6.5 The Annual Return

Every company, whether trading or not, is required to file an annual return (Form B1) with the CRO at least once in every calendar year. This form sets out certain prescribed information in respect of the company.

Accounts must generally be filed with the annual return, except in the case of the first annual return of a new company made up to the date, which is 6 months after its date of incorporation.

A company's Annual Return Date (ARD) in future years is 12 months from its previous year's ARD. This however, can be altered by bringing the ARD forward to an earlier date or extending the ARD to a later date.

Bringing the ARD forward to an earlier date

If a company wishes to alter its ARD to an earlier date, a company may submit its annual return in advance of its current ARD and whilst doing so indicate on the Form B1 if it wishes to retain the anniversary of its existing ARD for the following year or if it wishes to elect its ARD to be the anniversary of the date to which its current return has been made up to.

Extending the ARD to a later date

If a company wishes to alter its ARD to a later date, it can do so by filing a form B73. The procedure for doing so is as follows: -

• The company delivers an annual return to the CRO not later than 28 days after its existing ARD, to which no accounts need to be attached.
• The company nominates on the Form B73 the new ARD, which date may not be later than six months after the existing ARD.

Accounts will be required to be filed with the company's next return and may not predate the new ARD by more that nine months.

A company may file a Form B73 not more than once every five years.

Sport Ireland strongly recommends that each NGB consult their professional advisers on any matter relating to their filing requirements with the CRO.