Missed Annual Return Date Urgent!

Cbar22

Hi,

My ARD was 1st November. 3 days ago my accountant told me he submitted it on 15th November so we were late.

As it stands I will lose my audit exemption. Has anyone been through this?

I have emails to my accountant going back to August where I told him to submit the returns (if I looked hard enough I would find at least 3 emails telling him to do it on different dates and I told him over calls and meetings also but obviously there is no proof of this). On the 20th October he also sent me an email saying he was submitting them that day.

Obviously this all falls down on me as I never asked for proof that it was actually submitted but I genuinely did make an effort. Inexperience of not asking for proof let me down.

What should I do, go to court and show them the emails- will this take long and am I likely to win? Should I say my AGM could not be held due to coronavirus (although I imagine I should have told the CRO this before I missed my deadline, not after). Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks,

Bandara

Cbar22 wrote: »

Hi,

My ARD was 1st November. 3 days ago my accountant told me he submitted it on 15th November so we were late.

As it stands I will lose my audit exemption. Has anyone been through this?

I have emails to my accountant going back to August where I told him to submit the returns (if I looked hard enough I would find at least 3 emails telling him to do it on different dates and I told him over calls and meetings also but obviously there is no proof of this). On the 20th October he also sent me an email saying he was submitting them that day.

Obviously this all falls down on me as I never asked for proof that it was actually submitted but I genuinely did make an effort. Inexperience of not asking for proof let me down.

What should I do, go to court and show them the emails- will this take long and am I likely to win? Should I say my AGM could not be held due to coronavirus (although I imagine I should have told the CRO this before I missed my deadline, not after). Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks,

https://www.cro.ie/About-CRO/Contact-Us/Whats-New

Anything in there that is helpful to your situation ?

I always find if your straight up with them they are perfectly reasonable to deal with. You may have to pay the late fee but that’s not really that much of an issue. Just get in touch and explain where your at and Covid etc and tbf to them they have been quite helpful any issues I’ve had this year. Good luck with it.

Cbar22

Thanks for the link Bandara,. Was hoping you would post. That link is what made me think about giving them the AGM did not take place excuse.

I did call the CRO and they said I have to email them about what caused the the filing to be the late. The issue is that I need to make sure that I choose the correct issue to focus on. Is showing them screenshots of me telling my account to sumbit the return enough to keep them happy or would I be better going down the route of accounts not being signed off on due to being unable to hold an AGM. If I to choose the incorrect excuse now and it goes to court then I will have to stick by that excuse. The CRO person on the phone said to think carefully about my email as the 'I told my accountant to do it' excuse is pretty weak.

Agreed about the helpfulness of the CRO. They are a great department to deal with and are fair.

capefear

You should grand see below

CRO Update Regarding Filing of Annual Returns with Annual Return Dates falling on or after 30 September 2020



The Registrar of Companies has decided to extend the filing deadline for companies with an Annual Return Date falling on 30 September 2020 or later.

Any company with an Annual Return Date of 30 September 2020 or later will be deemed to have filed on time if all elements of the annual return are completed and filed by 26 February 2021.

JMR

You should have no issue here.
the accountant should really have made the situation more clear to you to avoid unnecessary worry on your part.

https://www.cro.ie/About-CRO/Latest-News/cro-update-regarding-filing-of-annual-returns#:~:text=Any%20company%20with%20an%20Annual,a%20position%20to%20do%20so.