Update: tolerance period until 31 December 2019 for the mandatory registration of the ultimate beneficial owner(s) of enterprises

Update: tolerance period until 31 December 2019 for the mandatory registration of the ultimate beneficial owner(s) of enterprises

In our blog post of 21 December 2018, updated by our blog post of 2 April 2019, we informed you about the legally required transparency as to the ultimate beneficial owners of enterprises, by means of registration in the so-called UBO-register. According to the royal Decree of 30 July 2018, the information concerning the ultimate beneficial owners of the enterprise had to be registered for the first time at the latest on 30 November 2018. The FPS Finance however allowed to postpone the registration until 30 September 2019. Meanwhile, the FPS Finance announced a tolerance period until 31 December 2019….


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Update: additional postponement of the mandatory transparency about the ultimate beneficial owner(s)

Update: additional postponement of the mandatory transparency about the ultimate beneficial owner(s)

In our blog post of 21 December 2018 we informed you about the new legally required transparency as to the ultimate beneficial owners of enterprises, by means of registration in the so-called UBO-register. According to the royal Decree of 30 July 2018, the information concerning the ultimate beneficial owners of the entreprise had to be registered for the first time at the latest on 30 November 2018. After a first postponement of the deadline, until 31 March 2019, the FPS Finance announced that entreprises are allowed to postpone the registration until 30 September 2019.   This blog post has been…


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Mandatory transparency about the ultimate beneficial owner(s) of the enterprise

Mandatory transparency about the ultimate beneficial owner(s) of the enterprise

The new legally required transparency as to the ultimate beneficial owners of an enterprise is an important additional action point in the M&A practice after completion of an acquisition (“post-closing action”). What? Belgian Companies, (international) non-profit organisations, foundations, trusts and legal entities that are comparable to trusts, have the following new obligations under the Belgian “Law of 18 September 2017 on the prevention of money laundering and terrorism financing and on the restriction of the use of cash”: The Law adds to the Belgian Companies Code (Articles 14/1 and 14/2) and to the Belgian NPO and Foundations Law[1] (Articles 58/11…


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My resignation as director has not been published yet in the Belgian Official Gazette: can I still be held liable?

My resignation as director has not been published yet in the Belgian Official Gazette: can I still be held liable?

The acquisition of a company often implies that the transferor must resign from his office as (managing) director of the company/companies he is transferring. This resignation must be published in the Annexes of the Belgian Official Gazette, but this fact is sometimes overlooked by the company (under control of the buyer), which may lead to an important time gap between the resignation and its official publication. The bill on the new Companies and Associations Code provides an answer by allowing the former directors themselves to publish their resignation in the Annexes of the Belgian Official Gazette. Even if the company…


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