Bringing ARD forward to earlier date


To alter its ARD to an earlier date, a company may file an annual return with a made-up-to date earlier than the company's existing ARD. A company that has prepared an annual return in advance of its current ARD is able to file a return made up to a date prior to its ARD. However, if it wishes to retain the anniversary of its existing ARD for next year, it must notify the CRO of this on the electronic Form B1. See https://core.cro.ie regarding electronic filing. 

Where the company elects to retain the anniversary of its existing ARD for the following year, the "The company wishes to retain" box in the relevant section in Form B1 must be ticked. Where it elects that its ARD in the following year will be the anniversary of the date to which its current return has been made up, the "The company wishes to change" box ought to be ticked. If neither box is ticked and the company has filed a return which is made up to a date earlier than its current ARD, the form will be returned by the CRO to the presenter for correction.

A company with a next ARD of say 31 January 2019 (which company already filed a 2018 return made up to 31 January 2018) which files another return during 2018 made up to 17 May 2018 and ticks the box on the new B1 to elect "to keep the anniversary of its existing ARD for next year" does not change its next ARD to 31 January 2020 by so doing. The company’s next ARD remains 31 January 2019, as that ARD is in the next calendar year to the year in which the new B1 has been filed.

In all cases, an annual return delivered to the CRO has to be filed within 28 days of the "return made-up-to" date. Therefore, a company that wishes to file early but elects to retain the anniversary of its existing ARD or a company filing early in order to create an earlier ARD for filing, must file Form B1 within 28 days of the "Return made up to date" indicated on the form.