10.6.

2015

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

L 144/1

II
(Non-legislative acts)

REGULATIONS
COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) 2015/884
of 8 June 2015
establishing technical specifications and procedures required for the system of interconnection of
registers established by Directive 2009/101/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council
(Text with EEA relevance)
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Directive 2009/101/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 September 2009 on
coordination of safeguards which, for the protection of the interests of members and third parties, are required by
Member States of companies within the meaning of the second paragraph of Article 48 of the Treaty with a view to
making such safeguards equivalent (1), and in particular Article 4c thereof,
Whereas:
(1)

Article 4c of Directive 2009/101/EC requires the Commission to adopt technical specifications and procedures
for the system of interconnection of registers established by that Directive.

(2)

The system of interconnection of registers is also to be used to implement certain requirements set out in Council
Directive 89/666/EEC (2) and in Directive 2005/56/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (3).

(3)

In order to establish the system of interconnection of registers, it is necessary to define and adopt technical
specifications and procedures which ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of the system, while
accounting for the differences in the technical characteristics of the Member States' registers.

(4)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee on the
Interconnection of Central, Commercial and Companies Registers,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1
The technical specifications and procedures for the system of interconnection of registers referred to in Article 4a(2) of
Directive 2009/101/EC shall be as set out in the Annex.
(1) OJ L 258, 1.10.2009, p. 11.
(2) Council Directive 89/666/EEC of 21 December 1989 concerning disclosure requirements in respect of branches opened in a Member
State by certain types of companies governed by the law of another Member State (OJ L 395, 30.12.1989, p. 36).
(3) Directive 2005/56/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 October 2005 on cross-border mergers of limited liability
companies (OJ L 310, 25.11.2005, p. 1).

L 144/2

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

10.6.2015

Article 2
This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the
European Union.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 8 June 2015
For the Commission
The President
Jean-Claude JUNCKER

10.6.2015

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

L 144/3

ANNEX

setting out the technical specifications and procedures referred to in Article 1

Where reference is made herein to registers, it is always to be understood as central, commercial and companies
registers.
The system of interconnection of registers shall be referred to as the Business Registers Interconnection System (BRIS).
1. Methods of communication
BRIS shall use service-based methods of electronic communication, such as Web-services, for the purpose of intercon
nection of registers.
The communication between the portal and the platform, and between a register and the platform, shall be one-to-one
communication. The communication from the platform to the registers may be one-to-one or one-to-many.
2. Communication protocols
Secure internet protocols, such as HTTPS, shall be used for the communication between the portal, the platform, the
registers and the optional access points.
Standard communication protocols, such as Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP), shall be used for the transmission of
structured data and metadata.
3. Security standards
For the communication and distribution of information via BRIS, the technical measures for ensuring minimum
information technology security standards shall include:
(a) Measures to ensure confidentiality of information, including by using secure channels (HTTPS);
(b) Measures to ensure the integrity of data while being exchanged;
(c) Measures to ensure the non-repudiation of origin of the sender of information within BRIS and the non-repudiation
of receipt of information;
(d) Measures to ensure logging of security events in line with recognized international recommendations for
information technology security standards;
(e) Measures to ensure the authentication and authorisation of any registered users and measures to verify the identity
of systems connected to the portal, the platform or the registers within BRIS.
4. Methods of exchange of information between the register of the company and the register of the branch
The following method shall be used for the exchange of information between the register of the company and the
register of the branch as referred to in Article 3d of Directive 2009/101/EC and in Article 5a of the Directive
89/666/EEC:
(a) The register of the company shall make available, without delay, to the platform the information on the opening and
termination of any winding-up or insolvency proceedings and on the striking-off of the company (disclosed
information);
(b) To ensure receipt without delay of the disclosed information, the register of the branch shall request that
information from the platform. That request may consist of indicating to the platform the companies on which the
register of the branch is interested to receive disclosed information;
(c) Upon that request, the platform shall ensure that the register of the branch has access to the disclosed information
without delay.
Appropriate technical measures and procedures shall be in place to handle any communication error between the
register and the platform.

