Tax authorities warn risky entities without UBO registration first

The Tax and Customs Administration's Economic Enforcement Bureau (BEH) is issuing a final warning to legal entities that have not yet registered their UBOs (ultimate beneficial owners) before imposing a sanction. Because this number is higher than anticipated, the bureau is prioritizing enforcement efforts on those legal entities where the risk of money laundering and terrorist financing is highest. The Ministers of Finance, Justice and Security, and Economic Affairs and Climate Policy announced this in a letter to Parliament.

According to Sigrid Kaag , Minister of Finance, this does not mean that other legal entities subject to registration must not also submit a declaration. These are not exempt from enforcement, and enforcement will be carried out on a random basis.

Status filling
On March 27, 2022, the UBOs of 673,963 legal entities were registered in the UBO register. This represents approximately 37.7 percent of the total number of legal entities subject to registration. This does not include the backlog of the Chamber of Commerce. The total backlog was approximately 400,000 on April 1, 2022. This is expected to increase the registration rate to 59 percent.

Effective remedy
The UBO register went live on September 27, 2020. This register records the ultimate beneficial owners (UBOs) of companies and other legal entities such as foundations and associations (but not owners' associations). According to Kaag, the UBO register is becoming a widely used and effective tool. Up to and including February of this year, a total of 465,267 extracts have been requested. This does not include consultations by competent authorities, which can access the UBO register in other ways.