Since the end of 2018, Belgian companies, non-profit organizations and foundations have had the obligation to identify and register their ultimate beneficiaries (UBOs) in the UBO register established for this purpose. As of December 31, 2019, the deadline for this registration has passed.
The FPS Finance, which until now did not send fines but only reminders, is now shifting up a gear by effectively issuing fines for the companies that ignored previous reminders.
The directors of companies who have not yet registered their UBOs will receive a fine of EUR 500.00 (per director). Therefore, as of today, negligence with regard to the UBO obligations will actually be sanctioned.
Please note that paying the imposed UBO fine does not affect the obligation to register the UBOs. This obligation remains in full force and effect.
We would like to remind you that any change to the data recorded in the UBO register must be communicated within one month, with the mandatory addition of supporting documents. However, if the data remain unchanged, it must be confirmed once a year that the registered data of your UBOs are still correct. Failure to comply with these obligations may also result in fines. To avoid fines, it is therefore extremely important to comply with the above obligations regarding UBO registration in a timely manner.
In case of questions, please feel free to contact your customer service representative or via info@titeca.be.