General information - types of securities, deadlines, other market specifics - Belgium (securities held in BNP Paribas Securities Services)
Since 24 June 2019, Clearstream Banking has been using Clearstream Banking A.G (CBF) instead of BNP Paribas Securities Services as Investor-CSD to access further ESES T2S eligible securities in T2S. Please refer to A19055 for further details.
No relief at source is available through BNP Paribas Securities Services (BNP) any longer. Only standard refund on dividend payments made by BNP until 24 June 2019 are available through BNP.
Types of securities
The eligible securities issued in Belgium are as follows:
Debt securities:
- Belgian debt securities deposited with Euroclear Belgium
Equities:
- Belgian equities deposited with Euroclear Belgium
Types of beneficial owner
The types of eligible beneficial owner recognised for tax purposes in Belgium vary according to security type, as follows:
For Belgian debt securities deposited with Euroclear Belgium:
- Residents of Double Taxation Treaty (DTT) countries;
- Supranational or international organisations.
For equities:
- Residents of Double Taxation Treaty (DTT) countries;
- Supranational or international organisations;
- Non-resident pension funds;
- Foreign companies holding a "qualifying" participation.
Deadlines for reclaim of withholding tax
Standard refund
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: For a payment on 23 June 2019, the deadline would be 31 December 2023.
The deadline by which Clearstream Banking must receive the documentation for an application is, at the latest, three 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.
Notes on tax reclaims
Customers warrant the completeness and accuracy of the information they supply to Clearstream Banking.
It is the customer's responsibility to determine any entitlement to a refund of tax withheld, to complete the required forms correctly and to calculate the amount due. Clearstream Banking is under no obligation to carry out any investigation in respect of such information.
With respect to tax reclaims in general, customers are reminded that Clearstream Banking accepts no responsibility for their acceptance or non-acceptance by the tax authorities of the respective country.