Form descriptions - Standard refund - Italian equities

26.07.2016

Information is provided here about the forms and their use in relation to the procedure for standard refund of withholding tax on income from Italian equities.

The documentation requirements are the same for all types of beneficial owner, as follows:

  • Domanda di Rimborso / Refund Claim;
  • Power of Attorney;
  • Power of Attorney from Final Beneficial Owner to Clearstream Banking;
  • Credit Advice;
  • Letter of Request to Clearstream Banking for Reclaim of Italian Withholding Tax.

Form descriptions are presented according to the procedures available for relief and/or reclaim of withholding tax on income from Italian equities.

Domanda di Rimborso / Refund Claim

Withholding tax refund form to be provided per dividend payment and per beneficial owner.

The Domanda di Rimborso includes the different eligibility criteria for reclaiming tax withheld in excess at source. According to the eligibility of the beneficial owner, one box only must be ticked; forms on which more than one box is ticked will be considered as not applicable.

Part of this form is a "Banker’s Affidavit" that must be signed by the customer only if the beneficial owner has signed the first section.

Another part of this form, is the “Attestation of the local tax authorities”, which must be signed by the local tax authorities of the country of fiscal residence of the beneficial owner. The Attestation should be dated in the year of the dividend payment and if not, the local tax authorities must certify that the beneficial owner was effectively resident in the country concerned in the year of the dividend payment.

Note: This Attestation should not be completed if the beneficial owner is a supranational or international organisation.

Furthermore, the Italian Tax Authorities confirmed that all forms submitted for reclaiming tax overwithheld at source that are completed inter alia by the local tax authorities of the final beneficial owner, must be submitted on double-sided A3 format. The justification is to have all the information on one single paper sheet and create the link between the section completed by the local tax authorities and the rest of beneficial owner’s data completed in the other sections.

If the Domanda di rimborso / Refund Claim is submitted in A4 format, a valid Certificate of Residence covering the payment date of the respective event must be provided in addition to the refund form for each refund application.

Official refund forms are available for Germany, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

Who completes it?Customer or beneficial owner and customer, next to beneficial owner’s tax authorities.
How often is it provided?Per reclaim application.
When is it provided?At the latest, three months before the statutory deadline.
Copy or original?Original required.

Power of Attorney

If the customer or a third party is completing the Refund Claim/Domanda di Rimborso on behalf of the beneficial owner and the beneficial owner has not signed and stamped the Refund Claim form himself, a Power of Attorney has to be provided by the beneficial owner, in order to allow the customer or the third party to act as its legal representative.

If the Power of Attorney is issued in other than Italian or English, a translation into Italian is required.

Who completes it?Beneficial owner.
How often is it provided?Per reclaim application.
When is it provided?At the latest, three months before the statutory deadline.
Copy or original?Original required.

Power of Attorney from Final Beneficial Owner to Clearstream Banking

Each beneficial owner must provide a Power of Attorney to Clearstream Banking in order to enable the payment of refunds on Clearstream Banking’s account and also to avoid the 10-years prescription of refunds according to art. 2943 of the Italian Civil Code.

  • If the beneficial owner is a company, the Power of Attorney from Final Beneficial Owner to Clearstream Banking should be printed under the company’s letterhead.
  • If the beneficial owner is an individual, a copy of the identity card of the beneficial owner must be attached to the Power of Attorney from Final Beneficial Owner to Clearstream Banking.
  • The template confirmed by the COP and cannot be amended, must be provided in the original with the first refund application and copies must be attached to all future applications.
  • Any standard refund claim that does not include the Power of Attorney from Final Beneficial Owner to Clearstream Banking will be rejected.
Who completes it?Beneficial owner.
How often is it provided?Per reclaim application.
When is it provided?At the latest, three months before the statutory deadline.
Copy or original?Original once, followed by copies.

Credit Advice

Identifies dividend payment details including the security type, gross amount of payment, date of payment and amount of tax withheld.

A Credit Advice is required from each intermediary financial institution between the beneficial owner and Clearstream Banking. For example, if the only intermediary financial institution between Clearstream Banking and the beneficial owner of the dividend income is the Clearstream Banking customer himself, then both a Clearstream Banking Credit Advice and a Credit Advice issued by the customer are required.

Who completes it?Financial institution paying the beneficial owner.
How often is it provided?Per reclaim application.
When is it provided?At the latest, three months before the statutory deadline.
Copy or original?Original required.

Letter of Request to Clearstream Banking for Reclaim of Italian Withholding Tax

Authorises Clearstream Banking to reclaim withholding tax from the Italian Tax Authorities on the customer’s behalf.

Who completes it?Customer.
How often is it provided?Per reclaim application.
When is it provided?At the latest, three months before the statutory deadline.
Copy or original?Original required.