CRO OPEN SERVICES - EXTENDED FUNCTIONALITY
The CRO has further developed its "Open Services" facility. Open Services is an Application Programming Interface (API) which allows software developers include free company and submission data from the CRO in their applications.
From 29th November, Customer Account holders who are registered for Open Services can now also integrate the streaming of documents from the CRO into their applications. This enables developers to display a document for a submission directly to their customers and to dramatically cut the lead time in purchasing an image.
Cost per image is the same as it is to purchase the image directly through the CRO company search site.
To sign up and read more technical information,please visit https://services.cro.ie/.
Opening Hours Christmas 2012
| Christmas/New Year | Public Office Opening Hours |
|---|
| Monday 24th December 2012 | 9.30am to 12 noon |
| Tuesday 25th December 2012 | Closed |
| Wednesday 26th December 2012 | Closed |
| Thursday 27th December 2012 | 9.30am to 1pm and 2.15pm to 4.30pm |
| Friday 28th December 2012 | 9.30am to 1pm and 2.15pm to 4.30pm |
| Monday 31st December 2012 | 9.30am to 1pm and 2.15pm to 4.30pm |
| Tuesday 1st January 2013 | Closed |
| Wednesday 2nd January 2013 | Normal hours resume |
The fast track restoration facility will be available as normal from 10.30am and 12 noon on the 27th, 28th and 31st December. Because of the disruption caused to services over the holiday period, annual returns, where the deadline for filing falls between 24th December 2012 and 1st January 2013, will be treated as received on time if filed by 2nd January 2013.
The Registrar and Staff of the CRO wish all our clients a Happy Christmas and Prosperous New Year.
Deadlines for Incorporations, Change of Name, Reregistrations and Company Name Reservations
The CRO cannot guarantee that submissions received after the dates set out below will be processed before the Christmas break.
| Scheme | Date |
|---|
| Ordinary Scheme | 3 December 2012 |
| Fé Phrainn Scheme | 10 December 2012 |
| Online A1 Scheme | 13 December 2012 |
| Change of Name | 7 December 2012 |
| Re-Registrations | 7 December 2012 |
| Company Name Reservations | 17 December 2012 |
ELECTORAL AMENDMENT POLITICAL FUNDING ACT 2012 This Act was signed into law on 6th November 2012. One of the provisions of this Act, changes the amount threshold for disclosure on an annual return form completed by a company, society or trade union.
From 7th November 2013, the amount paid as a political donation that must be disclosed is reduced from €5079 to €200. This change does not come into effect until this date. From 7th November 2013 any annual return submitted to the CRO must include donations made at the lower figure.
B1 - ANNUAL RETURNS AND ACCOUNTS - SEND BACK LETTERS
Where an annual return is sent back by CRO for correction or for fees, Section 249A, Companies Act 1990, requires that the errors/omissions must be corrected and a fully compliant document delivered to the CRO within 14 days.
If a fully compliant document is not delivered to the CRO within 14 days, the original document will be deemed not to have been delivered to the Registrar. The re-submitted document will then be treated as a fresh submission, potentially resulting in the company incurring late filing penalties and losing any entitlement to claim audit exemption for two years.
CREDIT/DEBIT CARD PAYMENTS IN THE CRO
It is possible to pay by credit/debit card for lodgements and enquiries in the CRO Public Office. Online credit/debit card options have also been extended to include payment for online Business Name applications in CORE by credit/debit card. https://core.cro.ie/Main/index.jsp
Please note that only "Chip-and-Pin" credit or debit cards can be accepted for payment by the CRO.
CRO CUSTOMER ACCOUNTS - REMINDER
All Customer Account details, including recent transactions and statements, are now available on-line in CORE. Accordingly, from 1 January 2013 the CRO will no longer be issuing Customer Account statements by post. In order to view your Customer Account details on-line, if you have not already done so, you will need to register in CORE by clicking on https://core.cro.ie/Main/register_iri.jsp.
Once registered, you can view your transactions by clicking on My Accounts/ Add/ and by entering your customer number and PIN. You will only need to do this once and all of your details will be available each time you log in to CORE.
The new facility offers Account holders a range of additional features such as the facility to view up-to-date transactions and the current balance, to open a statement either in Excel or in a printable format which replicates the old Statement, to access all statements since the account was opened, to deposit funds or open a new account on-line.
A new Customer Account can be opened on-line at https://www.cro.ie/search/NewCustomer.aspx.
The Account can be topped up using a Credit Card and can be used to pay for filing fees and penalties when filing submissions electronically through CORE.
ANNUAL RETURNS FILED IN 2012 FOR 2013 - REMINDER
The Companies Acts state that a company must file an annual return at least once in each calendar year. A company with a 2013 ARD date must file an annual return with an effective date in 2013 in order to meet this requirement and move their next ARD on to 2014.
If you filed your annual return with an effective date in late 2012, expecting that this will meet your filing obligations for 2013, this is not the case and you will still need to file an annual return in 2013.
Companies may only file early in respect of the current ARD year, not for a future year.
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT - REMINDER
CRO is prescribed under the Freedom of Information Acts 1997 and 2003 ("the Acts"). For further information and details on how to make an application for information under the Acts please view the CRO's FOI Handbook.
Please note that where requests for information are received under the Acts, there is a presumption of release unless specific exemptions apply. Even where specific exemptions may be deemed to apply, consideration must be given to whether it is in the public interest to release the records. Therefore, when submitting non-statutory submissions to the CRO it should be borne in mind that any records could potentially be released by the CRO.
For further information of Freedom of Information, including the text of the Acts, please visit the government website www.foi.gov.ie/