LAW No. 6/2022

FOR SOME CHANGES AND ADDITIONS TO LAW NO. 112/2020, “ON THE REGISTER OF BENEFICIAL OWNERS”, AS AMENDED

In support of Articles 78 and 83, paragraph 1, of the Constitution, on the proposal of the Council of Ministers,

Parliament

THE REPUBLIC OF ALBANIA DECIDED:

In law no. 112/2020, “On the Register of Beneficial Owners”, amended, these changes and additions are made:

Article 1

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Article 5, paragraph 3 is amended as follows:

“3. Reporting entities shall register beneficial owner data in the Beneficial Owners Register within the following deadlines:

a) in cases of initial registration of beneficial owners by reporting entities, which are registered in the commercial register, the registration is carried out simultaneously with the application for registration of the legal entity in the commercial register;

b) in cases of rejection of the application for initial registration of beneficial owners by reporting entities, which are registered in the commercial register with indirect ownership, registration is made within 40 (forty) calendar days from the date of application refusal;

c) in cases of initial registration of beneficial owners by reporting entities, which are registered in the registry of non-profit organizations, registration is carried out within 40 (forty) calendar days from the date of registration of the reporting entities as legal persons;

c) in case of registration of changes in the data of beneficial owners of reporting entities, the registration is made within 90 (ninety) calendar days from the date of the actual change.

Neni 2

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The following amendments and additions are made to Article 6:

1. The figure 4 is changed as below:

“4. The QKB shall, no later than 2 (two) working days from the receipt of the application from reporting entities, undertake one of the following actions:

a) to register beneficial owner data; or

b) suspends the application for initial registration, amendment, or update of data, giving the reporting entity a period of 30 (thirty) calendar days to rectify the deficiencies that prevent registration; or

c) refuses registration if, after verification, it finds that the data sought to be registered differs from the registrable data, in accordance with the provisions of this law.”.

2. After point 4, points 4/1 and 4/2 are added with the following content:

“4/1. In cases of applications, pursuant to point 3, letter “a”, of article 5, by reporting entities with direct ownership, the QKB registers the data simultaneously with the registration of the entity in the commercial register.

4/2. If the deficiencies preventing registration are remedied within the deadline specified in letter “b” of point 4 of this article, the QKB is obliged to complete the registration no later than 2 (two) working days from the date of remedying the deficiencies. If the deficiencies are not remedied, the QKB rejects the registration no later than 2 (two) working days after the expiration of the deadline specified under letter “b” of point 4 of this article.

3. At the end of point 6, the following sentence is added:

“In cases of applications according to letter “a” of point 3 of article 5, the application is made at the physical counter of the QKB.

4. Figure 8 is changed as follows:

“8. Procedures, rules, criteria, and causes for the initiation of suspension or refusal of registration of beneficial owner data of reporting entities by the Business Registration Center shall be approved by decision of the Council of Ministers.

Article 3

Article 13 is amended as follows:

“Verse 13

Administrative violations

1. The reporting subject and the persons authorized to make the registration are responsible under the laws in force for the veracity of the facts, the announced data, and the accompanying documents, filed in the electronic register.

The following violations constitute administrative offenses and are punishable by a fine as follows:

a) failure to register the initial beneficial owner data within the deadline set in letter “b” of point 3 of Article 5 of this law shall be punishable by a fine of 50,000 (fifty thousand) ALL;

b) Failure to register the initial beneficial owner data within the deadline set in letter “c” of point 3 of Article 5 of this law shall be punishable by a fine of 50,000 (fifty thousand) ALL;

c) failure to register the beneficial owner's initial data within forty (40) days after the deadline set in point “b” of Article 5, paragraph 3 of this law shall be punished with a fine of 600,000 (six hundred thousand) ALL;

c) The initial failure to register the data of its beneficial owner within 40 (forty) days after the expiry of the deadline provided for in letter “c” of point 3 of Article 5 of this law is punishable by a fine of 600,000 (six hundred thousand) ALL;

d) Failure to register any changes to the registered data deposited in the register within the deadline specified in letter “ç” of point 3 of Article 5 of this law shall be punished with a fine of 400,000 (four hundred thousand) ALL.

