(1) For the purposes of this Agreement, “beneficial owner” means an individual who receives an interest payment or any individual for whom an interest payment is secured, unless such individual can provide evidence that the interest payment was not received or secured for his own benefit. An individual is not the beneficial owner when he—
(a)acts as a paying agent within the meaning of Article 8(1) of this Agreement;
(b)acts on behalf of a legal person, an entity which is taxed on its profits under the general arrangements for business taxation, an UCITS authorised in accordance with Council Directive 85/611/EEC or an equivalent undertaking for collective investment established in the BVI, or an entity referred to in Article 8(2) of this Agreement and, in the last mentioned case, discloses the name and address of that entity to the economic operator making the interest payment and the latter communicates such information to the competent authority of its contracting party of establishment; or
(c)acts on behalf of another individual who is the beneficial owner and discloses to the paying agent the identity of that beneficial owner.
(2) Where a paying agent has information suggesting that the individual who receives an interest payment or for whom an interest payment is secured may not be the beneficial owner, and where neither paragraph 1(a) nor 1(b) of this Article applies, it shall take reasonable steps to establish the identity of the beneficial owner. If the paying agent is unable to identify the beneficial owner, it shall treat the individual in question as the beneficial owner.