The People's Bank of China (PBC) and the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) have jointly released the Administrative Measures for Beneficial Ownership Information (the "Measures"), with effect on November 1, 2024.
The Measures stipulate which entities shall file their beneficial ownership information, set out the clauses for the exemption from filing upon commitment, clarify the criteria for identifying beneficial owners, and define the conditions for inquiry and use of the filing information, so as to better regulate the filing of beneficial ownership information by companies and other entities. According to the Measures, for most filing entities, the beneficial owner is the natural person who ultimately holds more than 25% of the shares. Only those filing entities with complex equity structures shall identify beneficial owners as per the criteria set out in the Measures. For the filing entities with relatively complex equity (partnership interest) structures, the PBC will issue the Guidelines on Filing of Beneficial Ownership Information to guide their filing. To simplify the filing process for medium, small, and micro enterprises, the Measures provide the simplified measures of "commitment-based filing exemption". Eligible medium, small and micro enterprises may be exempted from further submitting beneficial ownership information by reading the commitment letter in the system and checking the confirmation box.