Errant companies who play fast and loose with their legal obligation to file accurate annual returns with the Companies Registration Office may soon be in for a rude awakening. The Minister of State for Science, Technology and Commerce, Mr Michael Smith, in presenting the Companies Report this week, warned that the CRO is going play hardball with recalcitrant company draft-dodgers, a crackdown reflecting the current outbreak of war on all forms of financial irregularities.

Of the 112,668 returns due from companies last year only 38,632, or a miserly 34.3 per cent, were received. In addition, the accuracy of returns received by the CRO was also "a cause for concern". The Minister beamed out a polite but firm message that, if a significant improvement in voluntary compliance is not achieved within 12 months, he will encourage "a more active enforcement policy" by the Companies Office. More writs will fly in the direction of companies which fail to obey the law, possibly leading to a court appearance with the risk that limited liability status may be withdrawn.

The newly beefed-up CRO, now operating from its new and more "customer friendly" premises in Parnell Street, has the staffing and updated computerised systems to tackle the backlog of paper and keep pace with an increasing workload. The CRO's "customer friendly" staff will, if required, help firms navigate the system but could turn decidedly unfriendly when faced with laziness, inadequate or misleading information or ignorance of the law. Don't say you weren't warned.