Voluntary Strike Off

If your company has ceased trading or has never traded, it should be dissolved for at least two reasons:

• A company, whether trading or not, has to file an annual return with the Companies Registration Office together with the report and accounts
• Directors of a company that fail to file an annual return with the Companies Office on time, leave themselves open to a potential fine of around €2,000 and any late filing penalties

To have your company struck off, we will seek approval for the strike off from the Revenue Commissioners who, issue a letter of no objection. We will then prepare and insert a legal notice in a national newspaper.

Section 311 of the Companies Act 1963, gives the Registrar power to strike companies off the register. However, it is a discretionary power which he will only use if one of the directors of a company makes a formal request to him to strike the name of his company off the register and such request is accompanied by the following:

• A statement to the effect that the company has ceased trading or has never traded and that it has no assets or liabilities
• Filing of all outstanding annual returns, relevant filing fees and late filing penalties if due
• A letter of no objection from the Revenue Commissioners
• A copy of an advertisement published in a daily newspaper

The winding up process includes the following:

• Preparation of a statement to the effect that the company has ceased trading or has never traded, and that it will not re-commence or commence trading
• The Registrar will then advertise his intention to strike the name of the company off the register and finally, a further month later, the company will be struck off and dissolved
• The Registrar waits until he has a sufficient number of such applications on hand before he commences the strike off process.