Types of securities

The eligible securities issued in France are as follows:

Debt securities

• Government debt securities:
  • Government bonds - Obligations assimilables au Trésor (OAT);
  • Short- and medium-term securities:
    • Bons du Trésor Taux Fixe et Intérêt Annuel (BTAN);
    • Bons du Trésor Taux Fixe et Intérêt Précompté (BTF);
• Corporate bonds issued before 1 January 1987 and redenominated in EUR on 1 January 1999;
• Fonds Communs des Créances (FCC);
• Titres de créances non-négotiables (TCNN);
• Titres Participatifs issued before 1 January 1987 (TP);
• Short- and medium-term corporate debt securities (not including bonds issued before 1 January 1987 and redenominated in EUR on 1 January 1999):
  • Billets de Trésorie (BT);
  • Billets Moyen Terme Négociables (BMTN);
  • Certificats de Dépôt (CD);
  • Bons des Institutions Financières Spécialisées (BIFS).

Equities (with cash dividend, stock dividend or choice dividend distributions):

Ordinary dividend payments made by French companies are eligible for relief at source, quick refund and standard refund.

Dividend payments made by the following entities are eligible for standard refund only:

• French Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities (UCITSs), including Sociétés d'Investissement à Capital Variable (SICAV) and Fonds Communs de Placement (FCP);
• Sociétés de Capital Risque (SCR);
• Sociétés de Développement Régional (SDR);
• Sociétés Immobilières pour le Commerce et l'Industrie (SICOMI).

Types of beneficial owner

The following types of beneficial owner are recognised for tax purposes in France:

• Residents of Double Taxation Treaty (DTT) countries;
• Foreign individuals;
• Foreign Collective Investment Vehicles (CIVs);
• EU parent companies;
• Not-for-Profit Organisations;
• Foreign exempt entities;
• Particular foreign entities;
• French residents (direct customers of LuxCSD).

Beneficial owners not eligible for relief:

• Residents of a country that does not have a DTT with France;
• Residents of a country that have a DTT with France but do not fulfil the conditions of eligibility defined by the DTT, including the following:
  • Some pension funds and mutual funds;
  • Finnish investment funds and investment companies;
  • German entities not subject to tax in their country of residence (for example, German Spezial Fonds).
• Residents of Singapore;
• U.S. partnerships.

Statutory deadline for reclaiming withholding tax

For customers claiming domestic law rates:

The statutory deadline for reclaiming withholding tax is two years after the end of the calendar year in which the interest payment was made.

For customers claiming DTT rates:

Unless otherwise stipulated in the tax treaty, the statutory deadline for reclaiming withholding tax is two years after the end of the calendar year in which the interest payment was made.

Exceptions to the above are reclaim applications for beneficial owners that are residents of the following countries, as indicated:

Zimbabwe	three (3) years after the income payment date;
India	three (3) years after the end of the calendar year in which the interest was paid;
Netherlands	three (3) years after the end of the calendar year in which the interest was  paid;
Germany	four (4) years after the end of the calendar year in which the interest was paid.

LuxCSD deadline for standard refund applications

The deadline by which LuxCSD must receive the documentation for an application is at the latest two months before the statutory deadline. All reclaim applications received after this deadline will be processed by LuxCSD on a “best efforts” basis. However, in such cases, LuxCSD will apply an extra charge and accepts no responsibility for forms that have not reached the French Tax Authorities by the date considered to be the statute of limitations deadline.

Important note: for reclaims on dividends paid before 10 April 2018 please refer to the deadline under Market Taxation Guide – France (securities held in BNP Paribas Securities Services)

When are refunds received?

The estimated time for receiving a refund is from six months to two years, depending on the time that the application is filed and the complexity of the information supplied in the reclaim form.

LuxCSD does not guarantee the accuracy of the timings presented.

Notes on tax reclaims

Customers warrant the completeness and accuracy of the information they supply to LuxCSD.

It is the customer's responsibility to determine any entitlement to a refund of tax withheld, to complete the forms required correctly and to calculate the amount due. LuxCSD is under no obligation to carry out any investigation in respect of such information.

With respect to tax reclaims in general, customers are reminded that LuxCSD accepts no responsibility for their acceptance or non-acceptance by the tax authorities of the respective country.

Market specifics

The following details are specific to the French market.

