General information - types of securities, deadlines, other market specifics - Spain
This Market Taxation Guide (Spain) provides the following details:
- Reference information about all taxes applied at source, through Clearstream Banking and its local depositories, to securities deposited in Clearstream Banking; and
- Instructions for obtaining immediate, quick or standard refund of withholding tax, where these are available, through Clearstream Banking.
Note: Relief at source is not granted by Spanish legislation. In practice, an immediate refund takes place on the interest payment date. No immediate refund is available on dividends.
New and improved tax information and procedures that become available will be included on an ongoing basis.
Types of securities eligible in Clearstream Banking
The eligible securities issued in Spain are as follows:
- Domestic Bonds subject to RD 1145/2011:
- Government bonds and equivalent bonds processed by Bank of Spain;
- Generalitat de Catalunya Bonds income processed by Bolsa Barcelona;
- Basque bonds income processed by Bolsa Bilbao;
- Generalitat Valenciana Bonds income paid by Bolsa Valenciana;
- Spanish Corporate Bonds (AIAF market) issued under the scope of Law 19/2003 and Royal Decree 1065/2007;
- Treasury Bills (“T-Bills”) (regardless of the maturity);
- Stripped public debt securities (regardless of the maturity);
- Zero coupon corporate debt securities with a maturity of less than 12 months;
- Domestic Bonds not subject to RD 1145/2011:
- Preferred shares issued before 6 July 2003;
- Debt instruments issued by SPVs before 6 July 2003.
- Debt instruments issued by listed financial entities before 6 July 2003;
- Debt instruments of listed non-financial entities issued before 20 November 2005;
- Debt instruments issued by unlisted entities.
- Equities.
Types of beneficial owner
The types of eligible beneficial owner recognised for tax purposes in Spain vary according to security type, as follows:
For domestic debt securities subject to RD 1145/2011:
- All non-residents of Spain;
- Supranational organisations recognised as such by Spanish law;
- Spanish resident corporate income tax payers.
Notes:
- All Spanish resident beneficial owners are paid gross by Clearstream Banking on T-Bills. They must disclose their identity and holdings.
- Spanish resident individual tax payers cannot hold Spanish stripped public debt securities (regardless of the maturity) and zero coupon corporate debt securities with a maturity of less than 12 months with Clearstream Banking.
For domestic debt securities not subject to RD 1145/2011:
- Residents of Double Taxation Treaty (DTT) countries;
- Residents of EU member countries other than Spain, not retrieving the income through an intermediary resident in a tax haven;
- Supranational organisations recognised as such by Spanish law;
- Foreign central banks;
- Spanish resident corporate income tax payers (only on corporate bonds issued on/after 1 January 1999 and traded on the Spanish market in book-entry form).
For equities:
- Residents of Double Taxation Treaty (DTT) countries;
- EU/EEA pension funds/plans and Collective Iinvestment Vehicules (CIVs);
- Supranational organisations recognised as such by Spanish law.
Reporting requirements for domestic debt securities subject to RD 1145/2011
According to Spanish tax legislation, all Spanish beneficial owners (both corporations and individuals) must disclose their identity and holdings.
This disclosure must be submitted to Clearstream Banking in the List of Spanish Entities and must include details as follows:
- Final beneficial owners that are Spanish residents:
If Clearstream Banking’s direct customer is a Spanish resident and is the owner of the securities, or if all intermediaries between Clearstream Banking and the final Spanish beneficial owner are non-Spanish financial institutions, the disclosure of the Spanish beneficial owner must be provided to Clearstream Banking and the words “final beneficial owner” should be entered in the “Final BO or Intermediary” column. - Intermediaries that are Spanish financial institutions:
If any of the intermediaries between Clearstream Banking and the final Spanish beneficial owner is a Spanish financial institution, the disclosure of that Spanish financial institution must be provided to Clearstream Banking (instead of the final beneficial owner details) and the word “intermediary” should be entered in the “Final BO or Intermediary” column.
It is the responsibility of the Clearstream Banking customer to comply with all legal and regulatory requirements imposed by Spanish tax law in respect to missing or incorrect information related to Spanish beneficial owners. Neither Clearstream Banking nor its local depository has any direct or indirect liabilities towards the Spanish Tax Authorities in this regard.
