Form descriptions - Standard refund - Belgian equities (Securities held in CBF)
To apply for a standard refund, the following documentation must be submitted to Clearstream Banking within the indicated deadlines according to the status of the beneficial owner, as follows:
For all types of beneficial owners:
- Full chain of Credit Advices;
- Full chain of Power of Attorney;
- per payment corporate action instruction;
- Letter of Request to Clearstream Banking for Reclaim of Belgian Withholding Tax.
For residents of Double Taxation Treaty (DTT) countries:
- Form 276 Div.;
- Full chain of Credit Advices.
For supranational or international organisations:
- Annexe 229 - Attestation de propriété in the name of each beneficial owner.
For non-resident pension funds:
- Annexe 26 - Précompte Mobilier;
- Bank statement from the final beneficial owner;
- Self-certification of holding (attestation de détention);
- Full copy of the articles of association (AoA) of the pension fund.
For foreign companies holding “qualifying” participation:
- foreign companies with minority participation claiming a reduced rate of 1.6995% or exemption:
- Self-declaration for reduced dividend withholding tax rate of 1.6995% or Self-declaration for exemption of dividend withholding tax art. 264/1
- An Attestation number 1 Tate & Lyle (attest nummer 1 T&L);
- An Attestation number 3 Aber (attest nummer 3 Aber);
- A Bank statement;
- Any document proving the investment value and the holding period;
- An attestation of holding from the custodian.
- foreign companies with substantial participation claiming exemption:
- Self-declaration for exemption of dividend withholding tax
- An Attestation number 1 Tate & Lyle (attest nummer 1 T&L);
- An Attestation number 3 Aber (attest nummer 3 Aber);
- Full chain of Credit Advices;
- A Bank statement;
- Any document proving the investment value and the holding period;
- An attestation of holding from the custodian;
- Full chain of Power of Attorney.
For all clients claiming tax refund exceeding EUR 10,000 or EUR 100,000 depending on the exemption (full or partial):
- A copy of the credit advice from the previous dividend payment (if received by the same beneficial owner);
- A Statement of Transactions.
Form descriptions are presented according to the procedures available for relief and/or reclaim of withholding tax on income from Belgian equities.
Form 276 Div.
A Form 276 Div. (or together with a Certificate of Residence if Section IV in Form 276 Div. is not completed) must be submitted as the official Belgian tax reclaim form to be used for refund applications on Belgian equities.
The form must be completed by the beneficial owner or its representative and stamped by the tax authorities of the beneficial owner’s country of residence.
For beneficial owners that are residents of the U.S.A., it is mandatory to submit an original Form 6166 issued by the Internal Revenue Service for each reclaim application and the Form 276 Div. should not be stamped and completed by the local tax authorities.
For beneficial owners that are individuals, date and place of birth must be completed. The full name must always be stated (surname and first names). First names may not be abbreviated and must be written in full.
Who completes it? | Beneficial owner or its legal representative and the beneficial owner’s tax authority. |
How often is it provided? | Per standard refund application. |
When is it provided? | At the latest, two months before the statutory deadline. |
Copy or original? | Original required. |
Credit Advice
The full chain of original Credit Advices provided for each standard refund application by each intermediary between the final beneficial owner and Clearstream Banking.
The Credit Advice identifies dividend payment details including the security type, gross amount of payment, date of payment and amount of tax withheld. The Credit Advice must reconcile with the information in Form 276 Div.
Who completes it? | Financial institution paying the beneficial owner. |
How often is it provided? | Per standard refund application. |
When is it provided? | At the latest, two months before the statutory deadline. |
Copy or original? | Original required. |
Statement of Transactions
The Statement of Transactions is a free format document signed by the last financial intermediary (custodian) and mentions in detail every transaction carried out during the year preceding the date of payment of dividends as well as during the year following this date of payment of dividends. This document must clearly mention the identity (name, address, and No. of the securities account) of the owner of the shares and include at least the following data:
- The type of the transaction: purchase, sale, or loan;
- The date of the transaction;
- The amount of the transaction;
- The number of shares;
- The name of the share and the ISIN code;
- The name of the other party if the shares have been sold via an agreement between parties;
- The current position per transaction. It means that, per transaction, the current position must be displayed at this specific moment.
Example: you own 1,000 shares and you will buy 500 additional shares. After this transaction the current position amounts to 1,500 shares.
This is a free format document, no official template exists.
How many are provided? | One per reclaim request exceeding EUR 100,000. |
Who completes it? | Beneficial owner or its legal representative. Must be certified by the client/last financial intermediary with two authorised signatures. |
How often is it provided? | Per standard refund application. |
When is it provided? | At the latest, two months before the statutory deadline. |
Copy or original? | Original required. |
Power of Attorney from the final beneficial owner
A Power of Attorney must be provided for each standard refund application.
Who completes it? | Beneficial owner. |
How often is it provided? | Per standard refund application. |
When is it provided? | At the latest, two months before the statutory deadline. |
Copy or original? | Copy accepted. |
Power of Attorney from the Clearstream Banking client
A Power of Attorney, completed and signed by the Clearstream Banking client authorising Clearstream Banking to reclaim withholding tax on the client’s behalf, must be provided.
Who completes it? | Client. |
How often is it provided? | Per standard refund application. |
When is it provided? | At the latest, two months before the statutory deadline. |
Copy or original? | Copy accepted. |
Letter of Request to Clearstream Banking for Reclaim of Belgian Withholding Tax
Authorises Clearstream Banking to reclaim withholding tax from the Belgian Tax Authorities on the client’s behalf.
