Office of the Ombudsman. None of the complaints referred to the Ombudsman were upheld. In addition, the CRO dealt with 3 requests under the Freedom of Information Act and 2 GDPR requests.
- Prosecutions for failing to file annual returns:
- A total of 23 cases were prosecuted by the CRO in 2020 for failure to file annual returns, 6 of which were adjourned from 2019. A further three cases were brought against company directors.
- In cases brought before the courts, one case was convicted, and the Probation Act was applied to 12 cases. No cases were withdrawn or struck out. Thirteen cases were adjourned.
- In the case where a conviction was secured, a fine of €1,000 was imposed.
Note: The content of this article is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute legal or other advice.
Share this on...