Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 May 2013
392. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the avenues available to former business owners whose businesses are now in receivership and who are seeking information about the affairs of the company that would ordinarily be produced on the six monthly filing by the receiver but which has not been filed. [24489/13]
View answer394. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will provide an assessment of the damage to good corporate governance and transparency that is done by receivers who fail to file six monthly filings at the Companies Registration Office in respect of companies that are in receivership. [24491/13]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 392 and 394 together.
The Companies Acts set out the powers and duties of receivers. There is an obligation on receivers to comply with the legislative provisions applicable to them. Sections 319 and 321 of the Companies Act 1963 provide that a receiver must send to the Registrar of Companies an abstract detailing the assets of the company of which he has taken possession, their estimated value, the proceeds of sale of any such assets and of his receipts and payments for each six months period following his appointment. If a receiver makes default in complying with Section 319, or if applicable Section 321, he is guilty of an offence. The offence may be prosecuted summarily or on indictment and the penalties are set out in Section 145 of the Companies Act 1990, as amended.
From information contained in my reply today to the Deputy’s Dáil question in relation to numbers of filings of six-monthly abstracts in 2012, it would appear that receivers do not fail to file the required abstracts, but many fail to file them within the statutory deadline. While non-compliance with a statutory deadline is not desirable, the Companies Registration Office (CRO) is not in a position to prosecute every case of late filing of statutory submissions. The CRO prioritises its limited enforcement resources towards the key compliance measure of securing the filing of Section 125 annual returns and financial statements by companies.
Section 322 (1) (a) and (2) of the Companies Act 1963 provide that if a receiver fails to file returns, accounts or other documents which he is required to do by law, and fails within 14 days of the serving of a notice requiring him to do so, a creditor or member or the registrar of companies may apply to the court for an order directing the receiver to make good the default within such period as may be specified in the order. There is no provision applicable to a former business owner who is not a member or creditor. Section 322 (3) provides that this does not affect the operation of any other enactment imposing penalties on receivers for similar statutory breaches to those set out in subsection (1).
