ULTIMATE BENEFICIAL OWNER (UBO) DECLARATION

Introduction : UBO Declaration UAE

The UAE’s Cabinet Decision No. 58 of 2020 on the Regulation has been introduced, which  covers the most updated and modified requirements for the entities in UAE to disclose their Real beneficiaries or Ultimate Beneficial Owners, which aim to increase the transparency of the UAE-registered entities. The main objective of this resolution is the requirement of preparing and maintaining an Ultimate Beneficial Ownership (UBO) register and supporting documents. All the Companies must keep this register available at all times in the office.

 

Who is Ultimate Beneficial Owner (UBO) ?

Beneficial Owner or Real Beneficiaries can be defined by the following:

  • Natural Person who owning or controlling the company directly or indirectly. The Person who holds ownership of atleast  25 % shares and voting rights of the company or person right to appoint or dismiss the majority of the managers of the company shall be appointed as a UBO
  • Suppose if no one meets the above conditions, then the UBO will be someone who managed to control over the Company through any other means.
  • If UBO cannot be identified through the two conditions above, then a natural person who was appointed to a higher Position in the company may be consider as the UBO.

Nominee Director:

A nominee director is defined as a director or manager who acts at the instruction or decision of another person. UBO can also be decided by the nominee director approach.

 

Who are Excluded from UBO Regulation ?

All the Companies both in the Onshore and Free Zones are applicable to UBO compliance, Except :

  • Companies which are fully owned by the Federal or local government or any other companies fully owned by its subsidiaries.
  • Companies which are registered in Financial Free Zones of UAE which includes, Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and Abu Dhabi Global Markets (ADGM).

 

What are the requirements for UBO Declartion  ?

  • Initial tracing and Identification of UBOs

All the registered companies are required to file a declaration with personal details relating to identification and authentication of their shareholders/partners and or their ultimate beneficial owners with the Registrar and the licensing authorities registered in the UAE.

  • Prepare company secretarial records

All the companies those undergoes UBO must keep, maintain, and furnish the following information to meet UBO compliance requirements:

a) Partners or Shareholders

b) Real Beneficiary

c) Nominee Directors/Managers

  • Submission of a UBO declaration to the competent authorities

If companies fail to comply with the Resolution, the UAE Ministry of Economy (MOE) may impose serious penalties for non-compliance. The submission of the UBO declaration is quite simple. All the process are easily done through online. Connect with our staff  to know how to file for UBO.

 

What are all the responsibilities for Companies ?

  • Companies must provide all required details accurately during the time of registration and licensing.
  • If  the company didn’t know who is the real beneficiary, then it should intimate this to all of its beneficial owners.
  • Once the UBO has been  declared, then companies must provide relevant details of the UBO in the register. Any changes that a company becomes aware of should be amended in the register within 15 days after the change came to notice.
  • Companies should provide all data regarding their UBO no later than 60 days after the enactment of cabinet resolution 58. Or, no less than 60 days after the registration and licensing of a company has been completed.
  • They should provide all the information to the registrar as required and it must be shared with authorized personnel.
  • Any changes that have been made in the data must be intimated to the registrar within 15 days.

 

How much is the Penalties for Non-Compliance ?

Non Compliance for UBO Declaration will lead to administrative Penalties upto AED 100,000. The process will be starts with issuance of written warning  and if the company still didn’t declare UBO, then they will charge a fine of AED 100,000 and suspension of the trade license for at least 12 Months.

 

How can YUGA help?

In YUGA, We have in-depth knowledge and experience  with UBO registration in UAE and its deadlines and how to maintain UBO Register, complying with all the requirements of regulations as to Ultimate Beneficial Owner in UAE. We will manage your UBO declaration for you and make sure that all the process will be finished on time without any problems.

 

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT US :

Phone : +971 52 1952 532 / +971 4 240 1110

Mail-Id : info@yugaaccounting.com

Website : www.yugaaccounting.com