Italy: Reminder: Annual renewal of Certificate of Residence
In order to obtain relief at source on dividends from Italian equities paid during the period 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019, customers of Clearstream Banking1 must ensure that we receive renewed Certificates of Residence for eligible beneficial owners no later than
15 March 2018
The validity of the Certificates of Residence that we currently hold for non-resident beneficial owners eligible to obtain tax relief on dividends from Italian equities will expire on 31 March 2018.
Reduced tax rates are available for final beneficial owners who comply as indicated with the following eligibility criteria:
1.20%:
Provided that, according to Circular 32/E 2011:
- the final recipient of the dividend is resident in a European Union (EU) member state or European Economic Area (EEA) country and is subject to corporation tax in its country of residence; and
- the beneficiary/dividend distribution setup is not part of a “tax avoidance mechanism”.
11%:
Provided that the recipient of the dividend is:
- an entity that is established as a pension fund; and
- a resident for tax purposes in an EU member state or in an EEA country included in the "white list" published by the Italian Tax Authorities.
Treaty rate:
Provided that the final recipient of the dividend 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 Italy.
Validity criteria for the Certificate of Residence
A Certificate of Residence issued by the beneficial owner’s local tax authority will be accepted, provided that it certifies the beneficial owner's full name, address and Tax ID (if available) and certifies that the beneficial owner:
- is subject to direct taxation in its country of residence;
- is resident in accordance with Article 4 of the DTT between its country of residence and Italy; and
- (in order to obtain the 1.20% reduced tax rate) is subject to corporate tax in its country of residence; or
- (in order to obtain the 11% reduced tax rate) is established as a pension fund.
N.B.: This information is mandatory.
The Certificate of Residence must be signed and stamped by the respective beneficial owner’s local tax authority on or after 1 January 2018 and received at Clearstream Banking no later than 15 March 2018.
Submitting the documents
Customers are reminded that an original of each completed Certificate of Residence must be sent, together with an accompanying letter, mentioning, as mandatory details, the customer account number and the Tax Identification Number (TIN) of each beneficial owner, which must be identical to the TIN included in the One-Time Master Instruction (OTMI) already provided by the respective beneficial owner.
The Certificate of Residence (with the accompanying letter) must be sent to the following address:
Clearstream Operations Prague s.r.o.
Attn: PTR - Tax Services
Futurama Business Park Building B
Sokolovska 662/136b
CZ-18600 Prague 8
Czech Republic
Important reminder
If, for any dividend payment date, the following documentation is not in place by the prescribed deadline, the maximum 26% tax rate will be applied:
- The new One-Time Master Instruction (OTMI), correctly completed and signed; and
- A renewed annual Certificate of Residence; and, if applicable,
- The per-payment List of Beneficial Owners for Italian Equities (via the Clearstream Banking Upload BO List function).
Further information
The Certificate of Residence and the OTMI are available on our website under Tax Forms to use – Italy.
For further information, please contact the Clearstream Banking Tax Help Desk or Clearstream Banking Client Services or your 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 AG customers using Creation Accounts), registered office at 61, Mergenthalerallee, 65760 Eschborn, Germany and registered in Register B of the Amtsgericht Frankfurt am Main, Germany under number HRB 7500.