A Company Enquiry Letter arrives with your Irish company's CRO number and a request for information. The company may not have started selling, or you may already have asked an accountant to register it for tax. Does the letter still need an answer, and is Form 11F CRO another annual return?
Treat it as a specific piece of correspondence to resolve, not something to file away until the accounts are ready. This guide focuses on the Statement of Particulars and the notice-response workflow, rather than repeating a general checklist of company tax registrations.
1. Identify which form the letter is asking for
The letters CRO in the form's name do not turn it into a return to the Companies Registration Office. Form 11F CRO supplies company particulars to Revenue. A B1 is the separate CRO annual return; a CT1 is the company's Corporation Tax return. A director's personal Income Tax Form 11 is another task again.
Tax registration also has its own route. Revenue's guidance says a represented company's agent submits the registration through ROS; its unrepresented-company guidance identifies TR2 or TR2 (FT), depending on the company's status. Do not select a document merely because its name includes the word tax.
Use the comparison below to separate the jobs when discussing support. Ask which submission is being prepared, who will make it and what evidence will show that the particular request has been answered. One engagement may cover several tasks, but that needs to be agreed rather than inferred.
| Document or process | Main purpose |
|---|---|
| 11F CRO | Company Statement of Particulars to Revenue |
| Tax registration | Register the applicable tax heads through the correct route |
| CT1 | Company Corporation Tax return |
| B1 | CRO annual return, separate from Revenue correspondence |
2. Record the notice and the right 30-day trigger
Revenue identifies three relevant events: the start of trading, a material change in particulars already supplied, and an inspector's notice requiring a statement. The response period is linked to the relevant event, not simply to the date you decide to open the envelope.
Record the notice date, company name and CRO number, stated response instructions and deadline. Give the person handling it a copy promptly through an agreed secure channel. Do not wait for the next B1 or CT1 appointment: those are different filing timetables.
If the letter was forwarded late, the response date is unclear or a deadline appears to have passed, ask the adviser or Revenue to establish the position immediately. Do not assume that mail delay, an unanswered enquiry or purchasing a service automatically creates extra time.
Assign an owner for the response. A director may think the secretary has sent it, while the secretary assumes the accountant is dealing with every Revenue letter. Write down who will review the facts, who approves the reply and who checks that it has actually been sent.
3. Reply truthfully if the company has not started trading
A company that has not launched should not invent sales or a commencement date to make the form look complete. Equally, it should not treat no sales as permission to ignore a request. Revenue's manual explains that its trading-status reminder requires a reply, either seeking registration or updating the company's status.
For example, a fictional LTD incorporated in March is still developing its product when a letter arrives in October. The useful response starts with the real timeline and the current plan, not the March incorporation date copied into every date field. Tell the preparer about development work, contracts, expenses and any activity that could affect the assessment.
The published form distinguishes commencement of trade from incorporation and asks for the expected commencement date where trading has not yet started. Discuss what to enter if that date is genuinely uncertain; do not turn a speculative launch target into a statement that the company has already traded.
If the business will not proceed at all, discuss an orderly closure separately. Do not assume that returning a status update closes the company, cancels every tax obligation or replaces the appropriate CRO process. Keep the decision about the company's future distinct from answering today's letter.
4. Assemble a consistent set of company particulars
Have the preparer check the legal company name, registered office, business address, secretary's details, activity, trading chronology and accounting date against the company's records. A postal address, working premises and a person's residential details are not interchangeable fields.
The current form also asks about certain arrangements under which business is carried on by a non-resident company and includes a section for Irish-incorporated companies that are not Irish resident. Do not complete those questions by assuming that a director living abroad decides the company's tax residence. Refer cross-border arrangements and any residence uncertainty to the tax adviser.
Gather the records that explain the facts: incorporation evidence, the agreed accounting date, contracts, operating addresses and earlier registration correspondence. Give the adviser the underlying dates rather than a polished description that omits inconvenient details.
For a paper Form 11F CRO, check that the declaration is signed and dated and the signatory's capacity is recorded as requested. Review the final version before submission. Make sure a proposed date is not presented as an actual one, an old secretary is not copied from an outdated file and the activity description reflects what the company really does. A consistent reply is easier to understand than contradictory attachments.
5. Check previous statements and registration evidence
If someone says this was already done, ask for the actual correspondence, submission date and reference. The published form specifically allows the date of an earlier Statement of Particulars to be identified. A recollection that the accountant 'sorted Revenue' is not enough to match a new request to a previous response.
Having a tax reference does not, by itself, explain which tax heads are registered or whether the letter has been dealt with. Form 11F CRO accommodates companies already registered for tax and references issued for eStamping or LPT. Ask the adviser to check the actual registration record rather than treating any number as a complete clearance.
