Directive (EU) 2024/1640 amended Articles 30 and 31 of Directive (EU) 2015/849, strengthening the framework governing access to information on beneficial owners, with a view to establishing unequivocally that only persons or organizations demonstrating a legitimate interest may access information on beneficial ownership.
In this context, it becomes necessary to amend the legal framework of the Central Register of Beneficial Owners (RCBE), which currently allows public access to information through simple authentication, without the need to demonstrate a legitimate interest, thereby transposing the aforementioned European Directive into Portuguese law.
It should be noted that the information currently accessible already corresponds to the minimum set of data required to be made available under European legislation, and that it is only necessary to regulate the procedure for verifying the existence of a legitimate interest.
The legislative amendment also aims to address two issues that have given rise to interpretative doubts. On the one hand, it clarifies that inheritances, including undivided estates, are excluded from the scope of the RCBE, as they do not result from voluntary establishment. On the other hand, it provides a more precise definition of the data to be collected regarding the legal representatives of beneficial owners who are minors or adults under legal guardianship, thereby ensuring compliance with the principle of data minimisation.
Decree-Law No. 115/2025, of October 27
