OUR LEGAL GUIDE ON WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT FILING YOUR BUSINESS’S ULTIMATE BENEFICIAL OWNER’S INFORMATION (UBO FILINGS) IN RWANDA.

THE STABIT ADVOCATES GUIDE: Vol; 1_2024:

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT FILING YOUR BUSINESS’S ULTIMATE BENEFICIAL OWNER DATA (UBO FILINGS).

The Rwandan Company Law as amended to date requires all Companies incorporated in Rwanda and companies incorporated outside Rwanda while authorized to operate in Rwanda (foreign companies), to obtain and hold adequate, accurate and up-to-date information on their beneficial owners, including details of the beneficial interests held in the company.

After the publication of the Registrar General’s guidelines for the identification of beneficial owners of legal persons and arrangements in March 2023, it became mandatory for all companies to file their Ultimate Beneficial Owners’ information. As of today, a company has to carry out UBO filings while carrying out the following applications; new company registration, in case there is an amendment to be made. Without filing of the UBO information, these applications cannot be approved by the Registrar General unless the said filings are carried out. Furthermore, it’s a requirement that companies must provide a confirmation as to whether the beneficial ownership information is up-to-date at the end of every accounting year.

A beneficial owner can be defined as a natural person who ultimately owns or controls a customer and/or the natural person on whose behalf a transaction is being conducted. It is imperative to point out that a beneficial owner can only be a natural person meaning that companies cannot be beneficial owners but rather beneficial owners are the natural persons who own these companies or people who exercise control in them.

Categories of Beneficial owners can be natural persons who control the company through ownership interests through directly or indirectly holding 25% of the shares or voting rights in the company, natural persons who exert control through other means through having personal connections to persons that possess ownership and natural persons who exercise control through positions held within the company through being responsible for strategic decisions that fundamentally affect the business practices or general direction of the company.

Please be advised that Incase of the change of the information of a beneficial owner, a reporting person must within 14 days from the change, file the information regarding the new beneficial owner or the change on the details of an existing beneficial owner.

1. Key requirements during filing;
2. Passport of the Beneficial Owner.
3. Proof of residential address of the Beneficial owner.
4. Proof of ownership rights/voting rights in the company.
5. Proof of control of the company (if not owner).

Resolution appointing BO for new companies

At Stabit Advocates, we have a team of professionals who are ready to assist you 24/7 with assistance / facilitation in filing beneficial owner’s information. Feel free to contact us using the contact details below.

Drafted and Drawn by;

Stabit Advocates Rwanda Office

Email: info@stabitadvocates.com

Tel: +250789366274

Website: www.stabitadvocates.com