This new administrative obligation will apply to most of the VAT registered companies in Portugal and has come to the fore following the latest money laundering and anti-tax avoidance initiatives. This UBO (Ultimate Beneficial Owner) registry covers VAT registered entities in Portugal including non-resident and non-established entities.

Although, these are the following entities which are exempted from this obligation:

Consortiums and complementary groups of companies, and companies with shares admitted to trading on regulated markets (the so-called “listed companies”), as long as they are subject to disclosure requirements consistent either with European Union law or equivalent international rules

What does this mean for you?

UBO registry must be submitted by non-established VAT registers in Portugal until 30th June 2019. Penalties ranging from € 1.000 to € 5.000 will be levied for not registering in the UBO registry under this new obligation. Also, any changes to the initial registry must be reported within 30 days of the respective change. Annually, the UBO registry information will be confirmed in the annual return.

Also, companies will benefit from keeping an internal register with the identification details of (i) the shareholders and respective shareholdings (ii) the individuals who, directly or indirectly, own the shareholding (iii) anyone who in any way holds effective control over the companies or other reporting entities and (iv) tax representatives, if any, in Portugal.

Besides this internal register, reporting entities must register this information next to the Central Register of Beneficial Owners along with the identification of their managers and directors. Identification details of shareholders and management/ direction bodies will need to be provided for the purpose of the registry.