Major overhaul of the Act establishing a Register of Beneficial Owners of Domestic Legal Entities

The Guidance relating to the Register of Economic Beneficiaries of Legal Entities, issued this month by the Office of Justice, states inter alia that the notification obligations of legal entities are based on Article 4 of the Act establishing a Register of Economic Beneficiaries of Legal Entities. In principle, all relevant data must be notified to the Office of Justice within 30 days with effect from the event relevant to the respective legal entity (e.g. entry in the Commercial Register or formation), or within 30 days with effect from the date on which corresponding changes become known. Here, this means legal entities entered in the Commercial Register or formed after the Act establishing a Register of Economic Beneficiaries of Legal Entities came into force, i.e. after 1 April 2021.

In addition to the Guidance, on its website, under the heading 'Register of Economic Beneficiaries (VwbP)', the Office of Justice has made available the following information documents, as well as application forms and order forms:

Information sheet on new company formation or changes
This document provides information on the obligation to enter data, the required content of such data, online data input and disclosure of the data recorded.

Technical instructions on data recording (step-by-step instructions)
These instructions take you through the steps of registration, multiple authentication, recording legal entities, recording economic beneficiaries and editing recorded data.

Information sheet for associations
This information sheet provides information on the registration obligations relating to associations.

Information on registration obligations of associations
According to Article 4 of the Act establishing a Register of Economic Beneficiaries of Legal Entities, associations subject to mandatory entry in the Commercial Register may be under a duty to register their economic beneficiaries with the Register of Economic Beneficiaries. The Office of Justice is not able to establish whether an association is entered in the Commercial Register based on a statutory duty, or whether such entry has been made on a voluntary basis. For this reason, this form is used to request information as to whether the association in question is subject to mandatory entry in the Commercial Register. The form must be submitted to the Office of Justice within 30 days of entry in the Commercial Register.

Order form for requesting an official excerpt from the Register of Economic Beneficiaries
This form can be used to order an official excerpt from the Register of Economic Beneficiaries from the Office of Justice. This will contain details of the economic beneficiaries recorded in association with the legal entity. However, the official excerpt can only be requested by the legal entity which is itself the subject of the application, and is liable to a charge.

Order form for requesting a certificate of entry in the Register of Economic Beneficiaries
This form can be used to order a certificate from the Office of Justice attesting to entry in the Register of Economic Beneficiaries. This will exclusively contain a statement to the effect that, with regard to the legal entity, economic beneficiaries are entered in the Register. However, the certificate can only be requested by the legal entity which is itself the subject of the application, and is liable to a charge.

Application to allocation of a legal entity to a user account ('Application for legal entity')
Using this form, an application can be made to the Office of Justice for allocation of a legal entity to a user account (new user). The original signed hard copy of the application must be submitted to the Office of Justice.

Application to restrict the disclosure of data in relation to domestic due diligence obligations and third parties
Using this form, an application can be made to the Office of Justice to restrict the disclosure of data in relation to domestic due diligence obligations and third parties in accordance with the terms of Article 18 of the Act establishing a Register of Economic Beneficiaries of Legal Entities. The application must be submitted by the data subject's legal entity and the original signed hard copy of the application must be delivered to the Office of Justice.  

Authorization to apply for disclosure for domestic banks, financial institutions and other parties subject to due diligence obligations
This form may be used by domestic banks, financial institutions and other parties subject to due diligence obligations to authorize a natural person to apply for disclosure. Such authorization is valid for a maximum period of one year and the original signed hard copy of the form must be submitted to the Office of Justice. In addition, the authorized person's signature on the form must be certified. Details of the disclosure application procedure will be served on the authorized person by registered post.