Why do verenigingen and stichtingen need to register UBOs?
- Q and A
- 26 June 2023
- Edited 3 October 2023
- 1 min
- Secure business
UBO registration is required by law to prevent fraud. Do you keep the coffers of the vegetable garden club? Or are you a (managing) director of the local football club? Then you might not expect to have to register a UBO, or beneficial owner, in the UBO register. Yet all stichtingen (foundations) and many verenigingen (associations) have to register their UBOs.
Help prevent fraud
Ultimate Beneficial Owners (UBOs) are the people who ultimately own or control an organisation. These are, for example, people who are entitled to more than 25% of the organisation's assets or have more than 25% voting rights. A UBO register is mandatory for all EU countries under European regulations. KVK manages the UBO register. The UBO register shows who has control in an organisation. In doing so, the register should help prevent money laundering and terrorist financing.
The law states that all stichtingen and verenigingen must register UBOs. So also the small vereniging with hardly any money in its coffers. There are two exceptions to this. These verenigingen do not have to register UBOs:
- a vereniging with limited legal capacity without commercial activities
- an owners’ association (VvE)
Avoid a fine
Do you not register the UBOs for your vereniging or stichting? Then you risk a fine of up to 22,500 euros or a penalty. Bureau Economische Handhaving (BEH, in Dutch) checks the registrations and imposes any fines. BEH is part of the Netherlands Tax Administration.
Registering UBOs
Prepare well so you can register the UBOs in one go. During your preparation, KVK helps you determine who the UBOs of your vereniging or stichting are. And explains which documents you need for registration. You register UBOs with a UBO report. If you are the authorised signatory of a vereniging or stichting, you can see who are already registered as UBOs.
Note: process a change in the board of your vereniging or stichting not only in the UBO register but also change the data in the KVK Business Register.
