The transparent shareholders - A central register for beneficial owners in Austria

The Beneficial Owner Register Act (Wirtschaftliche Eigentümer Registergesetz, WiEReG) will come into effect on 15 January 2018. It obliges entities (Rechtsträger) to notify their beneficial owners to a newly created register.

The registered data are accessible for a broad group of authorities and persons. Notifications shall be effected until 1 June 2018. This newsletter presents the cornerstones of the WiEReG. In this Newsletter we will give a summary about the key points of WiEReG:

• Background and purpose of the new legislation
• Scope of the WiEReG?
• Obligations of the addressees
• The notification process – Who has to report? - Which information has to be reported? 
• Who is beneficial owner at all?
• The register