Table of Contents
What is the UBO register?
The UBO (Ultimate Beneficial Owners) register is a register in which entities, including companies, must register their beneficial owners . This register was introduced in Belgium on the basis of the law of 18 September 2017 on the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing and the restriction of the use of cash (Loi du 18 septembre 2017 relative à la prévention du blanchiment de capitaux et du financement du terrorisme et à la limitation de l’utilisation des espèces).
According to this law, companies must register the details of their beneficial owners within a month of incorporation.
The obligation only applies to individuals who are setting up a company. Self-employed persons with sole proprietorships are exempt and do not have to register their beneficial owners.
Who Is a Beneficial Owner?
Beneficial owners are the natural persons who
- own the entity or
- exercise control over the entity, directly or indirectly (e.g. through intermediary companies).
Your Liability as a Legal Representative
Legal representatives, such as directors or administrators, have a number of specific responsibilities in managing the UBO register:
- register: register beneficial owners timely and correctly in the UBO register.
- add supporting documents: add documents proving that the information recorded is accurate, adequate and up-to-date.
- inform: inform the beneficial owners of their registration.
- delegate registration (optional): registration can be delegated to an employee of the company or to an external third party such as an accountant.
How Do You Register in the UBO-Register? Registration in the UBO register is done via the MyMinFin online platform.
- Log in on behalf of a company.
- Fill in the requested details about the beneficial owners.
- Upload the required supporting documents.
What Should You Do if the Information Changes?
The information in the UBO register on beneficial owners must be accurate, adequate and up-to-date.
- communicate changes: if there are any changes in the information of the beneficial owners, you must update the information in the UBO register within one month of the change.
- Annual confirmation: if there are no changes, you must confirm annually that the registered information is still up to date.
What are the Penalties for Non-Compliance?
- fines: entities that do not comply with their information obligations or whose information is not accurate or up to date risk a fine of between 250 and 50,000 euros.
- ex officio deletion: in certain cases, the company may also be delisted ex officio from the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises, the national database of all Belgian companies.
Further information
FPS Finance
Contact Center
Phone: +32 2 572 57 57 (code 16551)
E-mail: ubobelgium@minfin.fed.be
Website: UBO Register | Compliance | FPS Finance (belgium.be)
