The law dated 13 January 2019 on the register of beneficial owners has been published on 15 January 2019 in the Luxembourg Official Journal and shall enter into force on 1 March 2019 (the “New Law”).
Luxembourg is increasingly committing itself to the goal of transparency initiated by the European Union (“EU”) through the implementation into national law of the requirements under Article 30 of Directive (EU) 2015/849 referring to the beneficial owners’ information, modified by Directive (EU) 2018/843.
The register of beneficial owners will be named the Registre des Bénéficiaires Effectifs (“RBE”) and will centralise the information of all beneficial owners of entities registered with the Luxembourg trade and companies register (Registre de Commerce et des Sociétés), with the exception of individual retailers. The term “beneficial owner” will be defined by reference to the Law of 12 November 2004, as amended, regarding the fight against money laundering and the prevention of the use of the financial sector for money-laundering purposes (“Beneficial Owner(s)”).
Luxembourg Business Registers, an economic interest group that is also in charge of the Luxembourg Trade and Companies Register, will manage the RBE. The RBE will contain the following information on Beneficial Owners: name, surname, nationality, date and place of birth, country of residence, private or professional address, national or foreign registry’s identification number and nature and extent of the effective interests. Listed companies are subject to lighter requirements and will only have to provide the name of the regulated market through which their shares are listed.
The request for the publication of information and its modifications should come from the registered entity or through its agent. Such requests shall be completed through electronic means on the RBE’s website within one month of the moment that the entity acknowledged or should have acknowledged the event requiring a registration or a modification. The request for registration shall be supported by annexed documents. Such supporting documents will be listed in an upcoming additional regulation.
Fines ranging from EUR 1,250 to EUR 1,250,000 might apply to entities and/or Beneficial Owners in the case of failure to declare.
National authorities will have access to all information within the scope of their missions, with no exception. All person will have access to all information, with the exception of private or professional addresses and identification numbers. An excerpt in electronic form or on paper will be available in exchange for a small fee.
A registered entity or a Beneficial Owner will be able to, in very exceptional circumstances, limit access to certain information.
Registered entities will have six months to comply with the New Law starting from 1 March 2019. Public access to the RBE should be available at the end of this period.
Further information can be found by clicking on the below summary table:
