Companies Act 2014 section 300

Exemption from consolidation: holding company that is subsidiary undertaking of undertaking registered outside EEA

Section 300 sets out the circumstances in which a holding company that is itself owned by a parent undertaking registered outside the European Economic Area may be exempt from preparing group (consolidated) financial statements.

• An Irish holding company owned by a non-EEA parent may be exempt from preparing group financial statements, provided the non-EEA parent owns more than 50% of its shares and certain ownership and consent thresholds are met
• The exemption is conditional on the Irish company and all its subsidiaries being included in the non-EEA parent's consolidated accounts, which must be prepared under the EU Accounting Directive, IFRS, or recognised equivalent standards, and must be properly audited
• The Irish holding company must disclose the exemption in its own financial statements, identify the non-EEA parent by name and address, and file copies of the parent's consolidated accounts, annual report, and auditors' report with the Registrar within the normal filing deadline
• When calculating ownership percentages, shares held by the non-EEA parent's wholly owned subsidiaries or on its behalf are treated as belonging to the parent, and directors' qualifying shares are disregarded when assessing whether the company is wholly owned