30 Sept. deadline for beneficial ownership filings

Friday, 18 September 2026 00:23 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The Registrar General of Companies has urged all directors and secretaries of companies that have not yet done so to submit their beneficial ownership information by 30 September, warning of administrative penalties and legal consequences for non-compliance.

In a notice issued by the Department of the Registrar of Companies under the Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Co-operative Development Ministry, the Registrar General drew attention to Section 130H(1) of the Companies (Amendment) Act, No. 12 of 2025, which requires every company incorporated or registered under the Companies Act, No. 7 of 2007, or any former written law relating to companies, and having beneficial owners on the date the Act came into operation, to submit details of its beneficial owners to the Registrar in the prescribed form and manner within six months of that date.

The notice said failure to comply within the stipulated period may result in administrative penalties. It added that any company that fails to comply with the relevant provisions shall be guilty of an offence and, upon conviction, liable to a fine not exceeding Rs. 1 million or to imprisonment of either description for a period not exceeding 10 years, or to both such fine and imprisonment.