Reminder: Deadlines for the submission of tax reclaim applications
The customer deadlines for submitting tax reclaims to Clearstream Banking1, before the statutory market deadline, are as set out in the following table:
Market | Clearstream Banking deadline a |
Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Slovenia, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland | Two months before the statutory deadline |
Canada, Finland, Italy, Japan, Portugal, Spain | Three months before the statutory deadline |
a. The actual deadline falls on the last business day before the stated Clearstream Banking deadline.
Tax reclaims received after the Clearstream Banking deadline
Provided that the required tax reclaim certification is complete and valid, we will process all standard refund applications received after the Clearstream Banking deadline on a "best efforts" basis. However, in such cases, we can accept no responsibility for documentation that has not reached the local tax authorities before the market deadline.
Furthermore, an additional fee of EUR 1500 will be charged for each reclaim application received less than two months before the applicable statutory deadline.
In some markets, additional fees may be charged by our local custodians for applications received after the Clearstream Banking deadline. For example, for reclaims of withholding tax on French dividends, the French withholding agent charges EUR 1000 per dividend payment per ISIN.
Note: With respect to tax reclaims in general, we must remind customers that Clearstream Banking accepts no responsibility for the acceptance or non-acceptance of refund applications by the tax authorities of the respective country. It is the customer’s responsibility to determine any entitlement to a refund of tax withheld, to complete the required forms correctly and to calculate the amount due.
Important notes
One tax reclaim form is required for each account for which the reclaim is requested and the respective account number should be clearly mentioned on the relevant Letter of Request to Clearstream Banking for Reclaim of Withholding Tax. A template is available in each of our Market Taxation Guides.
Reclaims that are incomplete, that relate to more than one account or for which the stated account has insufficient entitlement will be rejected by Clearstream Banking. This applies to accounts in both CBL and CBF.
Customers are also reminded that CBL Creation accounts must be distinguished from CBF CASCADE accounts.
Further information
For further information, customers may contact the Clearstream Banking Tax Help Desk or Clearstream Banking Client Services or their Relationship Officer.
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1. Clearstream Banking refers collectively to Clearstream Banking S.A., registered office at 42, avenue John F. Kennedy, L-1855 Luxembourg, and registered with the Luxembourg Trade and Companies Register under number B-9248, and Clearstream Banking AG (for Clearstream Banking Frankfurt (CBF) customers using CreationOnline), registered office at 61, Mergenthalerallee, 65760 Eschborn, Germany and registered in Register B of the Amtsgericht Frankfurt am Main, Germany under number HRB 7500.