16th December 2020
The Minister of State for Trade Promotion, Digital and Company Regulation, Robert Troy, T.D., has signed a number of Commencement Orders and Statutory Instruments to coincide with the implementation of the new Companies Registration Office IT system.
The Minister stated
“Today is a very significant day for the CRO and its many stakeholders and marks the culmination of a major, multi-annual project. The new IT platform offers an improved user experience for those filing documents, facilitates more efficient processing by CRO staff and means a totally paperless interaction with the CRO for certain transactions”.
The Minister signed a Commencement Order which brings into operation the Companies (Amendment) Act 2019 and the remaining provisions of the Companies (Statutory Audits) Act 2018. This provides companies with a timeframe of 56 days in which to complete the annual return filing process rather than the 2 step process that applied until now. The Minister also signed Statutory Instruments which make changes to some CRO forms, consolidate filing fees and set out requirements in relation to document completion. In addition, it is now mandatory to file electronically the application to incorporate a new company.
The Minister added “the new IT platform is a significant modernisation project which significantly increases the range of documents that can be filed electronically, with resulting efficiency gains for both business and the CRO”.
Notes for Editor:
The following have been signed by Minister Troy
- Companies (Amendment) Act 2019 (Commencement) Order 2020
- Companies (Statutory Audits) Act 2018 (Commencement) Order 2020
The effect of the provisions will be to amalgamate the current two 28-day periods in the annual returns filing process to provide companies with 56 days to complete their returns in a single step.
The amendment to Section 343 in the Companies (Amendment) Act 2019 amalgamates two 28-day periods to provide companies with 56 days to complete the annual returns filing process in a single step rather than the two steps above. The remaining provisions to be commenced in the Companies (Statutory Audits) Act 2018 replace a further reference to 28 days with 56 days in section 346 and repeal section 344 and subsections in sections 996, 1220 and 1277 of the 2014 Act as they are no longer required by virtue of the change.
- Companies Act (Forms) Regulations 2020
These Regulations are required to make minor changes to some of the prescribed Forms used in CRO (A1 - Incorporation of a new company; B1 - Annual Return; E8 - Notice of appointment of a receiver; E9 - Receiver’s abstract)
- Companies Act (Fees) Regulations 2020
These Regulations are required to prescribe the fees payable in respect of electronic forms filed with CRO. In most cases where there is an option of manual or electronic filing, the fee for filing an electronic form will be the same as that currently payable for filing a paper form.
- Companies Act (Forms and Content) Regulations 2020
These regulations are intended to ensure that documents submitted to the Registrar are in a form which allows them to be scanned and made available for the information of the public and that they contain all the relevant information in the required format.
- Companies Act 2014 (Section 897) Order 2020
These regulations mandate the Form A1 (Incorporation of a new company) as a form which can be filed electronically only.
Information on the CRO Digitalisation Project is available on the CRO website https://www.cro.ie/About-CRO/Whats-New/CRO-New-System-Updates
ENDS
The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (DETE) plays a key role in implementing the Government’s policies of stimulating the productive capacity of the economy and creating an environment which supports job creation and maintenance. The Department has lead responsibility for Irish policy on global trade and inward investment and a remit to promote fair competition in the marketplace, protect consumers and safeguard workers.
For further information please contact Press Office, D/Enterprise, Trade and Employment, press.office@enterprise.gov.ie or (01) 631-2200
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