Do not assume every company must duplicate work that Revenue has already accepted. Instead, reconcile the notice with the earlier evidence and confirm what reply or further information is needed. If the previous agent cannot provide a record promptly, raise that gap with the person now responsible; do not invent a submission date.
Where a material detail has changed, identify the old information, the new position and when it changed. A previously accurate statement is not a reason to overlook a later update requirement. Keep the supporting chronology with the response file.
6. Use the official response route and protect the access code
Revenue's Statement of Particulars page links to its Company Enquiry Letter reply service. That route asks for the company's CRO number and the Security Access Number on the notice. Start from Revenue's official guidance rather than a guessed address or a link in an unverified message.
Keep the Security Access Number private. Do not paste it into a public contact form, checkout notes or an ordinary support conversation. Use the agreed secure process if an authorised adviser needs to see the letter. A public CRO number is not a substitute for the notice's private access code.
For written statements and updates, Revenue's manual describes MyEnquiries addressed to the National Registrations Unit and a postal route. Follow the actual notice and current guidance for the case; do not assume a generic email to an old office is the correct response. If access fails, arrange an appropriate alternative promptly rather than leaving the request unanswered.
Revenue recommends secure communication for confidential information and warns about convincing fake messages. Verify a doubtful request through contact details obtained independently from Revenue's website. Do not disclose ROS passwords or digital certificates to someone merely because they offer to make the letter disappear.
7. Keep evidence and deal with follow-up
Retain the notice, the approved response, attachments and submission acknowledgement together. If an adviser handles it, ask what evidence you will receive and who will monitor later questions. Sending the adviser a scan is not the same as sending a response to Revenue.
MyEnquiries lets users track correspondence. Its Received status means the enquiry has entered a processing queue; Awaiting Customer Feedback means Revenue is waiting for a reply. Do not interpret a received message or a payment receipt as an assurance that every substantive issue has been resolved.
Failure to supply required particulars can have consequences beyond a missing form. Revenue describes penalties and possible notification to the Registrar. Section 726(b) identifies such a Revenue notification as a ground for involuntary strike-off. That does not mean the company is automatically dissolved on day 31; establish the actual stage if further correspondence arrives.
If a CRO notice is also present, have it reviewed separately. Resolving Revenue's information request does not automatically cure a missing B1, and filing a B1 does not itself answer the Revenue letter. Identify each outstanding action rather than treating every envelope as one compliance job.
8. Company Enquiry Letter response checklist
Use this list to brief the person handling the notice. Keep private access details out of the initial public enquiry and arrange the document handover securely.
- Identify the exact request, notice date, company and response instructions.
- Record the relevant deadline and appoint one person to track the response.
- Establish whether trading has started, is planned or will not proceed.
- Check company particulars, activity, accounting date and any cross-border questions.
- Find earlier statements, tax-registration evidence and correspondence references.
- Agree the official submission route and protect the Security Access Number.
- Review the final reply and retain proof of submission and any follow-up.
- Confirm the agreed service scope and total payable before ordering support.
9. Match the support to the work the letter reveals
StartCompany.ie's tax-registration service describes support with the applicable Revenue registrations, ROS setup and guidance. It is relevant where the notice reveals that registration work still needs to be arranged. Tell the team that a Company Enquiry Letter is involved, whether trading has started and whether an agent already represents the company.
A notice response, historic corrections, residence advice, accounts, CT1 preparation or a CRO strike-off problem should not be assumed to be included in a routine registration order. Ask explicitly whether reviewing and answering this particular notice is within the proposed engagement and what information or separate professional advice is needed.
Confirm responsibilities, the work covered and total payable before instruction. Buying a service does not extend Revenue's deadline or guarantee acceptance of a response. If the request is unclear or overdue, discuss the notice before ordering so the team can establish the appropriate support rather than treating another payment as proof that the problem is finished.
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Official information and next steps
Revenue guidance, the published Form 11F CRO, Tax and Duty Manual 38-02-08 (updated January 2026) and the relevant company-law provision were checked on 30 October 2026. Follow the actual notice and current official instructions. This is general preparation guidance, not individual tax or legal advice or a guarantee that a notice is resolved. The development-stage company example is fictional.
- Revenue: Company Statement of Particulars and reply service
- Revenue: Form 11F CRO and explanatory notes
- Revenue: Tax and Duty Manual 38-02-08
- Revenue: tax-registration routes
- Revenue: Corporation Tax payment and filing
- Revenue: MyEnquiries and tracking
- Revenue: security and confidential communication
- CRO: annual return filing
- Companies Act 2014: section 726