CRO receives regular requests from companies to treat annual returns lost or delayed in the post as received on time. Section 343(2), Companies Act 2014, places the responsibility on the company itself for ensuring prompt delivery of annual returns to the Registrar. Therefore, where a document is delivered to the CRO after its filing deadline as a result of being lost or delayed in the postal system, the law leaves the CRO with no option but to treat it as being late. The only circumstance where CRO will consider an application for an exception to be made to this rule is where the company has sent the document using a time guaranteed service on a date which, under the guarantee, should have resulted in on-time delivery to the CRO and where the service provides proof of delivery or tracks the document to its destination. In such circumstances, CRO will require the presenter to provide independent documentary evidence to support their case and will also take account of our own internal systems for recording the contents of envelopes delivered using a time guaranteed service. There are a number of service providers offering this type of delivery service. For example, An Post has confirmed to CRO that EXPRESS POST offers a guaranteed next day delivery service with tracking facilities within the State. However, An Post makes it clear that REGISTERED POST DOES NOT GUARANTEE NEXT DAY DELIVERY. Therefore, if a document is sent to the CRO by Registered Post and is delivered after the filing deadline, CRO has no option but to treat it as being late. If a company finds itself in this situation, it can apply to the District Court for extra time to file its annual return under Section 343(5), Companies Act 2014. – See more at: http://www.clscharteredsecretaries.ie/blog/cro-ezine-%E2%80%93-important-point-on-delivery-of-returns-by-post.557.html#sthash.8nRGS3CS.dpuf