Changes to the rules regarding beneficial owners have recently been published and may require a first deposit or an update on your part:
- Companies - If you have already filed a beneficial owner form (DBE) and it is up to date, you have fulfilled your obligations. If applicable, file a new or updated DBE.
- Collective investments, associations, foundations, endowment funds, sustainability funds and collective interest groups established on French territory; trusts; and administrators of any other comparable legal device governed by foreign law must now complete a declaration.
The DBE form template has been updated and should be used for any update to your existing DBE or any new repository. It is available on the infogreffe website.
Note:
- "Restricted" publicity of the beneficial owner registry (RBE) - Certain information concerning the beneficial owners will be available to the public: name, common name, pseudonym, first names, month, year of birth, country of residence and nationality of the beneficial owners, as well as the nature and extent of the effective interests they hold in the company or entity.
The following information will not be accessible by everyone: the day and place of birth as well as the personal address (except the country).
- Full access to the RBE by the authorities - The RBE, in its entirety, is accessible by all the supervisory authorities and the persons subject to the duty of vigilance in AML-CFT matters including lawyers.
- Obligation to report inconsistencies - Lawyers, the ACPR, the AMF and the tax authorities are now obliged to report any inconsistencies between the information they have and the information in the RBE.
- Obligation of lawyers to collect information - Lawyers have an obligation to collect information relating to beneficial owners in the course of their activities, including when providing tax advice, and clients are obliged to give it to them in a certain time limit, failing which they expose themselves to criminal sanctions.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
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