The Companies (Corporate Enforcement Authority) Act 2021 (“Act”) has brought in some key changes to company law in Ireland. From Sunday 23 April 2023, there will now be a requirement for all directors in Ireland to state their PPS numbers when completing Companies Registration Office (“CRO”) filing forms.

The Act states a director shall include their personal public service number in:

• An application made to incorporate a company;
• An annual return made by a company; and
• A notice of change of directors or secretaries made by a company.

If any person fails to comply with this, they shall be guilty of a category 4 offence (a fine not exceeding €5,000).

The PPS number will be used to allow the CRO to verify the identity of each beneficial owner and director/secretary, prove that they are a natural person and minimise the possibility of duplicate entries.

When your PPS number is filed with the CRO and has been validated, a PPS number will be retained securely in an encrypted format and stored securely. It will not be made publicly available and will not be accessible by any member of the CRO or any other party.

If you do not have an Irish PPS number, then you must apply for a Verified Identity Number unless you have already been issued with a Registered Beneficial Owner number as part of the process of registering beneficial ownership of a company in Ireland. If required, a VIN is obtained by submitting a Form VIF (Declaration as to Verification of Identity) to the CRO containing the following information:

• Name;
• Date of Birth;
• Nationality; and
• Address

Any relevant entity that fails to file a PPS number with the CRO where such a number has been assigned to a director, and/or submits a VIF application where a PPS number exists for the director, will have committed an offence.

It is recommended that companies prepare for this change in requirements by applying for VIN for any director who does not have an Irish PPS number to avoid any delays in submitting any future filings to the CRO.

How We Can Help

If you have any queries or concerns, or would like to discuss the above in further detail, please contact Eimear Grealy, in the Corporate Department of BHSM on +353 (0)1 440 8300 or [email protected] for further information.

This article is for general information purposes. Legal advice must be obtained for individual circumstances. Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this article, no liability is accepted by the author for any inaccuracies.