Legal | Tax | Compliance
Legal | Tax | Compliance
The new Transparency Register Act (TLPA), which entered into force on October 1, 2026, does more than grant financial intermediaries access to beneficial ownership information.
The new Transparency Register Act (TLPA), which entered into force on October 1, 2026, does more than grant financial intermediaries access to beneficial ownership information. Under certain conditions, they are now also required to report discrepancies between their client records and the Transparency Register. A general overview of the Transparency Register and the key issues it raises is available here. This article focuses on the new reporting obligation for financial intermediaries and its practical implementation. Understanding the new obligation and establishing processes in good time helps reduce compliance risks.
The TLPA gives financial intermediaries an additional source of information for fulfilling their due diligence obligations: the Transparency Register. They may consult the beneficial ownership information recorded in the register and rely on it, provided that their further review, conducted with the care required in the circumstances, does not reveal any conflicting information. The key change, however, is the obligation to report discrepancies between the information in the register and the information in the client file to the Transparency Register. Register searches and discrepancy reporting are not yet technically available. These functions are not expected to be available before January 2027. The launch date on EasyGov has not yet been determined.
Not every discrepancy between a financial intermediary’s own client records and the Transparency Register triggers a reporting obligation. There must be specific indications giving rise to doubts as to whether the information on the beneficial owner of a legal entity is accurate, adequate and up to date. A merely formal discrepancy is insufficient. Where such indications exist, the financial intermediary must first notify the client of the discrepancy and give the client an opportunity to have the information corrected. If the reportable discrepancy remains after a reasonable period has elapsed, it must be reported to the Transparency Register.
Anyone who consults the Transparency Register and finds no indications of inaccuracies may, in principle, rely on the accuracy of the information it contains. The law also protects financial intermediaries that file a report in good faith. They cannot be held liable for a breach of confidentiality obligations or a breach of contract as a result of doing so. There is therefore no need to weigh the duty of confidentiality against the reporting obligation.
The Act does not indicate that financial intermediaries are required to consult the Transparency Register to fulfill their due diligence obligations. However, if they use the register for this purpose and identify a relevant discrepancy, they must report it.
The TLPA contains no specific criminal penalty or other sanction for a breach of this reporting obligation. This does not mean, however, that a failure to report will necessarily have no supervisory consequences. It remains to be seen whether the supervisory bodies will enforce discrepancy reporting through the general supervisory framework.
The discrepancy reporting obligation will not take effect until April 1, 2027. Financial intermediaries should nevertheless define internal responsibilities and procedures for handling discrepancies now and provide appropriate instructions to their staff. These procedures should cover assessing whether a discrepancy is reportable, contacting the client, monitoring reasonable deadlines and documenting the reporting decision.
Financial intermediaries should also register on EasyGov now. This requires a verified AGOV login. Independently of the discrepancy reporting obligation, they should assess whether they are themselves subject to a reporting obligation as legal entities. If so, they should take this opportunity to report their beneficial owners within the applicable deadline, unless they have already done so (further information is available here).
We would be pleased to assist you in assessing your obligations and implementing appropriate internal processes.
Click here to learn more about our expertise:
