We have seen an increase in UK companies looking to continue direst access to the EEA post Brexit.  Most commonly a new Irish company is incorporated.  Equally there are large numbers of UK companies who have long established subsidiaries in Ireland.  This can be an ideal solution to maintain operations and trade within the EU post Brexit. However, any Irish company that operates with only UK resident Directors, will need to be pro-active in their Brexit preparations. These companies are required to implement one of the following three options before the end of 2020 to ensure compliance with the Companies Act 2014:

1. Appoint another director who is a resident in the European Economic Area (EEA);
2. Put in place the Section 137 Revenue Bond in the amount of €25,000; or
3. Provide a “Real and Continuous Link” to the Irish state. Please note this option will require Revenue approval and Irish-based employees.

What is a ‘Real and Continuous Link’

A company (incl. holding or subsidiaries or the same) that can display that either the company has a person working from a location in Ireland managing the business or if it carries on trade in the State, may be eligible to apply for a real and continuous link. It is important to note that this is unlikely to be conducted by a newly-incorporated company, and Irish based employees should be in place prior to applying.

What is the application process?

The application process for a link certificate is made under Section 140 of the Companies Act 2014 and has two distinct steps. The first would be to apply to the Irish Revenue service to obtain an opinion from the revenue commissioner that a link exists. It must be noted that the trading link must be in place to be eligible for a link certificate, the intention to create business in Ireland would not suffice.

The second step would be, together with the opinion from Revenue, to complete a form B67 submission to the Registrar of Companies confirming the existence of the link. With Section 140 of the Companies Act in place, a company can proceed and continue trade in Ireland without the need for a Non-Resident Bond in place or an EEA resident director.

Please contact us if you need assistance with any of the above.