Administrative changes for local Jersey entities
All Jersey companies have new reporting obligations from 6 January 2021¹. Here’s what local businesses need to know:
Key changes
The key changes are as follows²:
- There will be a new register of beneficial owners and “significant persons” operated by the JFSC
- Filings will be made via the new digital Companies Registry
- Entities will need to appoint a “nominated person” to act as the liaison with the registry no later than 6 April 2021
- Annual returns are being replaced with “annual confirmation statements”:
- Annual confirmation statements contain similar information to annual returns, plus information on beneficial owners and “significant persons”
- The first annual confirmation statement and associated information must be filed no later than 30 June 2021
- Subsequent filings will be made annually by the last day of February each year
- An entity’s nominated person must update the information contained on the register within 21 days of any changes
- Details of all “significant persons” of entities will be made public (subject to exceptions) but not before 1 October 2021
- Information on beneficial owners will not be made public at present
FAQs
What types of entity are covered?
Jersey companies, foundations, incorporated limited partnerships, separate limited partnerships, limited liability companies and limited liability partnerships.
Who can be a nominated person?
- A significant person of the entity who is ordinarily resident in Jersey
- A person registered to carry on certain categories of trust company business or fund services business under Jersey’s financial services law
- A lawyer or accountant who is ordinarily resident in Jersey and who carries on business requiring it to comply with Jersey’s anti-money laundering regime
What is a “beneficial owner”?
- A person (normally an individual) who directly or indirectly owns or controls the entity
- The JFSC should issue guidance for local businesses on how to determine who is a “beneficial owner”
- At present its only guidance is for regulated businesses, but our full briefing includes a summary to assist local businesses with working out who they need to report
What is a “significant person”?
This depends on entity type – for a company it would be a director or secretary.
What information needs to be provided?
This varies depending on the person and the entity type – for beneficial owners, it will be name, correspondence address, residential address, nationality, occupation, gender, date of birth and place and country of birth.
Are there any exceptions?
Yes – the significant persons information that will be made public is limited, and applications can be made to stop information being made public; listed entities and States-owned entities are exempt from certain reporting obligations.
Further detail can be found in our full briefing.
1. These changes will also apply to foundations as well as incorporated and separate limited partnerships (but not ordinary limited partnerships). There are only very limited exceptions.
2. Dates are current as at 1 February 2021 and may be subject to change
