Standard refund - eligibility, documentation, deadlines - Dutch equities

02.09.2013

Who can apply for a standard refund?

A reclaim of the relevant amount of withholding tax is available if the beneficial owner is entitled to the benefit of a reduced rate of withholding tax lower than 15% in accordance with the DTT between its country of residence and Luxembourg. The maximum rate of withholding tax is defined in the relevant DTT.
Relief at source from withholding tax on dividends is not available through Clearstream Banking.

Residents of Luxembourg cannot reclaim withholding tax through Clearstream Banking.

Eligible beneficial ownersEffective rate of tax
after refund a
Tax refund
available a
Residents of Double Taxation Treaty (DTT) countriesTax treaty rate or
15%, whichever is lower
15% minus
the tax treat rate b

a. Expressed as a percentage of the gross dividend amount.
b. Amount of relief will be 0% if the DTT rate exceeds 15%.

Documentation requirements

For reclaims through Clearstream Banking of tax withheld on Luxembourg securities by or on behalf of eligible beneficial owners, documents must be completed and submitted as follows:

  • Claim for Reduction / Partial Refund of Withholding Tax;
  • Power of Attorney;
  • Credit Advice;
  • Letter of Request to Clearstream Banking for Reclaim of Luxembourg Wiithholding Tax.

Statutory deadline for reclaiming withholding tax

The dividend withholding tax reclaim must be filed with the Luxembourg Tax Authorities, according to the Article 153 of the Luxembourg tax legislation, no later than on 31 December of the year following the one on which the dividend has been paid.
If the DTT between Luxembourg and the country of residence of the beneficial owner provides a deadline for filing reclaims that is different from the one granted by the domestic law, the deadline specified in the DTT should prevail. Examples confirmed by the Luxembourg Tax Authorities are as follows:

Austria:Two years following the year of the dividend payment date;
Germany:Two years following the dividend payment date;
Netherlands:Three years following the year of the dividend payment date.

Clearstream deadline for standard refund applications

The deadline by which Clearstream Banking must receive the documentation for a standard refund application is at least two months before the statutory deadline. All standard refund applications received after this deadline will be processed by Clearstream Banking on a "best efforts" basis. However, in such a case, Clearstream Banking will apply an extra charge and accepts no responsibility for forms that have not reached the Austrian Tax Authorities by the date considered as being the statute of limitations deadline.

Note: Missing documents must be forwarded immediately after the notification by the Austrian Tax Authorities; otherwise, the claim may be rejected.

Notes on tax reclaims

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

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. Clearstream Banking is under no obligation to carry out any investigation in respect of such information.

Customers must state, either on their application or on a separate document, whether the application is:

  • Initiated according to §6 (for EU Pension Funds) or §21 (for foreign legal entities/corporate bodies “Körperschaften”) of the Austrian Corporate Income Tax Act (ACITA - "Körperschaftsteuergesetz"); or
  • Submitted in accordance with a DTT between the beneficial owner's country of residence and Austria.

Note: With respect to tax reclaims in general, customers are reminded that Clearstream Banking accepts no responsibility for their acceptance or non-acceptance by the tax authorities of the respective country. It is the customer's responsibility to determine any entitlement to a refund of tax withheld and to complete the forms required correctly and calculate the amount due.

When are refunds received?

The estimated time for receiving a refund of withholding tax is at least one month from the date of receipt by the Luxembourg Tax Authorities, although this can vary depending on when the application is filed and the complexity of the information supplied in the reclaim form.