the irish registered company
As and from the 30th October 1999 Companies registered in Ireland are deemed to be resident for Corporation Tax (CT) purposes. The concept of the Irish Registered Non Resident (IRNR) no longer exists. Therefore Irish companies are now recognised by fiscal authorities in other jurisdictions as being fully taxable entities despite the current and incoming lower rate of CT. It should be noted that in order to incorporate a new company after April 2001 the subscribers must demonstrate an intention to carry on economic activity within the Republic of Ireland. However, ICSL have an extensive stock of shelf companies which were incorporated prior to April 2001 and are therefore outside the scope of this requirement.
TAXATION
|
Corporation Tax is 16% in the year 2001, this will fall to 12.5% in the year 2003. Activity carried on outside the Irish State is classified as “passive” income and is liable for CT at 25%. However, legal opinion attained by ICSL confirms that if the business administration of the company is conducted from within Ireland then the lower rate of Corporation Tax will apply notwithstanding the place of the activity of the business. By business administration we mean that the invoices are generated and the day to day administration is conducted in Ireland. The Inland Revenue Services will only offer VAT registration to companies which are proposing to generate vatable transactions in Ireland on an ongoing basis.
|
SHAREHOLDERS
|
Irish companies must have a minimum of one shareholder who may be corporate or natural persons. Details of shareholders appear on the public file but anonymity can be preserved by the use of nominee shareholders. Bearer shares cannot be issued.
|
DIRECTORS
|
Companies registered in Ireland must have two directors who must be natural persons and at least one of those must be resident in the State for fiscal purposes. Alternatively the company must arrange a Bond that complies fully with the directives as laid down in Section 43 Company Bonds as required in the Companies (Amendment) (No 2) Act, 1999 (Bonding) Order 2000. New companies must comply immediately or they will be refused Incorporation at the Companies Registration Office. Existing Companies had until 18th April 2001, to fully comply with the bond requirement. International Company Services (Ireland) Limited will arrange to have a Bond supplied which will be valid for a minimum of 2 years as stipulated in the Act. The premium for the bond is £1,200 Sterling, inclusive of 2% Government Levy for the full 2 year period. In the event that the penalty of the bond is invoked, the insurers have the right to pursue the offending company, in order to recover their loss. The Bond will be arranged on receipt of a satisfactorily completed application form and the premium.
|
ANNUAL REPORTING |
An annual return and audited accounts must be filed at the public registry. It should be noted that the company will be liable to be struck off the register for non compliance with these requirements and it is not possible to file the annual return for an Irish company without accompanying that return with audited accounts.
|
TIMESCALE
|
Companies can normally be incorporated within 10 working days.
|
RESTRICTIONS
ON NAME AND
ACTIVITY |
Names must end with the word “Limited” or the Irish translation “Teoranta” The following words and their associated activities are restricted: Insurance, Assurance, Bank, Building Society or any other words deemed sensitive or offensive.
|
LOCAL
REQUIREMENTS |
As a matter of local company law the company MUST maintain a registered office address within Ireland and it is a practical, but not legal requirement for the company secretary to have a presence in the jurisdiction. We would generally provide this service as part of the domiciliary service fee. |
|
 |
|
|
