Wednesday 16 May 2012

Involuntary Strike Off


Involuntary Strike Off  


What is Involuntary Company Strike Off?
Involuntary strike off is the process by which the Registrar of Companies will strike a company off the index of companies. There are a number of reasons why a company will be struck off.

 

Reasons for Involuntary Strike Off


The Registrar may consider having a limited company struck off where non compliance has taken place over a prolonged period of time. Historically company non compliance in Ireland was tolerated for longer periods of time but with the establishment of the Office of the Director Of Corporate Enforcement and more stringent policing in recent times it is quite likely that a company failing to comply with company law for a period not exceeding one to two years will incur strike off sanction.

 

Non Compliance Issues


The primary company non - compliance issue is that of failure to file a company's annual return.
Failure to file an annual return may occur for a number of reasons. In certain cases where a limited company may not be have traded since the date of incorporation the company officers may wrongly assume that an annual return does not need to be filed. This is incorrect. An annual return must be filed each year whether or not the company in question has traded. Failure to file such a return will lead to the company being struck off i.e  involuntary strike off.

Since the onset of tougher economic times quite a number of registered limited companies may have ceased trading. Such companies have continuing annual filing obligations. Contrary to popular myth, simply ignoring the filing of returns and hoping that the company will eventually be struck off will not lead to an end to the matter.

It is true that the company will eventually be struck off the register but that does not exonerate the company officers concerned who have breached company law and are guilty of non compliance. It is quite likely that in such cases an action may be taken against the company officers leading to a summary conviction, disqualification from holding company directorships and in some cases a fine and or custodial sentence.

The Revenue Commissioner are a third party who may request the Registrar to have a company struck off. This may occur where a company has failed to meet its obligations under the Taxes Consolidation Act with regard to the filing of company details with Revenue. This particular type of involuntary company strike off, whilst not a common as that of the non filing of annual returns does indeed happen relatively regularly due to company officers overlooking their obligations to file the required notifications with Revenue post incorporation.

For example a commonly "missed form" is Form 11FCRO which is a basic statement of particulars required to be filed under the Taxes Consolidation Act.

Related Articles

  • File an Annual Return
    The obligation to file annual return is ongoing. Company not trading but you want to keep the limited company name, we can help with your annual filing. Read more.
  • Close a Limited Company
    In order to properly close a limited company, the company must have certain circumstances that allow it to make application for voluntary strike off. Read more.

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