Announcement on the Recognition of the “Beneficial Owner” in Tax Agreements
关于认定税收协定中“受益所有人”的公告
For the first time, the SAT provides for the direct recognition of a beneficial owner without references and analysis.
(Issued by the State Administration of Taxation on, and effective as of, June 29 2012.)
(国家税务总局于二零一二年六月二十九公布施行。)
SAT Announcement [2012] No.30
国家税务总局公告 [2012] 第30号
Pursuant to the State Administration of Taxation, Circular on How to Interpret and Recognise the “Beneficial Owner” in Tax Agreements (Guo Shui Han [2009] No.601), we hereby make the following announcement on the recognition of the status of beneficial owners:
根据《国家税务总局关于如何理解和认定税收协定中“受益所有人”的通知》（国税函〔2009〕601号），现对受益所有人身份的认定，公告如下：
1. When determining the beneficial owner status of residents of the other contracting state, a comprehensive analysis and judgement shall be carried out based on the factors specified in Article 2 of document Guo Shui Han [2009] No.601, and a negative or affirmative determination shall not be rendered merely because of the existence of a certain adverse factor or the non-existence of “the purpose of avoiding or reducing taxes, or diverting or aggregating profits” as specified in Article 1.
一、在判定缔约对方居民的受益所有人身份时，应按照国税函〔2009〕601号文件第二条规定的各项因素进行综合分析和判断，不应仅因某项不利因素的存在，或者第一条所述“逃避或减少税收、转移或累积利润等目的”的不存在，而做出否定或肯定的认定。
2. The understanding and judgement of the factors as specified in Article 2 of document Guo Shui Han [2009] No.601 may be carried out through an analysis and determination based, depending on the different types of income, on documentation such as the company's articles of association, financial statements, fund flow records, minutes of board meetings, board resolutions, allocation of human and material resources, relevant expenses and expenditures, functions and risk assumption, loan contracts, licensing and licence transfer contracts, patent registration certificates and proofs of copyright ownership, as well as agency contracts or designated payment collection contracts.
二、对国税函〔2009〕601号文件第二条规定的各因素的理解和判断，可根据不同所得类型通过公司章程、公司财务报表、资金流向记录、董事会会议记录、董事会决议、人力和物力配备情况、相关费用支出、职能和风险承担情况、贷款合同、特许权使用合同或转让合同、专利注册证书、版权所属证明，以及代理合同或指定收款合同等资料进行分析和认定。
3. If the income derived from China by a resident of the other contracting party that is applying for tax agreement treatment (the Applicant) is dividends and such Applicant is a listed company in the other contracting party or is 100% directly or indirectly owned (excluding the situation where the shares are indirectly held through a resident enterprise of a third-party country or region and that is not a resident of China or the other contracting party) by a company that is also a resident of and listed in the other contracting party and the dividends are income derived from the shares held by the listed company, the Applicant's beneficial owner status may be recognised directly.
三、申请享受协定待遇的缔约对方居民（以下简称申请人）从中国取得的所得为股息的，如果其为在缔约对方上市的公司，或者其被同样为缔约对方居民且在缔约对方上市的公司100%直接或间接拥有（不含通过不属于中国居民或缔约对方居民的第三方国家或地区居民企业间接持有股份的情形），且该股息是来自上市公司所持有的股份的所得，可直接认定申请人的受益所有人身份。
4. If an Applicant has its income collected by an agent or designated collector, etc. (Agent) on its behalf, regardless of whether such Agent is a resident of the other contracting party, the recognition of the Applicant's beneficial owner status shall not be affected thereby. However, the Agent shall state to the tax authority that it does not have beneficial owner status. For the format of the Agent's statement, see the attachment.
四、申请人通过代理人或指定收款人等（以下统称代理人）代为收取所得的，无论代理人是否属于缔约对方居民，都不应据此影响对申请人受益所有人身份的认定，但代理人应向税务机关声明其本身不具有受益所有人身份。代理人的声明样式见附件。
5. If a tax authority recognises beneficial owner status pursuant to Article 4 hereof and approves the relevant tax agreement treatment, and if the country or region where the Agent is resident has executed a tax agreement or information exchange agreement with China, it may, as required, gain access to relevant information on the Agent through information exchange. If beneficial owner status of the Agent may be determined through information exchange, the tax authority may modify the preceding approval result, and shall charge the original beneficial owner back taxes and impose a late payment fine in accordance with relevant provisions.
五、税务机关按照本公告第四条的规定认定受益所有人身份，并批准相关税收协定待遇的，如果代理人所属居民国或地区与中国签有税收协定或信息交换协议，可视需要通过信息交换了解代理人的有关信息。通过信息交换可以认定代理人的受益所有人身份的，税务机关可改变此前的审批结果，向原受益所有人补征税款，并按照有关规定加收滞纳金。
6. When a competent tax authority is handling a relevant examination and approval matter and is unable to render a decision by the specified period of time due to a difficulty in determining beneficial owner status, it may render a decision to provisionally deny tax agreement treatment pursuant to Article 17 of the State Administration of Taxation, Circular on the Issuance of the Measures for the Administration of the Treatment for Which Non-tax-residents are Eligible Under Tax Agreements (Trial Implementation) (Guo Shui Fa [2009] No.124). If it is determined after examination and approval that the Applicant is eligible for the tax agreement treatment, the tax authority shall refund the relevant tax amount to the Applicant.
六、有权审批的税务机关在处理相关审批事项时，因受益所有人身份难以认定而不能在规定期限内做出决定的，可以按照《国家税务总局关于印发〈非居民享受税收协定待遇管理办法（试行）〉的通知》（国税发〔2009〕124号）第十七条的规定，做出暂不享受税收协定待遇的处理。经过审批后可以享受税收协定待遇的，税务机关应将相应税款退还申请人。
7. Pursuant to document Guo Shui Fa [2009] No.124, if, in handling a relevant examination and approval matter, a case where the beneficial owner status of an Applicant is denied is involved, the competent tax authority shall implement the same after reporting it to the provincial-level tax authority and receiving its approval. The provincial-level tax authority shall additionally submit the relevant case handling result to the (International Tax Department of the) State Administration of Taxation for the record.
七、按照国税发〔2009〕124号文件的规定，有权审批的税务机关在处理相关审批事项时，涉及到否定申请人的受益所有人身份的案件，应报经省级税务机关批准后执行，省级税务机关应将相关案件处理结果同时报税务总局（国际税务司）备案。
8. If a taxpayer needs to apply to different tax authorities for recognition of its beneficial owner status and enjoyment of tax agreement treatment in respect of similar matters, it may explain the relevant matters to the relevant tax authorities and the relevant tax authorities shall render a handling decision after reaching a consensus through consultations. If the relevant tax authorities are unable to reach a consensus, they shall report the same upward to their common higher-level tax authority for handling and explain the details of their consultations.
八、同一纳税人就类似情形需要向不同税务机关申请认定受益所有人身份并享受税收协定待遇的，可向相关税务机关说明情况，相关税务机关应在相互协商一致后做出处理决定；相关税务机关不能协调一致的，应层报其共同的上级税务机关处理，并说明协商情况。
9. This Announcement shall be effective as of the date of issuance.
九、本公告自公布之日起施行。
Attachment: Statement of an Agent or Other Such Party Confirming that it Does Not Have Beneficial Owner Status (omitted)
clp reference:3230/12.06.29prc reference:国家税务总局公告 [2012] 第30号promulgated:2012-06-29effective:2012-06-29附件：代理人等确认自己不具有受益所有人身份的声明(略)
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