Irish Region

As a brief re-cap first of all, under Section 137 of the Companies Act 2014 every Irish registered company must have at least one director appointed who is an EEA resident.  If they don’t comply with that then their other options are:-

1. A Section 140 certificate that the entity has an economic link with the State; or

2. A Section 137 bond (“the Bond”).

The most popular option for many companies is usually the Bond.  The Bond must be for the value of €25,000 and for a minimum period of two years, and can be obtained from an insurance broker. On the expiration of the Bond, the company is obliged to renew it and submit the new Bond to the Companies Registration Office (CRO).  The purpose of the Bond is to act as a form of insurance in the case of any fines or penalties that may be levied under certain sections of the Companies Act or the Taxes Consolidation Act. 

It has always been the practice that the original signed Bond in duplicate would be delivered to the CRO for it to be accepted and processed.

The CRO confirmed that they will accept a certified copy of a Bond in accordance with paragraph 7 of S.I. No. 215/2015.  The certified copy should have a stamp on it stating that it is a certified as a true copy of the original as seen by the solicitor or commissioner for oaths or notary public who certifies it as a true copy of the original, or the certified copy should have a stamp on it stating that it is a certified as a true copy of the original, certified by the insurance company that issued the bond (the insurance company having seen the original of the bond which it issued). The CRO does not require the original bond to be lodged

There is still no update on a facility to upload the Bond copies on CORE, we will keep you updated should this change.