Important Notice: Information pertaining to the Beneficial Owner/s of Maltese Companies

In July 2019 the Companies Act (Register of Beneficial Owners) (Amendment) Regulations were put into place and will become effective following the entry into force of Legal Notice 247 of 2020. The Malta Business Registry (MBR) has produced a notice that requires the attention of all company officers. The notice provides an overview of the regulatory changes that will be implemented and effective as of 1st July 2020.

Key Amendments Highlighted in this Notice:

On the anniversary of a company’s registration, a return in the form set out in the First Schedule of the Regulations is to be submitted. This return shows any change in the details on beneficial owners such as name, country of residence or official identification document number, in the cases where there are no changes, the company needs to confirm that no changes took place. The return is to be signed by at least one director of the company or the company secretary and sent to the Registrar for registration within forty-two days after the anniversary date.

For any changes in the senior managing officials of a company, the company has to within fourteen days after the date of when the change was recorded with the company deliver to the Registrar a notice of the change, in the form set out in the First Schedule of the Regulations.

The Registrar powers have extended in relation to registration matters.  The Registrar can in fact:

• Refuse to register documents of a company if the beneficial ownership information was not submitted or if they are not satisfied that the company has provided accurate and up to date information regarding the beneficial owners of the company;
• Refuse new incorporations for directors involved in other Maltese registered companies that failed to submit information regarding the beneficial owners;
• Before registering a new company or return, request additional information or documentation which they seem necessary regarding the beneficial information submitted to him.

The penalty imposed by the Regulations whereby the Registrar deems it necessary to update the beneficial ownership information in the register in terms of the Regulations, has increased and every officer of the company shall be liable to a penalty of no more than €100,000.

Administrative penalties will be increased to a maximum one time penalty of 10,000 per default apart from a maximum daily penalty of €500 per default.

To read the full amendments made to the Companies Act (Register of Beneficial Owners) (Amendment) Regulations Click Here.

For more information on how Zeta can assist you please contact our Business Development team on bd@zeta-financial.com.