L 144/4

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

10.6.2015

5. List of data to be exchanged between registers

5.1. Branch disclosure notification
For the purposes of this Annex, the exchange of information between registers set out in Article 3d of Directive
2009/101/EC and in Article 5a of Directive 89/666/EEC shall be referred to as branch disclosure notification. The
proceeding triggering that notification shall be referred to as branch disclosure event.
For each branch disclosure notification referred to in Article 3d of Directive 2009/101/EC and in Article 5a of Directive
89/666/EEC, Member States shall exchange the following data:

Data type

Description

Cardinality (1)

Issuance Date and Time

Date and time when the notification

was sent

Date and Time

Issuing Organisation

Name/Identifier of the organisation

that issues this notification

Party data structure

Legislation Reference

Reference to relevant national or EU

legislation

0n

Proceeding-related data

Additional description

Text

Group of Elements

Effective Date

Date when the proceeding affecting

the company has come into effect

Date

Proceeding Type

Type of proceeding leading to a

branch disclosure event as referred
to in Article 5a(1) of Directive
89/666/EEC

Code
(Winding-up Opening
Winding-up Termination
Winding-up Opening and Termina
tion
Winding-up Revocation
Insolvency Opening
Insolvency Termination
Insolvency Opening and Termination
Insolvency Revocation
Striking-off)

Company data

Group of Elements

Unique identifier of the company

making subject of this notification

Identifier

Alternate ID

Other identifiers of the company

(e.g. Legal Entity Identifier)

0n

Legal form

Type of legal form

EUID

See section 8 of this Annex for struc

ture of the EUID

Identifier

Code
As referred to in Article 1 of Directive
2009/101/EC

10.6.2015

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

Data type

Description

L 144/5

Cardinality (1)

Additional description

Name

Name of the company making

subject of this notification

Text

Registered Office

Registered office of the company

Text

Register Name

Name of the register where the

company is registered

Text

(1) Cardinality 0 means that the data is optional. Cardinality 1 means that the data is mandatory. Cardinality 0n or 1n means that
more than one piece of the same type of data may be provided.

The notification message may also include technical data necessary for the proper transmission of the message.
The exchange of information shall also include technical messages necessary for the acknowledgement of receipt,
logging and reporting purposes.
5.2. Cross-border merger notification
For the purposes of this Annex, the exchange of information between registers as referred to in Article 13 of Directive
2005/56/EC shall be referred to as cross-border merger notification. For each cross-border merger notification referred
to in Article 13 of Directive 2005/56/EC, Member States shall exchange the following data:
Data type

Description

Cardinality

Issuance Date Time

Date and time when the notification

was sent

Date and Time

Issuing Organisation

Organisation that issued this notifi

cation

Party data structure

Recipient Organisation

Organisation this notification is

addressed to

Party data structure

Legislation Reference

Reference to relevant national or EU

legislation

Merger-related data

0n

Additional description

Text

Group of Elements

Effective Date

Date when the merger became effec

tive

Date

Merger Type

Type of merger as defined by

Article 2(2) of Directive 2005/56/EC

Code
(Cross-border merger by acquisition
Cross-border merger by formation of
new company
Cross-border merger of wholly owned
company)

Resulting company
EUID

Unique identifier of the company

resulting from the merger

Group of Elements

Identifier
See section 8 of this Annex for struc
ture of the EUID

L 144/6

EN

Data type

Official Journal of the European Union

Description

Alternate IDs

Other identifiers

Legal form

Type of legal form

10.6.2015

Cardinality

0n
1

Additional description

Identifier
Code
As referred to in Article 1 of Directive
2009/101/EC

Name

Name of the company resulting

from the merger

Text

Registered Office

Registered office of the company

resulting from the merger

Text

Register Name

Name of the register where the com

pany resulting from the merger was
registered

Text

Merging Company
EUID

1n
Unique identifier of the company
being merged

Alternate IDs

Other identifiers

Legal Form

Type of legal form

Group of Elements
Identifier
See section 8 of this Annex for struc
ture of the EUID

0n
1

Identifier
Code
As referred to in Article 1 of Directive
2009/101/EC

Name

Name of the company taking part in

the merger

Text

Registered Office

Registered office of the company

taking part in the merger

01

Text

Register Name

Register where the merging com

pany was registered

Text

The notification message may also include technical data necessary for the proper transmission of the message.
The exchange of information shall also include technical messages necessary for the acknowledgement of receipt,
logging and reporting purposes.
6. Structure of the standard message format
The exchange of information between the registers, the platform and the portal shall be based on standard datastructuring methods and shall be expressed in a standard message format such as XML.
7. Data for the platform
The following type of data shall be provided for the platform to perform its functions:
(a) Data allowing for the identification of systems that are connected to the platform. Those data could consist of URLs
or any other number or code uniquely identifying each system within BRIS;
(b) An index of the particulars listed in Article 3c(2) of Directive 2009/101/EC. This data shall be used to ensure
consistent and quick results of the search service. Where the data is not made available to the platform for
indexation, Member States shall make the same particulars available for the purpose of the search service in a way
that guarantees the same level of service as provided by the platform;

