Tax Services: new free-format tax instructions requirements
Further to Announcement C18050, Clearstream Banking1 would like to inform customers that effective
immediately
new format instruction requirements must be followed when submitting free-format tax instructions for the purpose of obtaining relief at source, quick refund or standard reclaim as the case may be, through Clearstream Banking.
Instruction format
In order to improve operational efficiency and limit the risk of a tax instruction be rejected or wrongly executed by Clearstream Banking, free-format instructions (SWIFT MT568 and MT599, Xact Web Portal and CreationOnline equivalent) must comply with the following requirements:
- Customer should include only one tax instruction per SWIFT message;
- One instruction consists of:
- One taxable event (that is, one ISIN or common code and one payment date);
- One customer account number at Clearstream Banking;
- One tax rate to be applied to a specific quantity of positions in the targeted ISIN/common code;
- Customer should specify all the following data in each SWIFT message:
- Function:
- New or Cancel. If Cancel, please specify the reference of the SWIFT message to cancel;
- Country of taxation;
- Customer account number at Clearstream Banking;
- Corporate action reference ID (if applicable);
- Security code: ISIN or common code (the common code is recommended if the security is not deposited in the home market);
- Corporate action option number (if applicable);
- Corporate action option code indicator (if applicable);
- Payment date (optional);
- Quantity instructed (please refer to the eligible balance on the notification);
- Tax rate to apply to the quantity instructed;
- Any additional information required as described in the Market Taxation Guides, Tax announcements or Tax notifications.
- Function:
For instructions sent as free-format messages, automatic validation and processing is not applicable.
Clearstream Banking cannot be held responsible for any loss or damage caused by any free-format instruction not complying with the above requirements and Clearstream Banking reserves the right to reject any incomplete instructions or to repair it as the case may be.
Impact on customers
Clearstream Banking customers wishing to benefit from relief at source, quick refund or standard reclaim as the case may be through Clearstream Banking and who send their tax instructions via a free-format SWIFT message must adapt their SWIFT template and use the above-mentioned requirements together with any other additional mandatory documentation, as stated in our Market Taxation Guides, Tax announcements or Tax notifications.
As of 1 January 2022, free-format tax instructions which do not comply with the format requirements outlined above and which are repaired by Clearstream Banking (without any obligation to do so) will be subject to an additional fee. This fee will be indicated in the Clearstream Banking Fee Schedule.
Further information
For further information, please contact the Clearstream Banking Tax Help Desk, 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, registered office at 61, Mergenthalerallee, 65760 Eschborn, Germany, and registered in Register B of the Amtsgericht Frankfurt am Main, Germany, under number HRB 7500.