{"id":1291,"date":"2023-10-12T18:04:30","date_gmt":"2023-10-12T16:04:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.axiaconsulting.co.za\/?p=1291"},"modified":"2026-05-14T08:13:27","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T06:13:27","slug":"beneficial-ownership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.axiaconsulting.co.za\/af\/beneficial-ownership\/","title":{"rendered":"Beneficial Ownership of Companies"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Please feel free to contact our offices if after reading this article, you are still unsure as to whether you or your child will qualify as a beneficial owner. You can mail your query to admin@axiaconsulting.co.za<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

What is a beneficial owner?<\/span><\/h4>\n

The first step in this process is understanding what a beneficial owner of a company is. According to the CIPC (Companies and Intellectual Properties Commission), a beneficial owner is someone who directly or indirectly owns part of a company or exercises effective control over a company even if they don\u2019t officially own part of that company.<\/span><\/p>\n

The CIPC implemented a beneficial ownership register from 1 April 2023. At the time it was on a voluntary basis. As of 24 May 2023, the filing of beneficial ownership and securities\/beneficial interest registers became mandatory. This was upon the promulgation of the Amended Companies Regulations to give full effect to the General Laws (Anti-Money Laundering and Combating Terrorism Financing) Amendment Act 22 of 2022.<\/span><\/p>\n

There will be enforcement of beneficial ownership filings and securities registers effective from 01 October 2023.<\/span><\/p>\n

Why the need for a Beneficial Ownership Register?<\/span><\/h4>\n

The potential anonymous ownership of a company leaves the door wide open for money laundering and tax evasion and other financial crimes as individuals \u2018hide\u2019 behind companies. Even though companies are seen as legal entities, it is important to know who the people are that are pulling the strings of the company to avoid these financial crimes taking place.<\/span><\/p>\n

Beneficial ownership registers can be very useful to help authorities prevent, detect, and counter financial crime.<\/span><\/p>\n

So how do you know for sure that you are a beneficial owner of a Company? Well, if you fit into any of the categories below then you are a beneficial owner and need to register with the CIPC.<\/span><\/p>\n

Types of beneficial ownership \/ effective control:<\/span><\/h4>\n

\"Types<\/span><\/p>\n

Anyone with more than 5% beneficial ownership of a company or close corporation must capture their beneficial ownership details on the CIPC website with the exception of minors. Here is the link<\/a> that will take you to the correct page.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The following entity types are required to file beneficial ownership information with the CIPC:<\/span><\/h4>\n