Are you a managing director? Then we have important information for you: In future, almost all companies will be required to make certain notifications to the transparency register.
Transparency register
that Transparency register is the official platform of the Federal Republic of Germany, in which data from beneficial owners is entered. It was created with the amendment of Money Laundering Act (GwG) introduced and serves the overall goal of combating money laundering and terrorist financing.
By when does data have to be transmitted?
For companies that have not yet been covered, the Act provides for transition periods: Depending on the type of company, the notification must therefore be made by March 31, 2022 or by December 31, 2022 at the latest.
What are the consequences?
Violations of the notification requirements may result in severe fines from the Federal Administration Office:
- up to 100,000€ in case of negligent commission and with
- up to 2,000,000€ for intentional or reckless serious or repeated violations.
The administrative fines apply one year from the specified deadlines.
Our recommendation
Registration should be carried out as quickly as possible. We therefore recommend that all obliged parties look into the new regulations: Check which steps will be necessary in the future to fulfill the obligations.
You can submit messages under the following link: www.transparenzregister.de.
We are happy to advise you
If you have any questions or need assistance, we are happy to help. Our specialists will provide you with individual advice and help you register in the transparency register.
Zum Hintergrund
On August 1, 2021, the”Transparency Register and Financial Information Act Money Laundering“in force, in short: TrafING Gw. It sets several EU directives In order to, for example, the money laundering And the one for financial information. To this end, the transparency registers of the EU Member States at European level should networked become.
What needs to be reported?
The following information from the beneficial owner must be provided:
- First and last name
- date of birth
- Place of residence (not a full address)
- country of residence
- all nationalities
- Beneficial owner type
- Nature and extent of economic interest
- Changes to beneficial owner information
Obligated entities that are not entered in the commercial, cooperative, partnership or association register must also indicate changes in the association (e.g. transfer of registered office or mergers). Should the association identify discrepancies in the data, it must report them to the transparency register.
Who is required to report?
Die Notification requirements now concern all domestic legal entities under private law and registered partnerships (e.g. AG, GmbH, e.V., e.G., legally competent foundations, OHG, KG, PartGG).
Note: Unregistered partnerships as BGB external companies are excluded.
The regulations for all other parties previously obligated remain in place, e.g. administrators of trusts residing or based in Germany — including foreign associations under certain conditions. What is new is that this obligation also applies to associations based abroad when they acquire ownership of real estate in Germany.
exemptions
Good to know: exemptions are possible upon request if there are overriding legitimate interests of the beneficial owner. This can be assumed, in particular, in the case of minors or the risks of crime.
Who needs to make a notification?
The notification may be carried out by persons with the authority to represent:
- by a legal representative (e.g. by managing director of a GmbH)
- from a legal representative (e.g. through tax advisor or lawyer)