Crédit d'Impôt Etranger (foreign tax credit)

Crédit d'Impôt Etranger is a foreign tax credit adjustment that is made when a part of the dividend paid by the French distributing company has been paid out of profits received from its foreign subsidiary.

The foreign tax credit is a reimbursement, to the French Parent company, of taxation already levied abroad on dividends distributed by the foreign subsidiaries. In order to avoid double taxation, the taxation is therefore corrected in cases where the foreign subsidiary is resident in a country having signed a Double Taxation Treaty (DTT) with France.

The amount of tax credit adjustment is announced by the French distributing company on or after the date of the dividend payment. It is added to the net dividend (gross basis) to determine the non-resident price and applied as follows:

• Through the standard procedure, withholding tax is applied at the default witholding tax rate in force and, when the withholding tax is refunded on application of the DTT or, if applicable, of the EU Directive 90/435/EEC, the tax credit is added to the refund amount;
• Through the simplified procedure, withholding tax is applied at the default withholding tax rate in force or according to the DTT;
• Through the simplified procedure for foreign individuals, withholding tax is applied at a rate of 12.8% or according to the DTT;
• Through the simplified procedure for CIVs, withholding tax is not applied;
• Through the "0%" procedure, for EU parent companies or foreign exempt entities withholding tax is not applied;
• Through the "15%" procedure, for Not-for-Profit Organisations withholding tax is applied at a rate of 15%.

Offres Publiques de Rachat (OPRA)

The taxation treatment of Offres Publiques de Rachat (repurchase offers) in France for non-resident investors is as follows:

• OPRA of 10% or less of the existing shares, without cancellation:
  If the OPRA from a listed company applies to 10% or less of the existing shares without cancellation of the repurchased shares, it falls under the provision of articles L.225-208 to L.225-212 of the French Commerce Code. In this case, Article 112-6 of the French General Tax Code provides that the profit is considered as a capital gain and is not subject to withholding tax;
• OPRA implying a capital decrease, with cancellation:
  The issuing company may decide to reduce a part of its capital by repurchasing and then cancelling the bought-back shares. If the OPRA implies such a capital decrease with a compulsory cancellation, it then falls under the Article 112-1 of the French General Tax Code. It is then considered as a dividend distribution and as such is subject to the statutory withholding tax.
  The Statement of Practice (BOI 4 J-1-06 of 13 October 2006) specifies the tax regime to be applied and states that the basis for the calculation of withholding tax is the acquisition price (that is, the value of the repurchased shares) if higher than the capital value average price. The capital value average price represents the price (reference price) per share as calculated by the issuer. 

Applicable tax treatment:

• If the beneficial owner acquisition price is available and is higher than the capital value average price, the withholding tax is calculated on the difference between the repurchase offer price and the effective acquisition price;
• If the beneficial owner acquisition price is not available or is lower than the capital value average price determined by the issuer, withholding tax is calculated on the difference between the repurchase price and the capital value average price;
• If neither the beneficial owner nor the issuer has determined or communicated any price, then the full proceeds of the repurchase offer are subject to the statutory withholding tax.

It is the responsibility of each final beneficial owner, or its representative, to communicate the acquisition price to LuxCSD’s Corporate Actions department together with their instruction to participate in the event.

LuxCSD does not require proof of the acquisition price but such proof must be at its disposal should the French Tax Authorities request it.
If the acquisition price is not provided by or on behalf of the beneficial owner, the capital value average price, if available, will be used by default.

Reclaims of withholding tax:
The standard refund procedure is available if the beneficial owner qualifies for the benefit of a reduced rate of withholding tax in accordance with a Double Taxation Treaty (DTT) between its country of residence and France.

Customers must complete Forms 5000 and 5001 as for a dividend withholding tax reclaim. To ease the tax reclaim process, customers are requested always to mention clearly on the tax form that the reclaim relates to a repurchase offer (OPRA).

Issuance of attestations 2779 and 2777

The attestation is issued by the French withholding agent being either Clearstream Banking AG (CBF) or BNP Paribas Securities Services (BPSS) and is considered as a credit advice of the payment from the withholding agent to us at LuxCSD providing evidence that tax was withheld at source for a past taxable dividend payment.

Attestation 2779 is issued by Clearstream Banking AG (CBF) in their quality of withholding agent for securities held through CASCADE as of 1 April 2011 and all T2S securities held through Creation Platform or CASCADE Platform as of 9 April 2018.

