Cyprus – Initiation of Beneficial Owner’s Register
Pursuant to the issuance of the updated Regulation for the Beneficial Owner’s Register (as per Κ.Δ.Π. 112/2021), published in the Republic of Cyprus on the 12th March 2021, we would like to update you that the Registrar of Companies has announced the electronic service for the registration of beneficial owner’s particulars for companies and other legal entities is made available as from 16th March 2021 under the section “e-filing services” of the Companies section on its website.
According to a previous Registrar of Companies’ announcement in February 2021, companies and other legal entities can begin to submit the details of their beneficial owners into the intermediate system solution as of Tuesday, 16th March 2021. Starting as of this date, a period of six (6) months is granted to all existing entities to submit their beneficial owners’ information into the system. During the intermediate solution period no penalties will be imposed for late submissions.
Entities registered on or after 16th March 2021 (new entities), are required to submit all of the required information in respect of each of their beneficial owners to the UBO register no later than thirty (30) days from the date of their registration.
The responsibility for the true and accurate submission of the beneficial owner(s) information lies with the company or other legal entity itself and with its officers. In case of a change in the information of a beneficial owner, the company or other legal entity and its officers must, within fourteen (14) days from the date they become aware of such a change, submit to the UBO register the information regarding the new beneficial owner or any change in the details of an existing beneficial owner.
During the period from 1st to 31st December of each calendar year, every company or other legal entity must confirm electronically to the Registrar of Companies the information in relation to its beneficial owners. It is noted that this cannot be implemented via the interim solution, but only via the final system solution to be developed, for which entities will be informed accordingly by the Registrar of Companies.
In exceptional circumstances, beneficial owners have the right to apply to restrict public access to their information.
For any further guidance regarding this procedure or if you require an initial consultation, please do not hesitate to contact our Law Firm at info@vrikislegal.com, +357 22 251 777 or +357 25 261 777 or please visit our office in Nicosia or Limassol.