Section 894 of the Companies Act, Chapter 486 of the Laws of Kenya, requires companies to provide information on beneficial ownership as detailed in our previous article.
Notice issued by the Registrar of Companies
The Registrar of Companies issued a compliance notice on 17 October 2024 based on the Companies (Beneficial Ownership Information) Regulations of 2020, and section 93A of the Companies Act, which requires companies to comply with the disclosure of Beneficial Ownership within 30 days, that is by 30th November 2024.
On 11 April 2025, the Registrar of Companies issued a subsequent notice, which confirmed the deadline set for 30th November 2024 had lapsed. The notice therefore called on companies to go through a published list of non-compliant companies to determine if theirs is listed, and to take further action to comply with the Registrar's directives within 30 days of publishing the notice; by 11th May 2025.
How to protect your company
Following the recent alert issued to companies to comply with the disclosure of a record of Beneficial Ownership, the following steps are crucial for company owners to take:
- search for your company on the published list of non-compliant companies;
- if your company is listed, confirm to the Registrar of Companies in writing whether the company is still active and operating;
- file a copy of a register of Beneficial Ownership with the Registrar of Companies;
- submit any outstanding documents requested by the Registrar, including company contracts, the company's annual returns, trade licenses and financial statements for five years or more.
While the deadline for compliance has passed, the Business Registration Service ("BRS") is still accepting submissions of records of Beneficial Ownership on behalf of the Registrar of Companies.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