Attestation 2777 is issued by BNP Paribas Securities Services (BPSS) in their quality of withholding agent on all non-T2S securities under the Creation platform and securities held through CASCADE and paid before 1 April 2011.

 The below table summarises the type of attestation that can be delivered:

Platform	Type of securities	Date of payment	Type of attestation	Issuing entity
Creation (CBL) and CASCADE (CBF)	All	Before 1 April 2011	2777	BPSS
Creation (CBL)	All (including choice dividends and Essentially registered shares – With VD in 2017 and 2018)	Between 1 April 2011 and 9 April 2018	2777	BPSS
Creation (CBL)	All non-T2S securities	After 9 April 2018	2777	BPSS
CASCADE (CBF)	All (except choice dividends and Essentially registered shares – With VD in 2017 and 2018)	Between 1 April 2011 and 9 April 2018	2779	CBF
Creation (CBL) and CASCADE (CBF)	All T2S securities	After 9 April 2018	2779	CBF

Impact on customers

Issuance of Attestation 2779 by CBF to CBL, or to direct CBF’s customers

For requests for proof of tax applied on a past payment, the attestation will be issued by CBF (as tax agent) to CBL or to its direct customer upon request from the customer.

The attestation does not replace the full chain of credit advices and can be considered as proof of tax withheld at the level of the tax agent only: It cannot be considered as a credit advice of payment from LuxCSD to the customer. A LuxCSD credit advice is to be requested separately, if required.

Depending on how the payment was taxed at source or whether a refund was already requested by a beneficial owner, the attestation will be issued as one of the following types:

Attestations with several payments listed in the same Attestation 2779:

• Global Standard Attestation 2779 issued per dividend year, per LuxCSD or per customer securities account;
  This attestation is issued by CBF reflecting the global position of LuxCSD or of the CBF’s customer that was taxed at payment date at the maximum tax rate.
• Global Simplified Attestation 2779 issued per dividend year, per LuxCSD or per customer securities account;
  This attestation reflects the global position of LuxCSD or of CBF’s customer that was taxed at payment date at a reduced tax rate (15%/other applicable rate) due to the relief at source procedure.
• Standard Attestation 2779 issued per LuxCSD or per customer securities account, per dividend year, per beneficial owner;
  This attestation mentions the beneficial owner and reflects the specific position of the specified beneficial owner that was taxed at the maximum tax rate for the specified payment date. This attestation is only available if a standard refund was processed and paid for the specified beneficial owner via CBF.
• Simplified Attestation 2779 issued per LuxCSD or per customer securities account, per dividend year, per beneficial owner;
  This attestation mentions the beneficial owner and reflects the specific position of the specified beneficial owner that was taxed at a reduced tax rate (15% or any other applicable rate) via the relief at source procedure.

Attestations with one single payment listed in the LuxCSD credit advice “Attestation de Paiement”:

• Global Standard “Attestation de Paiement”, per customer securities account;
  The “Attestation de Paiement” reflects the global position of CBF’s customer for one specific payment that was taxed at the maximum tax rate for the specified payment date.
• Global Simplified “Attestation de Paiement”, per LuxCSD or CBF customer securities account;
  The “Attestation de Paiement” reflects the global position of LuxCSD or CBF’s customer for one specific payment that was taxed at a reduced tax rate via the relief at source (15% or any other DTT rate) for the specified payment date.

Important note: LuxCSD can issue an attestation in the name of the beneficial owner only if a relief at source or standard refund was requested and processed via CBF for that final beneficial owner. In these situations, LuxCSD will have sufficient documentation to verify the payment details for the specified beneficial owner; for the other situations, CBF can only issue “Global Attestations”.

Requesting the attestation via LuxCSD

The relevant attestation can be obtained in the following steps:

1. The customer selects and completes the relevant “Request for Attestation”  and submits it to LuxCSD via the following dedicated email address: att2779@clearstream.com
2. Upon receipt and after verification of the submitted details, we will issue the relevant type of 2779 Attestation and deliver it in original to our customers by registered post. Invalid requests will be rejected and returned for correction to the customer via MT568.

Checks to be performed by the customer before submitting the attestation request to LuxCSD:

• All customer requests must specify clearly, in addition to the required details, the type of attestation being requested.
• Each request may only contain payments related to the same payment year.
• CASCADE accounts and Creation accounts may not be listed together in the same request.

