The Companies Registration Office (CRO) is introducing a new regime of fines and other measures aimed at increasing compliance with filing requirements.

A list of the "worst 5,000" is to be drawn up each year, highlighting the companies that are consistently late in filing returns. These companies will then be targeted with one or more of the serious penalties open to the CRO.

These penalties include on-the-spot fines, strike-off, prosecution of directors, prosecution of company, and High Court application directing the company and officer to file the returns.

The announcement was made by the Companies Registrar, Mr Paul Farrell, yesterday.

The latest figures show that average compliance in 2003 was up to 84 per cent from 75 per cent the previous year. This translates into approximately 12,000 extra companies filing annual returns.

"A nine-point improvement in one year is welcome," he said.

Mr Farrell said that late-filing penalties increased from €12.5 million in 2002 to €28 million last year.

"This marked rise can be explained in large part by our strike- off regime during 2003, whereby an average of 50 per cent of those companies listed for strike off filed their returns and incurred substantial late-filing penalties."

However, he said there was also a "troubling trend" whereby a sizeable number of firms have paid more than one penalty.