10.6.2015

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 144/7

(c) Unique identifiers of companies referred to in Article 3(1) of Directive 2009/101/EC and unique identifiers of
branches referred to in Article 1(4) of Directive 89/666/EEC. These identifiers shall be used to ensure the interoper
ability of registers via the platform;
(d) Any other operational data that is necessary for the platform to ensure the proper and efficient functioning of the
search service and the interoperability of registers. Those data may include code lists, reference data, glossaries and
related translations of those metadata, as well as logging and reporting data.
The data and metadata handled by the platform shall be processed and stored in line with the security standards
outlined in section 3 of this Annex.
8. Structure and use of the unique identifier
The unique identifier for the purpose of communication between registers shall be referred to as the EUID (European
Unique Identifier).
The structure of the EUID will be compliant with ISO 6523 and will contain the following elements:

EUID element

Description

Additional
description

Country code

Elements making it possible to identify the Member State of the register

Mandatory

Register Identifier

Elements making it possible to identify the domestic register of origin of the

company and of the branch respectively

Mandatory

Registration number

Company/branch number refers to the registration number of the company/

branch in the domestic register of origin

Mandatory

Verification digit

Elements making it possible to avoid identification errors

Optional

The EUID shall be used to unequivocally identify companies and branches for the purpose of the exchange of
information between registers via the platform.
9. Methods of operation of the system and information technology services provided by the platform
For the distribution and exchange of information, the system shall be based on the following technical method of
operation:

For the delivery of messages in the relevant language version, the platform shall provide reference data artefacts, such as
code lists, controlled vocabularies and glossaries. Where relevant, these will be translated into the EU official languages.
Where possible, recognised standards and standardized messages shall be used.

L 144/8

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

10.6.2015

The Commission will share with the Member State further details on the technical method of operation and the
implementation of the information technology services provided by the platform.
10. Search criteria
At least one country must be selected when running a search.
The portal shall provide the following harmonised criteria for the search:
Company name.
Registration number. This refers to the registration number of the company or the branch in the domestic register.
Further search criteria may be available on the portal.
11. Payment modalities
For the documents and particulars for which Member States charge fees and which are made available on the e-Justice
portal via BRIS, the system shall allow users to pay online by using widely used payment modalities such as credit and
debit cards.
The system may also provide alternative online payment methods, such as bank transfers or virtual wallets (deposit).
12. Explanatory labels
In relation to the particulars and types of documents listed in Article 2 of Directive 2009/101/EC, Member States shall
provide the following explanatory labels:
(a) A short title for each particular and document (for example: Articles of incorporation);
(b) As appropriate, a brief description of the content of each document or particular, including, optionally, information
on the legal value of the document.
13. Availability of services
The service time frame shall be 24/7days, with an availability rate of the system of at least 98 % excluding scheduled
maintenance.
Member States shall notify the Commission of maintenance activities as follows:
(a) 5 working days in advance for maintenance operations that may cause an unavailability period of up to 4 hours;
(b) 10 working days in advance for maintenance operations that may cause an unavailability period of up to 12 hours;
(c) 30 working days in advance for infrastructure computer room maintenance, which may cause up to 6 days
unavailability period per year.
To the extent possible, maintenance operations shall be planned outside working hours (19:00h 8:00h CET).
Where Member States have fixed weekly service windows, they shall inform the Commission of the time and day of the
week when such fixed weekly windows are planned. Without prejudice to the obligations in points (a) to (c) of second
paragraph, if Member States systems become unavailable during such a fixed window, Member States may choose not to
notify the Commission on each occasion.
In case of unexpected technical failure of the Member States systems, Member States shall inform the Commission
without delay of their system unavailability, and, if known, of the projected resuming of the service.
In case of unexpected failure of the central platform or of the portal, the Commission shall inform the Member States
without delay of the platform or portal unavailability, and if known, of the projected resuming of the service.
14. Optional access points
14.1. Procedure
Member States shall provide information on the planned timing of the establishment of the optional access points, the
number of optional access points that will connect to the platform, and contact details of the person(s) that could be
contacted for the purpose of establishing the technical connection.

10.6.2015

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 144/9

The Commission shall provide the Member States with the necessary technical details and support for the testing and
deployment of the connection of each optional access point to the platform.
14.2. Technical requirements
For the connection of optional access points to the platform, Member States shall comply with the relevant technical
specifications defined in this Annex, including security requirements for transmission of data via the optional access
points.
Where payment is necessary via an optional access point, Member States shall provide the payment methods of their
choice and shall handle the related payment operations.
Member States shall carry out appropriate testing before the connection to the platform becomes operational and before
any significant changes are made to an existing connection.
After successful connection of the optional access point to the platform, Member States shall inform the Commission of
any upcoming significant change of the access point that may affect the functioning of the platform, in particular the
closing of the access point. Member States shall provide sufficient technical details in relation to the change, in order to
allow for proper integration of any related changes.
Member States shall indicate on each optional access point that the search service is provided via the system of
interconnection of registers.