CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTORY PROVISIONS

Definition of paying agent
Article 4
1
For the purposes of this Directive, ‘paying agent’ means any economic operator who pays interest to or secures the payment of interest for the immediate benefit of the beneficial owner, whether the operator is the debtor of the debt claim which produces the interest or the operator charged by the debtor or the beneficial owner with paying interest or securing the payment of interest.
2
Any entity established in a Member State to which interest is paid or for which interest is secured for the benefit of the beneficial owner shall also be considered a paying agent upon such payment or securing of such payment. This provision shall not apply if the economic operator has reason to believe, on the basis of official evidence produced by that entity, that:
a
it is a legal person, with the exception of those legal persons referred to in paragraph 5; or
b
its profits are taxed under the general arrangements for business taxation; or
c
it is an UCITS recognised in accordance with Directive 85/611/EEC.
An economic operator paying interest to, or securing interest for, such an entity established in another Member State which is considered a paying agent under this paragraph shall communicate the name and address of the entity and the total amount of interest paid to, or secured for, the entity to the competent authority of its Member State of establishment, which shall pass this information on to the competent authority of the Member State where the entity is established.
3
The entity referred to in paragraph 2 shall, however, have the option of being treated for the purposes of this Directive as an UCITS as referred to in 2(c). The exercise of this option shall require a certificate to be issued by the Member State in which the entity is established and presented to the economic operator by that entity.
Member States shall lay down the detailed rules for this option for entities established in their territory.
4
Where the economic operator and the entity referred to in paragraph 2 are established in the same Member State, that Member State shall take the necessary measures to ensure that the entity complies with the provisions of this Directive when it acts as a paying agent.
5
The legal persons exempted from paragraph 2(a) are:
a
in Finland: avoin yhtiö (Ay) and kommandiittiyhtiö (Ky)/öppet bolag and kommanditbolag;
b
in Sweden: handelsbolag (HB) and kommanditbolag (KB).