30/06/2020
BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP
Companies (excluding external companies) in Trinidad and Tobago are now
required to show who are their natural owners. The Companies Amendment Act
2019 mandating the reporting on the beneficial ownership of companies was
assented to in April 2019 and proclaimed in May 2019.
According to the Act, it is now mandatory to declare the beneficial owners
in companies. Beneficial owners can be defined as follows:
* The natural person who ultimately owns or controls the company
through direct or indirect ownership, or
* The natural person who exercises control over the company, or
* Where none of the above can be identified, the natural person who
holds the position of senior managing official.
To comply with the amendment, members of companies are required to complete
Form 41 or Form 42. These are to be sworn before a Commissioner of
Affidavits and returned to the Company.
Note that if you are the 'Beneficial Owner' of the share(s) you are required
to complete Form 42. If you are not the 'Beneficial Owner' of the share(s)
you are required to complete Form 41. These are internally filed documents.
Form 45 - Return of Beneficial Interest in the Shares of a Company is also
to be completed and filed in duplicate at the Company Registry.
Form 46 - Return of Issuance or Transfer of Shares, if applicable, is also
to be completed and filed in duplicate at the Company Registry.
Directors, company secretaries and shareholders would need to be aware of
the deadlines, penalties, and fines applicable to the filing of forms
relative to beneficial ownership.
Failure to comply with this amendment and submit a declaration without
reasonable cause, constitutes an offence and can result in the imposition of
a fine of $10,000- and 3-years imprisonment and a further fine of $300 per
day that the offence continues.