For issuance of Attestation 2777 by BPSS to LuxCSD please refer to the below procedure:

Types of attestation

For requests for proof of tax applied on a past payment, the Attestation will be issued by BPSS (as tax agent) to LuxCSD upon request from the customer.

The attestation does not replace the full chain of credit advices and can be considered as proof of tax withheld at the level of the tax agent only: It cannot be considered as a credit advice of payment from LuxCSD to the customer. A LuxCSD credit advice is to be requested separately, if required.

Depending on how the payment was taxed at source or whether a refund was already requested by a beneficial owner, the attestation will be issued as one of the following types:

Attestations with several payments listed in the same Attestation 2777:

• Global Standard Attestation 2777 issued per dividend year, per LuxCSD securities account. This attestation is issued by BPSS to LuxCSD reflecting the global position of LuxCSD that was taxed at payment date at the maximum tax rate applicable on the dividend payment date.
• Global Simplified Attestation 2777 issued per dividend year, per LuxCSD securities account. This attestation reflects the global position of LuxCSD that was taxed at payment date at a reduced tax rate (15% / other applicable rate) due to the relief at source procedure.
• Standard Attestation 2777 issued per LuxCSD securities account, per dividend year, per beneficial owner. This attestation mentions the beneficial owner and reflects the specific position of the specified beneficial owner that was taxed at the maximum tax rate for the specified payment date. This attestation is only available if a standard refund was processed and paid for the specified beneficial owner via LuxCSD and BPSS.
• Simplified Attestation 2777 issued per LuxCSD securities account, per dividend year, per beneficial owner. This attestation mentions the beneficial owner and reflects the specific position of the specified beneficial owner that was taxed at a reduced tax rate (15% or any other applicable rate) via the relief at source procedure for the specified payment date .

Attestations with one single payment listed in the BPSS credit advice “Attestation de Paiement”:

• Global Standard “Attestation de Paiement”, per LuxCSD securities account. The “Attestation de Paiement” reflects the global position of LuxCSD for one specific payment that was taxed at the maximum tax rate for the specified payment date.
• Global Simplified “Attestation de Paiement”, per LuxCSD securities account. The “Attestation de Paiement” reflects the global position of LuxCSD for one specific payment that was taxed at a reduced tax rate via the relief at source (15% or any other applicable rate) for the specified payment date.

Important note: BPSS can issue an attestation in the name of the beneficial owner only if a relief at source or standard refund was requested and processed via LuxCSD/BPSS for that final beneficial owner. In such situations, LuxCSD and BPSS will have sufficient documentation to verify the payment details for the specified beneficial owner. For the other situations, BPSS can only issue Global Attestations.

Requesting the attestation via LuxCSD

The relevant attestation can be obtained in the following steps:

1. The customer selects and completes the relevant “Request for Attestation”  and submits it to LuxCSD via the following dedicated email address: att2777@clearstream.com
2. Upon receipt and after verification of the submitted details, we will forward the information to our local depository, who will issue the relevant type of Attestation and deliver it to us.
   Invalid requests will be rejected and returned for correction to the customer via MT568.

Checks to be performed by the customer before submitting the attestation request to LuxCSD:

• All customer requests must specify clearly, in addition to the required details, the type of attestation being requested.
• Each request may only contain payments related to the same payment year.
• CASCADE accounts and Creation accounts may not be listed together in the same request.

Important note: The attestation does not replace the full chain of credit advices and can be considered as proof of tax withheld at the level of the tax agent only. It cannot be considered as a credit advice of payment from LuxCSD to the customer. A LuxCSD credit advice, if required, must be requested separately.

Notes on French Tax Forms 5000 and 5001

Each form is available in French, German, English, Spanish, Italian, Dutch and Chinese and is to be completed in triplicate: two versions in the foreign language most appropriate to the DTT country and one version in French.

The information in all three copies is identical and they must all three be completed and sent to the local tax authorities of the beneficial owner’s country of residence for certification purposes. These forms must be printed on both sides.

The copies are processed as follows:

• The first local language copy is kept by the tax authorities of the beneficial owner’s country of residence;
• The second local language copy is returned and kept by the beneficial owner;
• The third copy, in French, is returned and submitted to the French Tax Authorities.