Standard refund – Japan – CFCL (Vestima)

Standard refund of withholding tax on dividends from Japanese listed ETFs or REITs is available through Clearstream Fund Centre for eligible beneficial owners for whom relief or exemption at source has not been obtained, as follows:

• For residents of DTT countries, the applicable rate is the tax treaty rate or 15.315%, whichever is lower.
• For tax-exempt entities (such as International or Supranational organisations), the applicable rate is 0%.

Documentation requirements

To apply for a standard refund of withholding tax on dividends from Japanese listed, ETFs or REITs, the following documentation must be provided to Clearstream Fund Centre before the respective deadline (see “Statutory deadline” below):

• Letter of Request to Clearstream Fund Centre for Reclaim of Withholding Tax on Japanese Securities, signed and completed by the client and submitted per reclaim request.
• Certificate of Residence (in the original), to be submitted by all clients except exempt entities (such as International or Supranational organisations). The Certificate of Residence should be issued by the beneficial owner’s competent local tax authority and is valid for one year following the date on which it was stamped by the local tax authorities.
  This period must cover the date on which the reclaim application is submitted to the Japanese Tax Authorities.
• Power of Attorney to Clearstream Fund Centre (original and notarised), executed by the final beneficial owner granting Clearstream Fund Centre the right to request a tax refund, valid until revoked (unless there is a change in the beneficial owner’s details).
  
  Note: In case of a client holding third party assets, the Power Of Attorney from the Beneficial Owner to Clearstream Fund Centre should be supplemented with a Cover Letter signed by the Clearstream Fund Centre client (two authorised signatories) and confirming that the signatures on the Power of Attorney are true and valid.
• Beneficial Owner Details List, submitted via Clearstream Fund Centre’s Upload Beneficial Owner List facility, giving details of the beneficial owner and the respective tax treaty rate requested, per reclaim request;
• Credit Advice of the payment to the final beneficial owner, per reclaim request.
  If the income is not paid by us directly to the final beneficial owner, credit advices of the payment from all parties involved, from Clearstream Fund Centre up to the final beneficial owner, are required.

For specific types of beneficial owners applying for a standard refund according to a DTT, the following additional documentation is requested:

• Form 17 Attachment Form for Limitation On Benefits Article should be provided by the following beneficial owners:
  - All eligible beneficial owners under DTT with Limitation On Benefits Article (excluding eligible individuals, pension funds, pension scheme).
  - U.S. investment vehicles (such as mutual funds etc.) - Part B, C or D must be completed, as applicable;

N.B.: Form 17 for tax-exempt eligible beneficial owners under DTT with Limitation On Benefits Article that are individuals and pension funds, pension scheme will be filled in by our Depository and submitted to the Japanese Tax Office directly.

The Form 17 must be submitted per reclaim request.

• Declaration Letter - U.S. Investment Funds (for U.S. investment vehicles (such as mutual funds etc.)), to be submitted per reclaim request.
• Declaration Letter - <national> Pension Fund (applicable country-specific form) should be provided by all exempt pension funds under DTT with Limitation On Benefits Article.

The form is valid until revoked (unless there is a change in the beneficial owner’s details).

• For specific beneficial owners applying for a standard refund as a tax-exempt entity, the following additional documentation is requested  :Copy of the Official Certification (for example, founding documents), (only for exempt entities such as International or Supranational organisations), valid until revoked (unless there is a change in the beneficial owner’s details);

Further additional supporting documentation upon request from the Japanese Tax Authorities or Clearstream Fund Centre’s local depository.

Note: For standard refund, the depository charges a fee for any tax adjustments received by Clearstream Fund Centre. This fee will be passed on to clients.

Statutory deadline

The statutory deadline for reclaiming withholding tax using the standard refund procedure is five years after the date on which the income was distributed.

Clearstream deadline for standard refund applications

Documentation for a standard refund of withholding tax on dividends from Japanese listed ETFs REITS/Vestima fund securities must be received by Clearstream Fund Centre at the latest three months before the statutory deadline.

All standard refund applications received after this deadline will be processed by Clearstream Fund Centre on a "best efforts" basis. However, in such cases, Clearstream Fund Centre will apply an extra charge and accepts no responsibility for requests that have not reached the Japanese authorities by the date considered as being the statute of limitations deadline.

With respect to tax reclaims in general, clients are reminded that Clearstream Fund Centre accepts no responsibility for their acceptance or non-acceptance by the tax authorities of the respective country. It is the client’s responsibility to determine any entitlement to a refund of tax withheld, to complete the required forms correctly and to calculate the amount due.

When are refunds received?

The estimated time for receiving a standard refund is approximately six months from the date of receipt of the refund request.