Deadlines for reclaiming withholding tax
Immediate refund:
The deadline for reclaiming withholding tax using the immediate refund procedure depends on the type of security and on each paying agent, as follows:
| Type of security | Deadline for receipt by Clearstream Banking | |
| Government bonds and public debt income paid by Bank of Spain | At least one business day before the respective payment, by 10:00 CET. | |
| Generalitat de Catalunya Bonds income paid by Bolsa Barcelona | At least two business day before the respective payment, by 12:00 CET. | |
| Basque bonds income paid by Bolsa Bilbao | At least six business days before the respective payment, by 12:00 CET. | |
| Generalitat Valenciana Bonds income paid by Bolsa Valenciana | At least two business days before the respective payment, by 12:00 CET. | |
| Corporate bonds subject to RD 1145/2011 income paid by BBVA | At least one business day before the respective payment, by 10:00 CET. | |
| Corporate bonds NOT subject to RD 1145/2011 income paid by BBVA | At least two business day before the respective payment, by 10:00 CET. | |
| Equities | No immediate refund available. |
Quick refund:
The deadline for reclaiming withholding tax using the quick refund procedure depends on each paying agent as follows:
| Type of security | Deadline for receipt by Clearstream Banking | |
| Government bonds and public debt income paid by Bank of Spain | At the latest, 25 calendar days (or the first business day before that if the 25th calendar day is not a business day) after the applicable payment date, by 10:00 CET. | |
| Generalitat de Catalunya Bonds income paid by Bolsa Barcelona | At the latest, on the 11th calendar day (or the first business day before that if the 11th calendar day is not a business day) after the applicable payment date, by 12:00 CET. | |
| Basque bonds income paid by Bolsa Bilbao | At the latest, on the 11th calendar day (or the first business day before that if the 11th calendar day is not a business day) after the applicable payment date, by 12:00 CET. | |
| Generalitat Valenciana Bonds income paid by Bolsa Valenciana | At the latest, 25 calendar days (or the first business day before that if the 25th calendar day is not a business day) after the applicable interest payment date, by 10:00 CET. | |
| Corporate bonds subject to RD 1145/2011 income paid by BBVA | At the latest, four business days before the 10th calendar day of the month following the month in which the interest payment took place, by 10:00 CET. | |
| Corporate bonds NOT subject to RD 1145/2011 income paid by BBVA | At the latest, on the last business day of the month in which the interest payment took place, by 10:00 CET. | |
| Equities | At the latest, on the second business day of the month following the month in which the dividend payment was made, by 10:00 CET. |
Standard refund:
The statutory deadline for reclaiming withholding tax using the standard refund procedure is four years following the income/redemption payment date.
Important note: Due to the provisions of the Orden Ministerial EHA/3316/2010 of 17 December 2010, reclaims of tax withheld over any interest or dividend paid in a given year cannot be submitted to the Spanish Tax Authorities before 1 February of the following year. For example: if the income were paid in January 2012, the standard refund application can be filed with the Spanish Tax Authorities as of February 2013. Clearstream deadline for standard refund applications
The deadline by which Clearstream Banking must receive the documentation for application for a standard refund of withholding tax is at the latest three months before the statutory deadline. All refund applications received after this deadline will be processed by Clearstream Banking on a "best efforts" basis. However, in such cases, Clearstream Banking accepts no responsibility for forms that have not reached the Spanish Tax Authorities by the date considered being the statute of limitations deadline.
Furthermore, Clearstream Banking will apply an extra charge for applications received less than two months before the statutory deadline.
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. It is the customer's responsibility to determine any entitlement to a refund of tax withheld, to complete the forms required correctly, and to calculate the amount due. Fees charged for a tax reclaim
In addition to the standard fee charged by Clearstream Banking per reclaim form (as detailed in the Clearstream Banking International Fee Schedule), the fees charged by the local custodian for handling tax refund requests for a customer will be passed on by Clearstream Banking to the customer (fees available in the Creation Link Guide - Spain). Additional fees for early standard refund applications
For standard reclaim applications submitted by customers during the calendar year in which the interest/dividend payment was made, Clearstream Banking's custodian in Spain will apply an additional “custody” fee of EUR 95 per reclaim per final beneficial owner.
If documents are lost during the period of custody, BBVA will require new tax reclaim documentation to be filed with the Spanish Tax Authorities as from the month of February of the year following the year in which the interest/dividend payment was made and, in such cases, BBVA will reimburse the EUR 95 previously charged.
When are refunds received?
- Quick refund:
The estimated time for receiving a quick refund is the 10th calendar day of the month following the quick refund deadline. - Standard refund:
The estimated time for receiving a refund is 18 months from the date of receipt by the Spanish Tax Authorities. This timing 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.
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. It is the customer's responsibility to determine any entitlement to a refund of tax withheld, to complete the forms required correctly, and to calculate the amount due. Clearstream Banking is under no obligation to carry out any investigation in respect of such information.