Filing annual financial statements with the RCS
Last update
For reasons of transparency and the protection of third parties, businesses and certain associations are required to file their annual accounts online with the Trade and Companies Register (registre de commerce et des sociétés - RCS) and to mention the filing of the accounts in the Electronic Compendium of Companies and Associations (recueil électronique des sociétés et associations - RESA).
The general public can subsequently consult the filed accounts on the website of the RCS.
Who is concerned
The annual accounts of the following entities must be filed with the RCS:
- capital companies (sociétés de capitaux) (SA, SARL, SECA, cooperative companies, SE);
- partnerships (SENC and SCS) and traders who are natural persons with an annual turnover excluding VAT in excess of EUR 100,000;
- Luxembourg branch offices from foreign companies (except credit institutions and insurance and reinsurance companies);
- groups (EIG, EEIG) or branch offices of groups.
- medium-sized and large non-profit associations (ASBL).
Prerequisites
Unless they are allowed to use IFRS, businesses who file their accounts must:
- show the balance of their accounts in accordance with the standard chart of accounts (plan comptable normalisé - PCN); and
- validate their annual financial statements on the eCDF platform before filing them with the RCS.
Deadlines
- Businesses and natural persons established as traders;
- Associations
The annual financial statements and the appropriation of income must be approved within the 6 months following the end of the calendar year (for natural persons established as traders) or of the financial year (for legal persons):
- by the partner's general meeting in the case of a limited liability company (SARL) or a simplified limited liability company (SARL-S);
- by the shareholders' general meeting in the case of a public limited company (SA);
- by the shareholders' general meeting with the approval of the business managers in the case of a partnership limited by shares (SECA or SCA);
- by the business managers in the case of a partnership (SENC);
- by the trader himself, natural person, in the case of a sole proprietorship.
Annual financial statements must be filed within one month after their approval, i.e. 7 months after the end of the calendar year for natural persons established as traders, or 7 months after the end of the financial year for legal persons.
Annual financial statements must be filed within 7 mois after the end of the financial year in the case of associations covered by the law of 7 August 2023.
Costs
The costs for registration and filing are available on the website of the Trade and Companies Register (RCS).
Payments are generally made online, but may exceptionally be made in cash at the Luxembourg Business Registers (LBR) reception desk.
The costs are due on an individual basis for each filing. However, in the case of regular and recurrent filings, it is possible to apply for approval to the LBR in order to receive a monthly invoice.
How to proceed
Online filing
Applicants have to file their accounting package online with the Trade and Companies Register (RCS) using a LuxTrust certificate.
At the time of filing the accounts applicants must:
- indicate, where applicable, that the annual financial statements were properly validated on the eCDF platform by ticking the appropriated box, so that the LBR can automatically collect the accounting data from the eCDF platform, namely:
- the balance sheet;
- the profit and loss accounts; and
- the account balance;
- join other unstructured financial documents in PDF/A format, namely:
- the notes to the financial statements;
- the management report;
- the report from the person responsible for auditing the accounts;
- the annual financial statements for businesses not subject to the standard chart of accounts (e.g. Soparfi).
The filing notification of accounts is automatically generated by the RCS at the moment the request to file the annual financial statements is accepted.
Once the filing has been processed, the documents submitted which now carry a virtual label providing proof of filing with the RCS, can be downloaded in the personal eSpace made available to the applicant on the website of the RCS (in the section 'mes commandes').
Publication and consultation of the accounts
After filing the accounts with the Trade and Companies Register (RCS), the filing notification of accounts is published in the electronic compendium of companies and associations (RESA) on the day of the filing or on a set date, chosen by the applicant at the time of application for filing, within a 15-day deadline after the filing.
The filing notification is materialised through a new line inserted in the electronic compendium of companies and associations. The filed annual financial statements can be consulted, except if otherwise provided for by law, in the following formats:
- in PDF format on the RCS website;
- or, at a later point in time, in a structured format (xls, xml) in the Central Balance Sheet Unit (Centrale des Bilans).
However, the filing notification is not published and the accounts are not available for consultation for the following types of businesses:
- SENC and SCS where none of the partners is an SA, SARL, SCA (or any similar foreign form) or if all of the partners are SAs, SARLs, SCAs (or any similar foreign form) and none of them publishes the accounts of the business in question along with their own accounts;
- natural persons established as traders;
- economic interest group (EIG).
The filing of accounts only becomes legally binding on third parties after their publication in the RESA.
Who to contact
Luxembourg Business Registers (LBR) Diekirch Office
- Address:
-
Bei der Aaler Kirch - Place Joseph Bech
L-9211
Diekirch
Luxembourg
B.P. 20 / L-9201
- Phone:
- (+352) 26 42 81
- Fax:
- (+352) 26 42 85 55
- Email address:
- helpdesk@lbr.lu
- Website:
- https://lbr.lu
Luxembourg Business Registers (LBR) Luxembourg Office
- Address:
-
31, Avenue de la Gare
L-1611
Luxembourg
Luxembourg
L-2961 Luxembourg
- Phone:
- (+352) 26 42 81
- Fax:
- (+352) 26 42 85 55
- Email address:
- helpdesk@lbr.lu
- Website:
- https://www.lbr.lu
Closed ⋅ Opens Monday at 9.00
- Sunday:
- Closed
- Monday:
- 9.00 to 12.00 , 13.30 to 16.00
- Tuesday:
- 9.00 to 12.00 , 13.30 to 16.00
- Wednesday:
- 9.00 to 12.00 , 13.30 to 16.00
- Thursday:
- 9.00 to 12.00 , 13.30 to 16.00
- Friday:
- 9.00 to 12.00 , 13.30 to 16.00
- Saturday:
- Closed
Government IT Centre (CTIE) eCDF Helpdesk
- Address:
-
560, rue de Neudorf
L-2220
Luxembourg
Luxembourg
B.P. 1111, L-1011 Luxembourg
- Email address:
- ecdf@ctie.etat.lu
National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (STATEC) Central Balance Sheet Unit (Helpdesk STATEC)
- Address:
- Luxembourg
- Phone:
- (+352) 247 88 494
- Email address:
- centralebilans@statec.etat.lu
Related procedures and links
Procedures
Links
Legal references
-
Loi du 20 avril 2009
sur le dépôt par voie électronique auprès du registre de commerce et des sociétés
-
Loi modifiée du 19 décembre 2002
concernant le registre de commerce et des sociétés ainsi que la comptabilité et les comptes annuels des entreprises
-
Règlement grand-ducal modifié du 23 janvier 2003
portant exécution de la loi du 19 décembre 2002 concernant le Registre de commerce et des sociétés ainsi que la comptabilité et les comptes annuels des entreprises
-
Règlement grand-ducal modifié du 14 décembre 2011
déterminant la procédure de dépôt de la liasse comptable auprès du gestionnaire du registre de commerce et des sociétés, les conditions de contrôles arithmétiques et logiques concernant les comptes annuels et portant modification du règlement grand-ducal modifié du 23 janvier 2003 portant exécution de la loi modifiée du 19 décembre 2002 concernant le registre de commerce et des sociétés ainsi que la comptabilité et les comptes annuels des entreprises
