New transparency obligations for companies registered with the REQ (Registre des entreprises du Québec)
New obligations to improve corporate transparency will come into force on March 31, 2023. These new measures are designed to enhance the information available to the REQ in order to improve corporate transparency, strengthen public protection and also contribute to actions to prevent and combat tax evasion.
These new obligations apply to companies registered with the REQ. However, non-profit organizations and associations are excluded.
Under these new measures, the companies concerned will have to declare to the REQ :
- The company’s list of ultimate beneficiaries[1].
- Date of birth of persons associated with the company.
- Identification for each director.
Consequently, as of March 31, 2023it will not be possible to file the annual update declaration for the year 2023 at the same time as the company’s tax return.
Filing your annual update declaration
The annual update declaration must be filed directly with REQ in order to provide the new information required by the Act. You may already have received, or will shortly receive, a letter from REQ entitled “Filing your annual update declaration”, informing you of these new obligations.
Although a copy of each director’s ID must be provided to REQ, this copy will be destroyed once the information has been validated by REQ. The date of birth of ultimate beneficiaries and persons linked to the company will remain confidential. It will also be possible to add a business address for natural persons, so that only this address can be consulted by the public at REQ.
Our team of advisors is available to assist you in filing your 2023 annual update declaration with REQ, as well as the new information you will need to declare.
An article from the tax team
