In connection with the entry into force on July 13, 2018 of the Act of March 1, 2018 on counteracting money laundering and terrorist financing (Journal of Laws, item 723, as amended), many entities, including accounting offices and entities providing bookkeeping services, statutory auditors as well as tax advisors are required to apply the new regulations.

Among others, on October 13, 2019, the Central Register of Beneficial Owners (Registry) was established. Beneficial owners of registered partnerships, limited partnerships, limited joint-stock partnerships, limited liability companies, simple joint-stock companies (from 1/03/2020) and joint-stock companies should be reported to the Registry.

Information to the Registry should be reported no later than within 7 days from the date of entry of the entity into the National Court Register, and in the case of updates of information submitted to the Registry - within 7 days of their change. For companies existing as of the date of the establishment of the Registry (i.e. October 13, 2019), the deadline for entering beneficial owners of these companies in the Register will expire on April 13, 2020.

Beneficial owner is a natural person or natural persons:

1. exercising directly or indirectly control over a company through their rights, which arise from legal or factual circumstances, enabling exercising decisive influence over the activities or operations of the company, or
2. on behalf of whom economic relations are established or an occasional transaction is carried out.

In case of a company – a legal person, other than a company whose securities are admitted to trading on a regulated market, subject to disclosure requirements pursuant to European Union law or corresponding third country law, the beneficial owner of the company is:

1. a natural person who is a shareholder in a company who has the right to ownership of more than 25% of the total number of shares of that legal person,
2. a natural person holding more than 25% of the total number of votes in the company’s decision-making body, also as a pledgee or usufructuary, or on the basis of agreements with other persons entitled to vote,
3. natural person exercising control over a legal person or legal persons jointly entitled to ownership of more than 25% of the total number of shares in the company, or jointly holding more than 25% of the total number of votes in the company’s governing body, also as a pledgee or usufructuary, or on the basis of agreements with other persons entitled to vote,
4. a natural person exercising control over a company by holding rights over it, as referred to in art. 3 item 1 point 37 of the Accounting Act of September 29,1994 (Journal of Laws of 2019, item 351),
5. a natural person holding a senior management position in the company’s bodies in case of documented inability to determine or doubts as to the identity of natural persons referred to in points a-d above and in the event of no suspicion of money laundering or terrorist financing.