Joint Announcement No. 27 of 2026 by the Ministry of Finance and the tax administration subjects dividends received by foreign individuals from foreign-invested enterprises to income tax at 20%. Applicable from 1 September 2026, it simultaneously repeals the 1994 exemption provision it identifies.
The distributing enterprise must withhold the tax, report it and pay it within the first fifteen days of the month following payment. If tax is not withheld, the recipient must pay it by 30 June of the following year, subject to any deadline specified in a tax notice.
For the distributing company, preparing a payment therefore calls for reconciliation between the amount declared, the sum paid to the shareholder and the tax withheld. For the recipient, receiving a dividend without withholding does not establish an exemption. The records showing the treatment actually applied should be requested, and personal obligations then examined separately. This distinction avoids confusing a collection failure with the absence of a tax debt.
Removal of the exemption does not establish that the transaction is tax-neutral for every recipient. Any treaty protection and credit in the State of residence require separate examination; this announcement does not justify promising a full tax credit.