The introduction of the UBO registry in the Netherlands has been delayed until 1 January 2023. UBO (Ultimate Beneficial Owners) - ultimate beneficial owners. This term refers to persons who own or have control over a company. The previous UBO registration deadline was September 1, 2022.
All companies are required to disclose their ultimate beneficiaries. The move is aimed at combating economic crime so that specific individuals can no longer hide behind faceless company names. It is believed that in this way it will be possible to intensify the fight against money laundering, tax evasion and the financing of terrorism.
The ultimate beneficial owners include persons who:
- own more than 25% of the shares of a company or legal entity;
- have more than 25% of the voting rights in the company;
- are officially appointed directors of the company or have effective control over it.
The task of registering a UBO in a special registry is to identify all the actual owners of various legal entities. Such people often hide behind a long chain of companies, and now they are going to put an end to this. So, for example, if the company is part of a holding, the owners of the holding should be indicated as its ultimate beneficial owners.
The fight against economic crimes is a noble task, and all civilized countries are now engaged in such a fight. However, the Dutch Chamber of Commerce and Industry is not up to the task of introducing the UBO register from 1 September. At the same time, interested companies criticize the quality of the data entered in the registry and fear that after the earlier deadline they will have problems due to the UBO registry.
On July 29, 2022, a statement was circulated by all stakeholders that the introduction of the UBO registry will require additional time. It has now been decided that the ultimate beneficial owners of companies must be entered on the register by January 1, 2023. The new deadline applies only to companies that have already submitted documents to the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, but whose registration has not yet been completed.
More news from the Netherlands and the world
Nalog.nl provides legal, tax, accounting and migration services in the Netherlands. If you need help, contact our staff for advice!
Publication Date: 10.08.2022
