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Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting Requirements

Below is the text of a proposed rule by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network that was published on 12/08/2021.  This article consists of two parts.  The first part is text from the proposed rule that I think people should know if they don’t have time or the inclination to read the entire proposed rule.  The second part is an Adobe pdf file that is the entire 56 pages of the proposed regulation.

Summary of the Proposed Regulations

The proposed regulations describe two distinct types of reporting companies that must file reports with FinCEN—domestic reporting companies and foreign reporting companies. Generally, under the proposed regulations, a domestic reporting company is any entity that is created by the filing of a document with a secretary of state or similar office of a jurisdiction within the United States. A foreign reporting company is any entity formed under the law of a foreign jurisdiction that is registered to do business within the United States. . . .

The proposed regulations also describe the twenty-three specific exemptions from the definition of reporting company under the CTA.

The proposed regulations describe who is a beneficial owner and who is a company applicant. A beneficial owner is any individual who meets at least one of two criteria: (1) Exercising substantial control over the reporting company; or (2) owning or controlling at least 25 percent of the ownership interest of the reporting company. The proposed regulations define the terms “substantial control” and “ownership interest” and describe rules for determining whether an individual owns or controls 25 percent of the ownership interests of a reporting company. The proposed regulations would also describe five types of individuals who the CTA exempts from the definition of beneficial owner.

The proposed regulations also describe who is a company applicant. In the case of a domestic reporting company, a company applicant is the individual who files the document that forms the entity. In the case of a foreign reporting company, a company applicant is the individual who files the document that first registers the entity to do business in the United States. The proposed regulations specify that a company applicant includes anyone who directs or controls the filing of the document by another.

Under the proposed regulations, the time at which a required report is due would depend on: (1) When the reporting company was created or registered; and (2) whether the report is an initial report, an updated report providing new information, or a report correcting erroneous information in a previous report. Domestic reporting companies created, or foreign reporting companies registered to do business in the United States, before the effective date of the final regulations would have one year from the effective date of the final regulations to file their initial Start Printed Page 69921 report with FinCEN. Domestic reporting companies created, or foreign reporting companies registered to do business in the U.S. for the first time, on or after the effective date of the final regulations would be required to file their initial report with FinCEN within 14 calendar days of the date on which they are created or registered, respectively. If there is a change in the information previously reported to FinCEN under these regulations, reporting companies would have 30 calendar days to file an updated report. Finally, if a reporting company filed information that was inaccurate at the time of filing, the reporting company would have to file a corrected report within 14 calendar days of the date it knew, or should have known, that the information was inaccurate.

The proposed regulations also describe the type of information that a reporting company is required to file. First, the reporting company would have to identify itself. The proposed regulations describe the information that a reporting company must submit to FinCEN about: (1) The reporting company, and (2) each beneficial owner and company applicant. This includes, for example, the name and address of each beneficial owner and company applicant, among other things. In lieu of providing specific information about an individual, the reporting company may provide a unique identifier issued by FinCEN called a FinCEN identifier. The proposed regulations describe how to obtain a FinCEN identifier and when it may be used. The proposed regulations also describe highly useful information that reporting companies are encouraged, but not required, to provide. This additional information would support efforts by government authorities and financial institutions to prevent money laundering, terrorist financing, and other illicit activities such as tax evasion.

The CTA provides that it is unlawful for any person to willfully provide, or attempt to provide, false or fraudulent BOI to FinCEN, or to willfully fail to report complete or updated BOI to FinCEN. The proposed regulations describe persons that are subject to this provision and what acts (or failures to act) trigger a violation.

Text of FinCen’s December 8, 2021 proposed regulation 31 CFR Part 1010, RIN 1506–AB49

Financial Crimes Enforcement Network Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting Requirements