Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 section 898C

Beneficial owner

Section 898C defines the term "beneficial owner" in relation to interest payments and sets out the exceptions, identification obligations, and default treatment rules that apply to paying agents.

• A beneficial owner is the individual who receives an interest payment or for whom it is secured, unless an exception applies.
• An individual who acts as an intermediary — whether as a paying agent, on behalf of a company or fund, on behalf of a residual entity, or on behalf of another identified individual — is not treated as a beneficial owner.
• Paying agents must take reasonable steps to identify the true beneficial owner where they have information suggesting the recipient is not the beneficial owner and no exception applies.
• Where a paying agent cannot identify the beneficial owner, the individual who received or for whom the interest payment was secured is treated as the beneficial owner by default.