Further information regarding the registration of partners in the Public Sector Partner Register (hereinafter referred to as "RPVS") is available online. The RPVS is accessible to the public and allows users to search for registered partners based on various criteria. In this article, you will learn who is an authorized person under the RPVS Act, and we will mention some of their obligations.
The website provides the general public and professionals with a wealth of information regarding the registration of public sector partners in the Public Sector Partner Registry, as provided by authorized entities, primarily for the purpose of ensuring the registration of entities required to be entered in the Public Sector Partners Register, as well as for the purpose of marketing or advertising by the authorized person.
Many authorized persons thus provide, as part of their activities—which we may consider both appropriate and reasonable—basic information regarding the legal framework of Act No. 315/2016 Coll. on the Register of Public Sector Partners and on amendments to certain laws (hereinafter also referred to as the “Act on the RPSP”), regarding the creation or termination of the obligation to register in the Public Sector Partners Register, the method and speed of securing registration in the Public Sector Partners Register, and, last but not least, the remuneration for the authorized person’s activities.
Of course, the public sector partner itself is required to be aware of the obligations arising from its existing entry in the Public Sector Partners Register, as well as the subsequent obligations during verification events and the verification of the identity of the ultimate beneficiary. It is necessary for the partner to be informed of the individual provisions of the Public Sector Partner Register Act and also (with the registration obligation) of related legal regulations, such as in particular Act No. 343/2015 Coll. on Public Procurement and on Amendments to Certain Acts, or other legal regulations under which the obligation to register in the Public Sector Partners Register arises (e.g., Act No. 264/2022 Coll. on Media Services and on Amendments to Certain Acts, or e.g., Act No. 581/2004 Coll. on Health Insurance Companies, Supervision of Health Care, and on Amendments to Certain Acts, as amended). For the sake of completeness, we note that the website https://www.justice.gov.sk/sluzby/register-partnerov-verejneho-sektora/ or the website of the Public Sector Partner Register itself, https://rpvs.gov.sk/rpvs.
Pursuant to Section 2(1)(c) of the RPVS Act, an authorized person is, quote:
- a lawyer, notary, bank, auditor, or tax advisor who has a place of business or registered office in the territory of the Slovak Republic and who, on the basis of a written agreement, has undertaken to fulfill the obligations of an authorized person for a public sector partner, as well as
- a foreign entity authorized to carry out the same business activities in the territory of the Slovak Republic as an authorized person under the first point, which has its business or an organizational unit located in the territory of the Slovak Republic, and who, on the basis of a written agreement, has undertaken to fulfill the obligations of an authorized person for a public sector partner.
Pursuant to Section 11(5) of the RPVS Act, cit.:
“An authorized person is required, when identifying the ultimate beneficiary and verifying the identification of the ultimate beneficiary, to act impartially and with professional diligence, to obtain all available information regarding the subject of the registration, and to evaluate such information. The authorized person is not bound by the instructions of the public sector partner. Acting with professional care means acting with care appropriate to the function or position of the authorized person, after taking into account and independently evaluating all available information which they have obtained or could have obtained and which relate to or may influence their actions. The provisions of a special regulation apply mutatis mutandis to the procedure for identifying the ultimate beneficial owner and verifying the identification of the ultimate beneficial owner.”
The RPVS Act contains a specific definition of acting with professional care. Acting with professional care for the purposes of the RPVS Act means acting with a level of care appropriate to the function or position of the authorized person, after taking into account and independently evaluating all available information which the authorized person has obtained or could have obtained and which relate to or may influence their conduct. Each authorized person is required to act in accordance with their specific function or position within the scope of the legal regulation governing the performance of their function or position.
In practice, situations often arise where many authorized persons interpret acting with professional care to mean that they request only publicly available documents from the public sector partner itself, or conversely, request numerous documents and materials that lack a logical basis and systematic approach when determining the ultimate beneficiary. However, acting with due diligence should always take into account an individual assessment of the public sector partner and the request for all documents that have a real impact on identifying the ultimate beneficiary, as well as those documents where, upon individual assessment of the public sector partner, there is a reasonable presumption of the existence of legal facts that may affect the identification of the ultimate beneficial owner.
The authorized person is required to obtain all available information regarding the subject of the registration, i.e., not only information provided by the public sector partner itself (whether upon request or on its own initiative) but also information obtained or that could have been obtained through the authorized person’s own activities (e.g., from publicly available registers and databases).
The authorized person is required to review, verify, and evaluate the obtained information so as to properly identify the ultimate beneficiary in accordance with the RPVS Act and the Act. The authorized person is required to evaluate each piece of information obtained both individually and in conjunction with the other information obtained as a whole.
The authorized person evaluates the information based on their own discretion in accordance with the standard of professional care. Any instructions or guidelines from the Partner that directly concern the identification of the beneficial owner (where the Partner itself determines who its beneficial owner is and requires that this specific person be registered as the beneficial owner) are irrelevant to the Partner.
In conclusion, we would like to note that identifying the ultimate beneficial owner is not a simple process and requires the aforementioned actions by an authorized person exercising professional care in close cooperation with the public sector partner. For the purposes of proper registration and the fulfillment of public sector partners’ obligations, therefore, the speed and the administered non-or the amount of the fee for securing the registration and the fee for performing the activities of an authorized person.
The law firm Hronček & Partners, s. r. o. is ready to provide you with comprehensive legal advice and services in connection with the performance of activities by the law firm as an authorized entity for public sector partners. We also provide advice regarding the obligation to register entities in the public sector partner registry, the assessment of related financial limits, and the obligation to verify the identity of the ultimate beneficial owner of public sector partners during so-called verification events within the meaning of the Public Sector Partner Register Act.