3. The fine is imposed by the head of the QKB, whose decision can be directly appealed to the competent administrative court in accordance with the provisions of the Administrative Procedures Code.

4. The CKB and the responsible authority for maintaining the Register of Non-Profit Organizations for reporting entities that commit violations provided for in point 2 of this article, shall not provide services to them., In addition to registering changes to the legal representative's data, and they will change the status for reporting entities from “active” to “suspended” in the commercial registry and in the Registry of Non-Profit Organizations until payment of the fine and registration of the respective beneficial owner data.

Failure to fulfill the legal obligations defined in Article 5, point 1 of this law constitutes an administrative offense and is punishable by a fine of 50,000 (fifty thousand) lek.

6. Fines, according to point 5 of this article, are imposed by the state inspection/verification authorities in the tax field, as defined in point 4 of article 9 of the law, the decision of which is appealed directly to the competent administrative court in accordance with the provisions of the Administrative Procedures Code.

7. The procedures, deadlines, and general rules for administration and interaction through the Register of Beneficial Owners, the Commercial Register, and the Register of Non-Profit Organizations for the cases provided for in point 4 of this article are approved by decision of the Council of Ministers.

Article 4

Article 15, paragraph 3 is repealed.

Article 5 and Article 15 are amended by adding Article 15/1 with the following content:

“Tenant 15/1

Transitional provisions

1. QKB, in cooperation with the National Agency for the Information Society, by June 30, 2022, will transfer to the Register of Beneficial Owners the beneficial owner data for reporting entities with direct ownership, which were registered in the Commercial Register before the creation date of the Register of Beneficial Owners, and which on the effective date of this law have not fulfilled the obligation for the initial registration of their beneficial owners.
2. For reporting entities whose data has been transferred according to paragraph 1 of this article, the obligation to initially register their beneficial owners is considered fulfilled on the date of this transfer. These reporting entities have the right to update their beneficial owner data at the NCC without facing administrative penalties.
3. Reporting entities registered in the Commercial Register with indirect ownership, as well as reporting entities registered in the Register of Non-Profit Organizations, which as of the date of entry into force of this law have not fulfilled the obligation related to the initial registration of their beneficial owners, as well as with changes to the registered data of beneficial owners, must fulfill these obligations by June 30, 2022.
4. Failure to fulfill the obligations defined in point 3 of this article by June 30, 2022, will be punishable by a fine of 400,000 (four hundred thousand) ALL.
5. The fine is imposed by the head of the QKB, whose decision can be directly appealed to the competent administrative court, in accordance with the provisions of the Administrative Procedures Code.
6. The QKB and the responsible authority for maintaining the Register of Non-Profit Organizations for reporting entities that commit violations as provided for in point 4 of this article, shall not provide services to them, except for the registration of changes to the legal representative's data, and shall change the status of reporting entities from “active” to “suspended” in the Commercial Register and the Register of Non-Profit Organizations until the fine is paid and the relevant data for beneficial owners is registered.
7. Fines imposed before the effective date of this law for failure to timely fulfill legal obligations related to initial registration, as well as changes to registered beneficial owner data, which were not paid before the effective date of this law, are forgiven by 100 (one hundred) percent.
8. Reporting subjects that, prior to the effective date of this law, have paid fines imposed according to the above provisions and have fulfilled their respective obligations for the registration of their beneficial owners, are entitled to apply to the QKB for reimbursement of the amounts paid.
9. The Council of Ministers approves the procedures for reimbursement of fines paid by reporting entities in accordance with the provisions of point 8 of this article.

Article 6

Implementing legislation

The Council of Ministers is tasked with approving the bylaws for the implementation of Article 6, point 8; Article 13, point 7; and Article 15/1, point 9, of the law within 30 working days from the date the law enters into force.

Article 7

Entry into force

This law takes effect 15 days after its publication in the Official Gazette.

Approved on January 27, 2022.

Announced by decree no. 13469, dated 11.2.2022, of the President of the Republic of Albania, Ilir Meta.

Source: Official Publications Center

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