Companies (Significant Beneficial Owners) Rules, 2018

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has notified the Companies (Significant Beneficial Owners) Rules, 2018. 



These Rules come in the context of Section 90 of the Companies Act, 2013 which deals with ‘Register of significant beneficial owners in a company’. These Rules are effective from the 13th of June, 2018. 


As per Rule 2(1)(c) the ‘Registered Owner’ means a person whose name is entered in the register of members of a company as the holder of shares in that company but who does not hold beneficial interest in such shares. Further, Rule 2(1)(e) defines ‘Significant Beneficial Ownership’ as an individual referred to in sub-section (1) of section 90 (holding ultimate beneficial interest of not less than ten per cent.) read with sub-section (10) of section 89, but whose name is not entered in the register of members of a company as the holder of such shares, and the term 'significant beneficial ownership' shall be construed accordingly. 





Certain declaration by the Beneficial owners and Forms are required to be filed by the Company with the Registrar as per the notified Rules. 

The Rules are not made applicable to the holding of shares of companies/body corporates, in case of pooled investment vehicles/investment funds such as Mutual Funds, Alterative Investment Funds (AIFs), Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and Infrastructure Investment Trusts (lnvlTs) regulated under SEBI Act.