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Parent Category: News Archives

Created on Friday, 07 November 2008 23:37

Last Updated on Tuesday, 06 January 2015 09:56

Company Information on the Internet Starting 2007

Good news for all of you, who need information on a corporation. The Companies’ Registry is going online. Latest with January 1, 2007, all company details subject to public disclosure are to be available online at the web-address www.Unternehmensregister.de and www.handelsregister.de.

What is subject to disclosure? Some vital information: share-holders, managing directors, Prokuristen (certain agents having a position similar to a managing director), corporation’s stock, any rises or reductions in stock, annual statement of accounts.

Who is subject to disclosure? All commercial corporations, i.e.: GmbH, AG, Partnership corporations (Partnerschaftsgesellschaften),  (limited private partnerships) Kommanditgesellschaften and UG (limited liability company). If you are wondering if you have to do anything about your home corporation, then rest assured, there is nothing for you to do unless you have a subsidy registered in Germany. If you have a subsidy here then it will be treated as any other German corporation.

The changes in detail are:

• Commercial, co-operatives, partnership companies registries will be changed to be kept up-to-date exclusively online starting January 1, 2007.
• County courts (Amtsgerichte) will remain competent to hold and maintain the registries as before.
• Documents are to be submitted digitally in the future. The federal states may allow that documents may be submitted in paper form for an interim period until 2009.
• Public form is still required to apply for entries to the registries. Understand "public form" as signed and sealed by a Notar – so to say "notarized".

However, disclosure of company’s annual statement of accounts will not to be done with county courts anymore but then with electronic Federal Gazette (Bundesanzeiger). This gazette is to be channeled more and more into a commercial publication organ. The online access will be subject to prior registration – free of cost. The information is provided for minor fees.