Regulatory update – Namibia

Following recent amendments to the Close Corporations and Companies Acts, the Namibian Business and Intellectual Property Authority (BIPA) recently implemented mandatory beneficial ownership requirements for all legal entities to combat financial crime and promote transparency.

In accordance with Namibian laws, a natural person who directly or indirectly holds 25% or more of the shares, voting rights, or other ownership interests in a legal person is considered a beneficial owner. As of August 2023, all new applications for business registration, submissions for annual returns, and applications for amendments to existing registered businesses in Namibia will require the mandatory submission of a Beneficial Ownership (BO) Form.

The BO form is used to collect beneficial ownership information on legal persons registered or to be registered with BIPA. The form consists of three sections, with Section A containing company information and the type of beneficial ownership, Section B containing the beneficial owner’s particulars and attestation, and Section C containing the completion notes.

The BO form must be completed and submitted to BIPA within seven working days after a material change has happened to the BO information and at the end of each financial year of the legal entity. Failure to submit a complete and accurate BO declaration form will result in BIPA not processing any application of new business registration, any applications of amendments, or updates on entities.