I have a company that has ceased trading and I want to apply for voluntary strike off. What are the steps involved and do I need to get approval from Revenue?
Voluntary Strike Off may be a cost effective way to dissolve a company however if it is not done correctly it may delay the process or lead to additional costs. Due to changes in electronic filing with the CRO and Revenue reviewing companies in more detail, it is important to understand the timings of each step so not to cause any delays in the process.
There are a number of criteria that a company must satisfy in order to apply for voluntary strike off including applying to the Revenue for a letter of no objection. We have highlighted these in previous posts.
The following additional points should also be considered when applying for voluntary strike off:-
Revenue Approval
The Revenue will perform a very detailed review of the tax filings for the company before issuing a letter of no objection. This should be the first step in the process as it may take time to file any outstanding returns. Revenue want companies to cease its registration before applying for a letter of no objection.
In our experience over 50% of applications to Revenue require additional returns to be filed which may delay the process. Companies should contact Revenue prior to applying for the letter of no objection to see what if any returns need to be filed.
Assets & Liabilities
The main criteria for applying for voluntary strike off is that the Company does not have assets in excess of €150 or liabilities in excess of €150. If this is not possible to achieve this position then the company may consider a Members or Creditors Voluntary Liquidation.
Up to Date with CRO Filings
The Company must be up to date with its Companies Registration Office filings and cannot apply for voluntary strike off if the company has one or more annual returns outstanding.
Once the strike off application is filed and received by the CRO before its 56 day filing deadline after its Annual Return Date, then the company does not have to file any additional annual returns or financial statements.
Signing H15 Form
The H15 form to apply for voluntary strike off must be signed by every director, which may be difficult to get all the directors to sign the form.
Deadlines
The following are the important deadlines in relation to applying for voluntary strike off:-
- The members resolution must not be passed more than 3 months from filing the application with the CRO
- The Revenue letter of no objection must not be more than 3 months old
- The H15 form must be filed with the CRO within 30 days from placing your advertisement in the national newspaper otherwise the ad will have to be placed again
- The CRO will write to the company on two separate occasions to confirm the company wishes to be voluntarily struck off
If you require assistance in applying for voluntary strike off, please feel free to contact any of the team in CLS on 059 9186776 or info@clscs.ie
Note: The content of this article is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute legal or other advice.
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