Auditnet News
Substantial Changes in the Implementation of the UBO Framework
1. Financial penalties occurring due to refusal, neglect or omission of the filing of the UBO register, as clearly stated by the provisions of the Law 188(I) 2007 and its guidelines, shall only be imposed onto the company or the legal entity itself. No penalties shall be imposed on the directors or the secretary.
2. The Director of a company that omits or neglects to fulfill its obligations regarding UBO filings, is liable jointly and/or severally with the company for the payment of the penalty imposed on the company.
3. The financial penalties applicable have been revised. The first penalty imposed is that of 100E on the first day of omission and an additional 50E for each day that the violation is continued, with a maximum of 5000E in total per company or legal entity.
4. A provision has been added which awards the Registrar of Companies the authority to issue a directive to institutionalize the procedure of administrative review and/or submit and evaluate an objection against a penalty imposed on a legal entity.
5. Addition of a provision granting the Registrar of Companies the authority to remove any legal entity that omits or neglects to file its UBO obligations from the Registry, in accordance with the article 327 of the Companies Law or subparagraph 5 of article 57 of the General and Limited Partnership and Business Names Law.
6. Addition of a provision awarding the Registrar of Companies the authority to apply to court for the issuance of an injuction ordering the compliance of an individual with the obligations occurring from the article 61A of the 188(I)2007 Law and the Directives issued thereunder.
Extension and Withdrawal of Financial Charges
Withing the context of a review of the implementation of the legislation and after considering the high financial burdens, the fact that the majority of companies in Cyprus are Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), the high proportion of companies that have fulfilled their obligations, along with the compensatory measures included in the aforementioned amendment of the Law, the executive authority, in consultation with the House of Representatives, has decided to grant an additional extension of the deadline for the filing of the UBO Register till January 31st 2025.
As of February 1st 2025, non-compliance with the submission of the Register of Ultimate Beneficial Owners will lead to sanctions being imposed, in accordance with the provisions of the Law 188(I)2007 for the Prevention and Combating of Money Laundering, which was amended and voted by the House of Representatives and implemented on 16/12/2024 and of KDP112/21.
Following all of the arrangements discussed above, the Department of the Registrar of Companies and Intellectual Property has decided to revoke any financial charges imposed from January 1st 2024 and to refund any amounts already paid.
Refunds will be made as follows:
a) For payments completed via JCC, the full amount will be refunded to the card used for the payment. No further actions required on behalf of the individual affected.
b) For payments made to the Fund of the Department of the Registrar of Companies and Intellectual Property, the amount will be refunded to the Bank account of the applicant after the submission of the KE1 form, the FIMAS authorisation form and a copy of the proof of payment along with the IBAN.
It is reminded that the Register of Beneficial Owners is electronic and any updates occur on https://ubo.meci.gov.cy Please send additional questions to ubos@meci.gov.cy
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