Standard refund – Estonian equities

19.05.2022

Eligible beneficial owners

A standard reclaim of withholding tax is available if relief at source or quick refund have not been obtained by beneficial owners eligible for the reduced tax rate.

Equities

 

Beneficial owner

Tax Rate

Non-resident legal entity

0%

Non-resident individual of a DTT country

DTT

Documentation requirements

The customer can reclaim the withholding tax on behalf of the beneficial owner through Clearstream Banking by submitting the appropriate documentation, as described below:

Letter of Request to Clearstream Banking for Tax Refund of Estonian withholding tax

  • Letter of Request to Clearstream Banking for Tax Refund of Estonian withholding tax; and
  • Declaration of Beneficial Ownership; and
  • Certificate of residence (individuals only); and
  • Credit advice; and
  • Power of attorney (if applicable)

Statutory deadline

The statutory deadline for reclaiming withholding tax using the standard refund procedure is three years following the dividend payment date that was subject to tax.

Clearstream Deadline

The deadline by which Clearstream Banking must receive the documentation for a SR application is, at the latest, three months before the statutory deadline. All standard refund applications received after this deadline will be processed by Clearstream Banking on a “best-efforts” basis. However, in such cases, Clearstream Banking will apply an extra charge and accepts no responsibility for forms that have not reached the Estonian Tax Authorities by the date considered being the statute of limitations deadline.

For tax reclaims, you are reminded that Clearstream Banking accepts no responsibility for their acceptance or rejection by the tax authorities of the respective country. It is the customer’s responsibility to determine any entitlement to a refund, to complete the forms required correctly and to calculate the amount due.

When are refunds received

The estimated time for receiving a refund is 60 calendar days from the date on which Clearstream Banking receives the certified documents for standard refund, although this can vary depending on when the application is filed, and the complexity of the information supplied in the reclaim form.