Law No. 7/26 of 19 August has been published, establishing a new legal framework for the identification, registration and updating of beneficial ownership information in Angola. The Law entered into force on the date of its publication.
The new Law has a broad scope and introduces significant obligations concerning the identification, registration, retention, updating and availability of information on the beneficial owners of legal persons and other entities without legal personality. It also imposes obligations on entities subject to anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing requirements, which will now play an enhanced role in identifying and verifying beneficial ownership information.
Entities within the scope of the Law - The entities covered by the new framework include:
(a) financial institutions, investment funds, autonomous pools of assets, foundations and trusts;
(b) commercial companies engaged in general commercial activities, real estate businesses, the trade in precious metals and stones, and the motor vehicle trade, including their branches and representative offices;
(c) consortia, corporate groups and other grouping and cooperation arrangements;
(d) civil-law companies and various non-financial entities, including lawyers and law firms in connection with certain transactions, accountants, auditors and corporate service providers;
(e) associations;
(f) trade unions; and
(g) NGOs, among others.
Who qualifies as a Beneficial Owner - A beneficial owner is any natural person who ultimately owns or controls an entity or on whose behalf or for whose benefit a transaction is carried out. In the case of commercial companies, the direct or indirect ownership of 25% or more of the share capital or voting rights constitutes a rebuttable presumption of beneficial ownership, without prejudice to other forms of control or influence.
Relevant transactions - The beneficial owner must be identified before carrying out acts or transactions valued at USD 15,000 or more, or electronic transactions valued at USD 1,000 or more. Identification is also required, irrespective of the amount involved, where there are grounds for suspicion, doubts concerning the accuracy or adequacy of the available information, or a heightened risk.
Main deadlines:
(i) the initial declaration at the time of incorporation or registration;
(ii) certain entities without legal personality must submit the declaration within 30 days of being assigned a tax identification number (NIF);
(iii) an entity that was previously excluded from the framework must comply within 60 days of becoming subject to it;
(iv) changes must generally be reported within a maximum of 15 days; and
(v) beneficial ownership information must be confirmed annually by 31 March.
Transitional Framework - Entities incorporated, registered or operating before the Law entered into force have 180 days from the date of publication of the Law 7/26 to submit their initial beneficial ownership declaration. The penalty regime applicable to those entities will only take effect upon expiry of that period.
Regulation and implementation - The Law provides for declarations to be submitted electronically and for the establishment of the Beneficial Ownership Registration Centre (CRBE).
At the time of writing, the regulations implementing the new Law have not yet been published and the CRBE’s electronic portal is not yet operational. The practical implementation of several obligations will therefore depend on the adoption and availability of these instruments.
MC JURIST will continue to monitor the adoption of the implementing regulations and the establishment and operation of the Beneficial Ownership Registration Centre, including the launch of its electronic portal.
--
Read the original publication at MC Jurist
