Ultimate Beneficial Owner (UBO) information must be disclosed ​​​​​before 15 June 2021

Following Cabinet Resolution No. 58 of 2020 on the Regulation of Procedures Related to Real Beneficiaries, the formal roll-out of standard disclosure requirements for UAE corporate entities is now well underway. The changes saw the introduction for the need to disclose the Ultimate Beneficial Ownership (UBO) of the company through a formal information register.

The Dubai Department of Economic Development (DED) has announced that all companies established in Dubai with the DED must submit, or update, their UBO data no later than 15 June 2021, without exception.

Following on from this, starting from July 01 2021, the penalties stipulated in the Cabinet Resolution No. 53 of 2021 on the administrative penalties against violating the ultimate beneficial owner procedures will come into effect.

Next steps

All companies registered in UAE are required to create and maintain a register of their UBO, as well as a Register of Partners/Shareholders. This must be submitted online before 15 June 2021 through the official websites of the respective licensing authority.

A UBO is defined as any individual, with a minimum share capital of 25%, that owns or controls a company – whether directly or indirectly. UBO information must be submitted to the competent licensing authority, this will differ according to the Emirate where the company is registered, or the relevant freezone authority in the case of a freezone company. Please note that in the event you have more than one UAE license to operate then the above must be maintained for each separate legal entity, regardless of if the ownership and control information is the same.

Non-compliance may result in fines of up to AED 100,000, along with additional administrative penalties, including but not limited to, license suspension for one year and restrictions being placed on the authority held by the Board of Directors.

If you have already undertaken your UBO disclosure updates with the relevant authority then no further action is required at this time.

How can we help?

For more information or if you have any queries related to this update please do not hesitate to get in touch with us on info@linksgroup.com or +971 (0) 4 446 3900.

 

Disclaimer: All information provided in this article was correct at the time of publishing on 31 May 2021 .