RBO for all trusts from 10 March 2020
Register of Beneficial Owners and trusts
Applies to all trusts from 10 March 2020
11 February 2020
The IFSP and STEP Malta have been in discussion with the MFSA about the Register of Beneficial Owners (RBO) for trusts.
We urge you to keep in mind that the relevant EU Directive requires the register to be in place by 10 March 2020. While the register for trusts generating tax consequences is already in place, as you all know this will need now to be applied to all trusts (and not just those generating tax consequences) by 10 March 2020.
While we are informed that the MFSA have requested a short transitional period for compliance with this new obligation, there is no guarantee that this will actually be included in the final draft of the Regulations. While one hopes this will be the case, one cannot be certain.
Trustees are therefore urged to start preparing from now for what could be a mammoth task for some trustees. Trustees that have not yet set up an account on the TUBOR platform are encouraged to do so immediately, so that they may start familiarising themselves with the platform.
New enhancements to the TUBOR platform now allow draft forms to be saved, thereby enabling trustees to start preparing the necessary forms immediately, in anticipation of the amended Legal Notice being published (which is, anyway, expected to be imminent).
Those trustees that have not needed to register any trusts to date are also encouraged to familiarise themselves with the RBO FAQs present on the MFSA’s website by following this link.
