The Companies (Amendment) Act, 2020

Companies (Amendment) [No. 12 of 2020 253
An Act to amend the Companies Act, 2017. [2nd December, 2020
ENACTED by the Parliament of Zambia. 1. This Act may be cited as the Companies (Amendment)
Act, 2020, and shall be read as one with the Companies Act, 2017,
in this Act referred to as the principal Act. 2. Section 2 of the principal Act is amended by the—
(a) deletion of the definition of “beneficial owner” and the
substitution therefor of the following:
“beneficial owner” means a natural person who—
(a) directly or indirectly, through any contract,
arrangement, understanding, relationship or any
other means ultimately owns, controls, exercises
substantial interest in, or receives substantial
economic benefit from a corporate;
(b) exercises ultimate and effective controls over a
legal person or legal arrangement; or
(c) effectively controls a legal person or legal
arrangement on whose behalf a transaction is
conducted;
and the terms “ beneficially own”, “beneficial ownership”
and cognate expressions shall be construed accordingly;
and
(b) insertion of the following new definitions in the appropriate
places:
Enactment
Short title
Act No.

xpressions shall be construed accordingly;
and
(b) insertion of the following new definitions in the appropriate
places:
Enactment
Short title
Act No.

10
of 2017
Amendment
of section 2
GOVERNMENT OF ZAMBIA
ACT
No. 12 of 2020
Date of Assent: 30th November, 2020
Single copies of this Act may be obtained from the Government Printer,
P.O. Box 30136, 10101 Lusaka, Price K4.00 each.

“substantial economic benefit” means the benefit
realised by a natural person from a body corporate
legally or equitably, of at least five percent of the—
(a) distribution of dividends; or
(b) proceeds of a transaction; and
“substantial interest” means at least five percent
ownership of shares of a body corporate by a
natural person, legally or equitably.
254 No. 12 of 2020] Companies (Amendment)