Ireland's Companies Registration Office (CRO) will launch its highly anticipated update to the Companies Online Registration Environment (CORE) on December 16.The CRO is the agency responsible for carrying out some of the back-end administrative tasks surrounding the incorporation of companies in Ireland and the registration of business names. It is also responsible for enforcing the filing of B1 returns, which are required from Irish businesses each year.
With the activities of the Office and its customers increasingly taking place online, the development of a modernised online portal has been a key priority for the CRO.
The CRO began transitioning to the updated system on December 11 and has earmarked December 16 as the official "go live" date.
System improvements
The CRO says the new system will feature new and improved functionalities that will bring about welcome improvements for users of the system, and should also speed up job completion times.
A key improvement under the new regime will be the introduction of a new 56-day period, from the Annual Return Date, for companies to file their B1 annual return and upload their financial statements.
Newly, users will be able to upload scanned PDFs of documents and affix digital signatures, rather than needing to submit paperwork with original signatures.
The process of having the documents signed will also become significantly easier, as the CORE portal will enable signature requests to be sent digitally to the relevant persons for completion via the system, doing away with the need for important documents to be mailed and returned.
The filing of B1 annual reports, which can be a cumbersome multiple-stage process, will be a simpler, one-step one. Newly, signatures will be required only after the financial statements have been added to CORE, making signature the final step in the process, actionable only after all the necessary paperwork is complete.
The CORE system will also enable users to check the status of their companies, receive filing notifications for companies in a portfolio, and get notifications of changes in the status of documents relating to their filing obligations, among other things.
Other changes
Twenty forms that are important for establishing and maintaining a company in Ireland will be accessible in one place in the CORE system and available for download from the portal upon launch, for submission electronically.
CORE will enable draft documents to be saved for completion later, there is to be improved search functionality, and the CRO has established a simplified method of paying fees online.
The Transition
For users with existing login details under the old system, existing credentials will be carried over. That said, it will still be possible to log into the classic CORE website.
Until the system is fully bedded in, draft documents and works in progress from the previous system will not be visible under the new one. However, recent submissions will be accessible via 'My Filings', and existing top-up accounts will be transferred over as well, viewable under 'My transactions'.
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