Beneficial Ownership Secure Search System (Amendment) Act, 2021 (No. 31 of 2021)

Summary

This Act amends the Beneficial Ownership Secure Search System Act, 2017 in the British Virgin Islands. It updates definitions, clarifies which entities and information must flow through the RA (Registered Agent) database, and tightens timelines for corporate and legal entities to report information to their registered agent.

• New and revised definitions: Introduces definitions of immediate parent and ultimate parent, replaces recognised stock exchange with recognised exchange throughout, updates the definition of licensee and corporate and legal entity, and renames Registrar of Companies to Registrar.
• Beneficial ownership notification: A corporate and legal entity must notify its registered agent of beneficial ownership information within 15 days of identifying the relevant matters.
• Economic substance notification: A corporate and legal entity must notify its registered agent of economic substance information within a period following the end of the financial period, to be fixed by future regulations.
• Economic substance data on RA database: A corporate and legal entity must provide the registered agent with any economic substance information required to be maintained on the RA database (new section 12(2A)).
• System purpose clarified: Confirms the Secure Search System enables registered agents to maintain RA databases, designated persons to access beneficial ownership information, and the International Tax Authority to access economic substance information.
• Designated persons: Designation of one or more designated persons under section 13 is now expressly made subject to section 5 of the principal Act.

Most other changes are drafting corrections (e.g. replacing or or with and between corporate and legal entity, punctuation fixes, marginal note corrections) that do not create new standalone obligations but affect how existing provisions on beneficial ownership and economic substance reporting are read.

Key obligations

• Corporate and legal entities must notify their registered agent of beneficial ownership information within 15 days of identifying the relevant matters.
• Corporate and legal entities must notify their registered agent of economic substance information within a period following the end of the financial period, to be fixed by regulations.
• Corporate and legal entities must provide the registered agent with any economic substance information required to be maintained on the RA database.

Applies to

registered agents, corporate and legal entities, licensees, designated persons

Deadlines

• within 15 days of identifying those matters: Corporate and legal entity must notify the registered agent of beneficial ownership information.
• period to be fixed by regulations, following the end of the financial period: Corporate and legal entity must notify the registered agent of economic substance information.

Related documents

• This document amends Beneficial Ownership Secure Search System Act (2020 Revised Edition)