EU Court of Justice Issues Ruling in Danish Beneficial Ownership Cases

Published 26 February 2019

PrintCategory: Taxation / VAT

On 26 February 2019, the EU Court of Justice (CJEU) issued judgments containing preliminary rulings in the Danish beneficial ownership cases.

The CJEU states in the judgments that there is a general principle of anti-abuse in EU law which applies even where there are no domestic or agreement-based provisions providing for such anti-abuse rules. Proof of an abusive practice requires the presence of objective circumstances (e.g. achieving an unfair advantage, such as an unfair tax advantage) and a subjective element (e.g. the fact that a structure has been put in place mainly to achieve such unfair advantage).

Next step: The CJEU judgments will likely have a big impact on international group structures and will also contribute to the interpretation of the anti-abuse principles of EU law and the “beneficial owner” concept.

See the CJEU judgment in the dividend cases here.

See the CJEU judgment in the interest cases here.

Tags:  Beneficial OwnershipDanish Regulation


Also tagged ‘Beneficial Ownership’

2 May 2019Corporate RegulationFinancial Regulation

Danish Parliament Strengthens Registration Requirements of Ultimate Beneficial Owners

On 2 May 2019, the Danish Parliament adopted amendments to the Danish Companies Act, which implements part of the 5th EU Anti-Money Laundering Directive.

Beneficial OwnershipComplianceDanish RegulationDisclosure RequirementsKYC / AML
13 Mar 2019Corporate RegulationFinancial Regulation

Proposal to Strengthen the Registration of Ultimate Beneficial Owners

On 13 March 2019, the Danish Government presented a proposal for an amendment of various acts including the Danish Companies Act which implements part of the 5th EU Anti-Money Laundering Directive concerning the registration of ultimate beneficial owners.

Beneficial OwnershipComplianceDanish RegulationDisclosure RequirementsKYC / AML

Other updates

22 Mar 2024Impact and ESGUpdates

News regarding the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive

15 March 2024, the Committee of the Permanent Representatives of the Governments of the Member States to the European Union (“COREPER”) endorsed the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (“CSDDD”) taking the directive one important step closer to finalizing the legislative process.

Sustainability
13 Mar 2024Impact and ESGUpdates

ESG KPI report 2024 by Invest Europe

Invest Europe has published an ESG KPI report covering data from 2022. Compared to their first edition published last year (covering data from 2021), which we touched upon in our previous Pulse update, there has been a 60% increase in the number of firms covered by the survey.

Sustainability
13 Mar 2024Impact and ESGUpdates

Exposure Drafts on sustainability reporting standards for SMEs

The European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (“EFRAG”) has launched a public consultation on the Exposure Draft European Sustainability Reporting Standards for listed SMEs (“ESRS LSME ED”) and the Exposure Draft for the voluntary reporting standard for non-listed SMEs (“VSME ED”).

Sustainability
21 Feb 2024Impact and ESGUpdates

Draft guidelines on Enforcement of Sustainability Information out for consultation

The European Securities and Markets Authority (“ESMA”) has sent draft Guidelines on Enforcement of Sustainability Information (“Guidelines”) out for consultation.

ESMASustainability
19 Feb 2024Corporate RegulationUpdates

EU Proposal to expand the EU FDI-regulation

The European Commission has published a first draft of a revised regulation on the screening of foreign direct investments (“FDI”).

Cross-BorderGovernance
19 Feb 2024Impact and ESGUpdates

Final Report with amendments for RTS

The European Supervisory Authorities (EBA, EIOPA and ESMA) (together ESAs), published a Final Report with proposed amendments to the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/1288 and the Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) in December 2023.

Disclosure RequirementsESMARegulatory Technical StandardsSustainability