Glossary

Terms as they are used on this site and in Luxembourg practice — plain language, with the caveat that a definition is not advice.

Regulators and registers

CSSF — Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier, Luxembourg's financial sector supervisor. CNPD — Commission nationale pour la protection des données, the data protection authority. RCS — Registre de commerce et des sociétés, the trade and companies register. RBE — Registre des bénéficiaires effectifs, the register of beneficial owners (Law of 13 January 2019). BOIP — Benelux Office for Intellectual Property. LuxSE — the Luxembourg Stock Exchange, operating a regulated market and the Euro MTF.

Structures and vehicles

SPV — special purpose vehicle: an entity created for a defined transaction or holding purpose. Securitisation vehicle — an undertaking under the Law of 22 March 2004 that acquires or assumes risks and finances itself by issuing instruments whose return depends on those risks. Compartment — a statutorily ring-fenced pool of assets and liabilities within a securitisation vehicle. SIF — specialised investment fund under the Law of 13 February 2007. EuSEF / EuVECA — European social entrepreneurship and venture capital fund labels under Regulations (EU) 346/2013 and 345/2013. S.A. / S.à r.l. — the Luxembourg public and private limited company forms under the Law of 10 August 1915.

Mandates and assurance

Commissaire aux comptes — the statutory supervisory organ of companies below audit thresholds (Art. 443-1 et seq., 1915 Law); no CSSF licence required. Réviseur d'entreprises agréé — approved statutory auditor under the Law of 23 July 2016; a reserved profession. Auditor in liquidation / commissaire à la liquidation — examines the liquidator's accounts before closure. ISRE / ISAE / ISRS — international standards for review, assurance, and related services engagements. AUP — agreed-upon procedures (ISRS 4400): factual findings, no opinion.

Regulation

MiFID II — the EU framework for investment services in financial instruments; qualification under it decides the MiCA boundary. MiCA — Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation; its CASP transitional period ended 1 July 2026. Prospectus Regulation — Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 on offers to the public and admissions to regulated markets. Euro MTF — LuxSE's exchange-regulated market, outside the Prospectus Regulation's admission regime but within the Market Abuse Regulation. AML/CFT — anti-money-laundering framework under the amended Law of 12 November 2004. FATCA / CRS — US and OECD tax-transparency regimes (Laws of 24 July 2015 and 18 December 2015). CBAM — the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism; definitive regime since 1 January 2026. DLT Pilot Regime — Regulation (EU) 2022/858 for DLT market infrastructure. UBO — ultimate beneficial owner. GDPR — Regulation (EU) 2016/679 on personal data.

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