France: 2024 version of Form 5001
Clearstream Banking1informs clients that the French Tax Authorities (FTA) have published a new version of Form 5001 (Calculation of withholding tax on dividends); and that effective
immediately
clients must provide the latest 2024 version of Form 5001 for relief at source under the parent-company regime or for the application of reduced tax treaty rate conditioned to a holding period or, for all eligible beneficiaries, the normal procedure (standard refund).
Overview of changes
Form 5001 has been published on FTA’s website under "Millésime 2024".
The main changes on form 5001 (CERFA 12816*06) are as follows:
Page 1
- Title of Form 5001: "Calculation of withholding tax on dividends – Attachment to Form 5000" has been amended to "Calculation and reimbursement of withholding tax on dividends – Appendix to Form 5000".
- Section I:
- The title "Declaration of recipient applying for the parent company system" has been amended to "Declaration of recipient applying for the parent company system or application of a reduced treaty rate";
- In the declaration of the beneficiary, "I hereby certify that I meet the requirements stipulated" has been amended to "I hereby certify that I meet the requirements for interests and holding stipulated".
The completion of Section I of the form remains unchanged. It must be fully completed, dated and signed by the beneficial owner or its legal representative when claiming one of the following exemptions from dividend withholding tax at source or through a standard refund:
- An exemption or reduced rate from dividend withholding tax as per an applicable tax treaty concluded with France, when eligibility to such benefit is subject to specific conditions of shareholding and/or securities holding period (box I); or
- An exemption from dividend withholding tax as per the agreement between the European Union and the Swiss Confederation dated 26 October 2004 (box II); or
- An exemption from dividend withholding tax under the parent-companies and subsidiaries regime provided by Article 119 ter of the French General Tax Code (box III).
Page 2
- Section II:
- The title of column 3 "number of shares" has been amended to "number of shares and holding period (in number of days)";
- The number of shares and holding period of the shares expressed in number of days must be provided in column 3 by beneficiaries claiming (at source or through a standard refund) an exemption or reduced rate as per a tax treaty concluded with France and which benefit is subject to specific conditions of securities holding period. This concerns beneficiaries who ticked box I of Section I.
Section II must still be completed by other eligible beneficiaries claiming partial or full standard refund, without completing nor signing page 1 of the form.
Impact on clients
When applying for tax treaty benefits on French-sourced dividends through the simplified procedure, quick refund or standard refund, beneficiaries must always use the most recent version of the forms as published by the FTA.
If clients have collected old versions (5001-CERFA 12816*05) from beneficial owners, those can still be accepted upon confirmation of the FTA provided that the forms have been completed correctly.
A request for simplified procedure or standard refund that requires the newly-updated column 3 of Section II to be completed must be provided exclusively with the new version of the form.
If a request for simplified procedure or standard refund is rejected because the forms have been completed incorrectly or are incomplete, the new versions of the forms will be required.
If a request for simplified procedure or standard refund is rejected because other supporting documentation is incorrect or missing while the forms are correctly completed, the new versions of the forms will not be required.
Further information
For further information, please refer to the Market Taxation Guide – France (securities held in CBF).
------------------------------
1. Clearstream Banking refers collectively to 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, and 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.