What is beneficial ownership and what must companies disclose?

Corporate & Company Law

Beneficial ownership refers to the natural person who ultimately owns, controls or benefits from a company or ownership interest, even where shares are held through another person or legal entity.

Current OCR requirement

OCR issued a direction dated 23 Baisakh 2082 requiring companies to provide information on their beneficial owners. CAMIS also provides resources relating to beneficial-owner information.

Why this matters

A company’s registered shareholder and its ultimate beneficial owner are not always the same person. Beneficial-owner reporting is designed to improve transparency about who ultimately controls or benefits from corporate ownership.

Compliance

Companies should identify the individuals who meet the applicable beneficial-ownership criteria, maintain supporting information and submit the required details in the format and process prescribed by OCR.

Because beneficial-ownership rules and forms are relatively recent and can be updated, published Help Centre content should carry a last-reviewed date and link to current OCR instructions.

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