The House on Thursday passed an amendment to a law that significantly reduces the fines imposed on corporate entities for not declaring their ultimate beneficial owners (UBOs) on time.
Under the updated legislation, the maximum daily fine for non-compliance – missing the deadline for declaring the UBOs – has been cut from €100 to €30.
In addition, the maximum fine per year on a non-compliant company officer is reduced from the current €20,000 to €5,000.
The Registrar of Companies may apply to court to obtain an injunction forcing a non-compliant company officer to comply and file the data.
A major change is that the fines will be imposed by a court.
Company officers who object to a fine may appeal.
The government for its part has pledged to forgive any fines issued against non-complaint companies so far this year.
Under a directive issued by the Registrar last year, all companies should have filed their updated UBO data by December 31, 2023. Companies not complying began being fined €200 on January 1, 2024, and €100 per every continuing day of non-compliance.
Following a host of complaints raised by the business community, the December 31 deadline was later extended to the end of March 2024.
In parliament last month, MPs heard that up until that point €14 million in fines had been imposed, of which €600,000 had been paid.