Who completes it? | Client. |
How often is it provided? | Per standard refund application. |
When is it provided? | At the latest, two months before the statutory deadline. |
Copy or original? | Original required. |
Annexe 229 - Attestation de propriété
Annexe 229 is a certificate of ownership that must be submitted by supranational or international organisations to benefit from the exemption and must be completed, signed and stamped by the legal representative of the organisation.
How many are provided? | One per beneficial owner. |
Who completes it? | Legal representative of the organisation. |
How often is it provided? | Once, with the first standard refund application. Valid until further renewal request from the Belgian Tax Authories. |
When is it provided? | At the latest, two months before the statutory deadline. |
Copy or original? | Original required. |
Annexe 26 - Précompte Mobilier
Annexe 26 must be submitted by non-resident pension funds to benefit from the exemption and must be completed, signed and stamped by the legal representative of the organisation.
Who completes it? | Legal representative of the organisation. |
How often is it provided? | Once, with the first standard refund application. Valid until further renewal request from the Belgian Tax Authorities. |
When is it provided? | At the latest, two months before the statutory deadline. |
Copy or original? | Original required. |
Bank statement from the final beneficial owner
This is to prove that the BO has been credited with the net income payment. It must show the net amount credited to the bank account.
How many are provided? | One per beneficial owner. |
Who completes it? | The bank of the final beneficial owner. |
How often is it provided? | per standard refund application. |
When is it provided? | At the latest, two months before the statutory deadline. |
Copy or original? | Original required. |
Self-certification of holding (attestation de detention)
Proof evidencing that the beneficial owner has held the securities in full ownership for an uninterrupted period of at least 60 days as at the dividend payment record date. It must be provided in original, printed on company’s letter head, signed and stamped. Only the French version will be accepted by the Belgian Tax Authorities. The English version is for information purpose only.
Important: Two templates exist, one to be used for T2S eligible securities deposited with CBF and one to be used for non-T2S eligible securities deposited with BNP.
How many are provided? | One per beneficial owner. |
Who completes it? | The final beneficial owner or its representative. |
How often is it provided? | Per standard refund application. |
When is it provided? | At the latest, two months before the statutory deadline. |
Copy or original? | Original French version required. |
Full copy of the articles of association (AoA) of the pension fund
It must include the following details:
- A Proof that the pension fund is operated solely or principally to administer and invest the funds to provide retirements benefits;
- A description of the purpose of the pension fund and its activities;
- Proof of the legal structure of the pension fund
(if not included in the AoA, any other official documents proving the legal structure and the activity of the pension fund).
How many are provided? | One per beneficial owner. |
Who completes it? | The final beneficial owner or its representative. |
How often is it provided? | per standard refund application. |
When is it provided? | At the latest, two months before the statutory deadline. |
Copy or original? | Full copy required. |
Self-declaration for reduced wihholding tax rate 1.6995%
The self-declaration for reduced withholding tax rate 1.6995% must be submitted by foreign parent companies with minority participation to benefit from the reduced tax rate on dividends paid from 2016 till 31 December 2017 and must be completed, signed and stamped by the legal representative of the organisation.
How many are provided? | One per beneficial owner. |
Who completes it? | Legal representative of the organisation. |
How often is it provided? | For each standard refund application |
When is it provided? | At the latest, two months before the statutory deadline. |
Copy or original? | Original required. |
Self-declaration for exemption of dividend withholding tax art. 264/1
This self-declaration must be submitted by foreign parent companies with minority participation to benefit from the tax exemption on dividends paid as of 1 January 2018 and must be completed, signed and stamped by the legal representative of the organisation.
How many are provided? | One per beneficial owner. |
Who completes it? | Legal representative of the organisation. |
How often is it provided? | Valid for the calendar year of the date of signature. |
When is it provided? | At the latest, two months before the statutory deadline. |
Copy or original? | Original required. |
Self-declaration for exemption of dividend withholding tax
The self-declaration for exemption of dividend withholding tax must be submitted by foreign parent companies with substantial participation to benefit from the reduced tax rate and must be completed, signed and stamped by the legal representative of the organisation.
How many are provided? | One per beneficial owner. |
Who completes it? | Legal representative of the organisation. |
How often is it provided? | Valid for the calendar year of the date of signature. |
When is it provided? | At the latest, two months before the statutory deadline. |
Copy or original? | Original required. |
Attestation number 1 Tate & Lyle (attest nummer 1 T&L)
This attestation must be duly completed and signed by the tax authorities of the country of residence of the beneficiary. This attestation can be replaced by a document established by the foreign fiscal authorities as long as it contains the same information. Any refund already obtained by the beneficiary in its country of residence must be mentioned on the document, including the amount refunded. It is important to join to this declaration an annex listing all the dividend payments for which the exemption is requested. This annex must also be certified by the foreign tax authorities.
How many are provided? | One per beneficial owner. |
Who completes it? | Tax authorities of the beneficial owner. |
How often is it provided? | One per refund. |
When is it provided? | At the latest, two months before the statutory deadline. |
Copy or original? | Original required. |
Attestation number 3 Aber (attest number 3 Aber)
Self-declaration of the beneficiary of the dividends certifying:
- The full ownership of the assets producing the income at the time of the allocation or dividend payment;
- The allocation or payment of the dividends concerned has not caused any reduction or loss in value;
- No other request for reduction/exemption of withholding tax on movable property has been filed in any form.
How many are provided? | One per beneficial owner. |
Who completes it? | Legal representative of the organisation. |
How often is it provided? | One per refund. |
When is it provided? | At the latest, two months before the statutory deadline. |
Copy or original? | Original required. |