Standard refund - eligibility, documentation, deadlines - Belgian equities (Securities held in CBF)
Who can apply for a standard refund?
A standard refund of withholding tax on dividends from Belgian equities is available through Clearstream Banking for beneficial owners who did not obtain relief at source or a quick refund, as follows:
| Eligible beneficial owners | Effective rate of tax after refund | Tax refund available a |
Residents of Double Taxation Treaty (DTT) countries | Tax treaty rate or 30%, whichever is lower | 30% minus the tax treaty rate b |
Supranational or international organisations | 0% | 30% |
Non-resident pension funds | 0% | 30% |
Foreign companies holding “qualifying” participation | 0% | 30% |
a. Expressed as a percentage of the gross dividend amount.
b. Amount of refund will be 0% if the DTT rate exceeds 30%.
Documentation requirements
To apply for a standard refund of withholding tax on dividends from Belgian equities, the following documentation must be submitted to Clearstream Banking according to type of eligible beneficial owner, as follows:
For residents of Double Taxation Treaty (DTT) countries:
- Form 276-Div.-Aut. (or together with a Certificate of Residence if section IV in Form 276-Div.-Aut. Is not completed);
- Full chain of original Credit Advices provided for each standard refund application by each intermediary between the final beneficial owner and Clearstream Banking;
- A bank statement from the beneficial owner. This is to prove that the beneficial owner has been credited with the net income payment;
- Power of Attorney from the final beneficial owner (if Form 276-Div.-Aut. signed by a third party);
- Power of Attorney from the Clearstream Banking customer;
- Letter of request to Clearstream Banking for Reclaim of Belgian Withholding tax.
For supranational or international organisations:
- Annexe 229 - Attestation de propriété in the name of each beneficial owner concerned;
- Full chain of original Credit Advices provided for each standard refund application by each intermediary between the final beneficial owner and Clearstream Banking;
- Power of Attorney from the final beneficial owner (if Annex 229 signed by a third party);
- Power of Attorney from the Clearstream Banking customer;
- Letter of Request to Clearstream Banking for Reclaim of Belgian Withholding Tax.
For non-resident pension funds:
- Annexe 26 – Précompte Mobilier, established in accordance with art.117 §2, AR/CIR ’92, provided for each standard refund application;
- Full chain of original Credit Advices provided for each standard refund application by each intermediary between the final beneficial owner and Clearstream Banking;
- A bank statement from the beneficial owner. This is to prove that the beneficial owner has been credited with the net income payment;
- Power of Attorney from the final beneficial owner (if Annex 26 signed by a third party);
- Power of Attorney from the Clearstream Banking customer;
- A confirmation of tax authorities that the beneficiary of the income is a pension fund, is exempted from every income tax in his/her country of residence, and specifying its tax identification number in such country.
- A full copy of the articles of association (AoA) of the pension fund including:
- 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).
Letter of Request to Clearstream Banking for Reclaim of Belgian Withholding Tax.
For foreign companies holding “qualifying” participation:
- foreign companies with minority participation claiming exemption on dividends paid as of 1 January 2018
- 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);
- Power of Attorney from the final beneficial owner (if Self-declaration signed by a third party);
- Power of Attorney from the Clearstream Banking customer (upon request);
- Full chain of original Credit Advices provided for each standard refund application by each intermediary between the final beneficial owner and Clearstream Banking;
- A Bank statement;
- Any document proving the investment value and the holding period;
- An attestation of holding from the custodian;
- per payment corporate action instruction.
- 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);
- Power of Attorney from the final beneficial owner (if Self-declaration signed by a third party);
- Power of Attorney from the Clearstream Banking customer (upon request);
- Full chain of original Credit Advices provided for each standard refund application by each intermediary between the final beneficial owner and Clearstream Banking;
- A Bank statement;
- Any document proving the investment value and the holding period;
- An attestation of holding from the custodian;
- per payment corporate action instruction.
Specific documentation for reclaims higher than EUR 10,000 (full exemption) or 100,000 (partial exemption)
In order to obtain a reclaim for withholding tax of more than EUR 10,000 for beneficial owners entitled to full exemption based on domestic law or DTT provisions; or more than EUR 100,000 for beneficial owners entitled to a reduced rate based on DTT provisions, customers must justify the request by providing the following additional documentation together with the above mentioned reclaim documentation:
- A copy of the Credit Advice from the previous dividend payment, if received by the same beneficial owner.
- A Statement of transactions containing the details of all the transactions (purchase, sale, lending, etc.) between the previous dividend payment date and the dividend payment date stated on the reclaim form.
Important: Both the statement and the credit advice must be certified by the customer with two authorised signatures.
Form descriptions are presented according to the procedures available for relief and/or reclaim of withholding tax on income from Belgian equities.
Deadline for receipt of documents
The statutory deadline for reclaiming withholding tax is five years as of 1 January of the year in which the tax withheld was remitted to the Belgian Treasury. Example: payment of 15 March 2022 - deadline 31 December 2026.
The deadline by which Clearstream Banking must receive the documentation for an application is, at the latest, two months before the relevant statutory deadline.
All refund applications received after this deadline will be processed by Clearstream Banking on a “best efforts” basis but, in such cases, Clearstream Banking will apply an extra charge. Clearstream Banking accepts no responsibility for forms that have not reached the Belgian Tax Authorities by the date considered as being the statute of limitations deadline.
When are refunds received?
The estimated time for receiving a refund is:
- For a partial tax refund based on a DTT, eleven months from the date of receipt by the Belgian Tax Authorities; and
- For total tax refunds based on Belgian domestic law, one year from the date of receipt by the Belgian Tax Authorities.
Note: These timings can vary depending on when the application is filed and on the complexity of the information supplied in the reclaim form.