Hi, First time posting here, but having read the great and advice help folks get here, I thought I should try to help with my predicament. I will be as brief and succinct as I can ....
I incorporated a small start up in 2012, sent in first CRO Return that April. All fine. But Business stopped making money around Sept 2013. I had to bite the bullet and go on Social Welfare.
Given that I was a director there was quite alot of paperwork via Revenue to prepare to enable me to be eligible for Welfare. This ranged from Tax Clearance, Tax Returns, CT1's the works. But Revenue were brilliantly helpful, and after all was done, the officer said I had "Text Book Tax Records". One other valuable piece of advice I received by them was that they advised me that if I had not made money across 2014, or 2015, then just work out when you last made money, and list the business as ceased trading from this time (Sept 2013) retrospectively, which I didn't know you could do. This way, I would not need to pay to get an accountant to prepare either two years of accounts and / or pay for an audit! After all, it would have been an expense to get them to write two years worth of 00's in an excel sheet, wouldn't it ...
Then I got a very threatening letter from the CRO stating that I was liable for a late filing penalty for missing the AR for 2014 and 2015! It's a mistake and oversight I know alot of people make, but there I was with clean-as-a-whistle Tax Records with Revenue and then I got hit with this bad thump! The Letter stated that I was eligible to be Struck off and Dissolved and a conviction and a penalty along with aforementioned filing fees of up to 1200 Euro. I know at this stage that I have accrued a hefft bill either way for the late AR's ...
So, the question I have is: Having spent the last two days reading up on the differences (and consequences) of either Voluntary and Involuntary Strike off ... I wanted to know if anyone here could suggest the best course of action for my particular circumstances:
Option 1: The voluntary Strike Off Route : Go through the expense of paying for an Accountant to prepare accounts, and then an Audit, and then file all the other CRO forms including the B1's, along with paying of the late penalties - this would total at least 1500/2000.
Option 2: The Involuntary Strike Off Route: Do nothing and let the business die and get Involuntarily struck off. This was suggested to me to do if I have no interest in resuscitating this business. But I know I risk both a court conviction in the Court, and afraid of being prevented from starting a new enterprise in the future. I was also told that there are thousands of companies go through this route every year, and the Court and CRO simply do not have the resources to chase everyone. But I can be pretty unlucky at times ... !
I also want to state that the business has no debts, no assets or liabilities, or no loans. It's zero's across the board in this case, and in the scheme of things, I don't think this is a big bad nasty case .....
All I want to know is can I go into business again, assume a new directorship, incorporate a new company in the future - if I went with the second option ? And how bad my standing will be if I did not go through the entire process involved with Option 1?
Cheers, I hope someone can offer some help and direction, as this is really stressing me right out.
Ocho
I incorporated a small start up in 2012, sent in first CRO Return that April. All fine. But Business stopped making money around Sept 2013. I had to bite the bullet and go on Social Welfare.
Given that I was a director there was quite alot of paperwork via Revenue to prepare to enable me to be eligible for Welfare. This ranged from Tax Clearance, Tax Returns, CT1's the works. But Revenue were brilliantly helpful, and after all was done, the officer said I had "Text Book Tax Records". One other valuable piece of advice I received by them was that they advised me that if I had not made money across 2014, or 2015, then just work out when you last made money, and list the business as ceased trading from this time (Sept 2013) retrospectively, which I didn't know you could do. This way, I would not need to pay to get an accountant to prepare either two years of accounts and / or pay for an audit! After all, it would have been an expense to get them to write two years worth of 00's in an excel sheet, wouldn't it ...
Then I got a very threatening letter from the CRO stating that I was liable for a late filing penalty for missing the AR for 2014 and 2015! It's a mistake and oversight I know alot of people make, but there I was with clean-as-a-whistle Tax Records with Revenue and then I got hit with this bad thump! The Letter stated that I was eligible to be Struck off and Dissolved and a conviction and a penalty along with aforementioned filing fees of up to 1200 Euro. I know at this stage that I have accrued a hefft bill either way for the late AR's ...
So, the question I have is: Having spent the last two days reading up on the differences (and consequences) of either Voluntary and Involuntary Strike off ... I wanted to know if anyone here could suggest the best course of action for my particular circumstances:
Option 1: The voluntary Strike Off Route : Go through the expense of paying for an Accountant to prepare accounts, and then an Audit, and then file all the other CRO forms including the B1's, along with paying of the late penalties - this would total at least 1500/2000.
Option 2: The Involuntary Strike Off Route: Do nothing and let the business die and get Involuntarily struck off. This was suggested to me to do if I have no interest in resuscitating this business. But I know I risk both a court conviction in the Court, and afraid of being prevented from starting a new enterprise in the future. I was also told that there are thousands of companies go through this route every year, and the Court and CRO simply do not have the resources to chase everyone. But I can be pretty unlucky at times ... !
I also want to state that the business has no debts, no assets or liabilities, or no loans. It's zero's across the board in this case, and in the scheme of things, I don't think this is a big bad nasty case .....
All I want to know is can I go into business again, assume a new directorship, incorporate a new company in the future - if I went with the second option ? And how bad my standing will be if I did not go through the entire process involved with Option 1?
Cheers, I hope someone can offer some help and direction, as this is really stressing me right out.
Ocho