General. The rate of United States tax imposed by the Internal Revenue Code upon interest on bonds, securities, notes, debentures, or on any other form of indebtedness, including interest on obligations of the United States, obligations of instrumentalities of the United States, and mortgages and bonds secured by real property, which is derived from sources within the United States in taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 1952, by a nonresident alien (including a nonresident alien individual, fiduciary, and partnership) who is a resident of France, or by a French corporation or other entity, shall not exceed 15 percent under the provisions of Article I(d) of the convention if such alien, corporation, or other French entity at no time during the taxable year in which such interest is received has a permanent establishment in the United States. As to what constitutes a permanent establishment see Article III(a) of the convention.

Application of reduced rate at source. (1) To secure withholding of United States tax at the rate of 15 percent at source in the case of coupon bond interest, the nonresident alien who is a resident of France, or the French corporation or other entity, shall, for each issue of bonds, file Form 1001-F in duplicate when presenting the interest coupons for payment. This form shall be signed by the owner of the interest, or by his trustee or agent, and shall show the name and address of the obligor, the name and address of the owner of the interest, and the amount of the interest. It shall contain a statement that the owner (i) is a resident of France, or is a French corporation or other entity, and (ii) has no permanent establishment in the United States.

The reduction in the rate of United States tax contemplated by Article 6A of the convention, insofar as it concerns coupon bond interest, is applicable only to the owner of the interest. The person presenting the coupon or on whose behalf it is presented shall, for the purpose of the reduction in tax, be deemed to be the owner of the interest only if he is, at the time the coupon is presented for payment, the owner of the bond from which the coupon has been detached. If the person presenting the coupon, or on whose behalf it is presented, is not the owner of the bond, Form 1001, and not Form 1001-F, shall be executed.

The original and duplicate of Form 1001-F shall be forwarded by the withholding agent to the Director, International Operations Division, Internal Revenue Service, Washington 25, D. C., with the annual return on Form 1042. Form 1001-F shall be listed on Form 1042.

To secure the reduced rate of United States tax at source in the case of interest other than coupon bond interest, the nonresident alien individual who is a resident of France, or the French corporation or other entity, shall file Form 1001A-F in duplicate with the withholding agent in the United States. This form shall be signed by the owner of the interest, or by his trustee or agent, and shall show the name and address of the obligor and the name and address of the owner of the interest. It shall contain a statement that the owner (i) is a resident of France, or is a French corporation or other entity, and (ii) has no permanent establishment in the United States.

Form 1001A-F shall be filed with the withholding agent for each successive three-calendar-year period during which such interest is paid. For this purpose, the first such period shall commence with the beginning of the calendar year in which such income is first paid on or after January 1, 1957. Each such form filed with any withholding agent shall be filed not later than 20 days preceding the date of the first payment within each successive period, or, if that is not possible because of special circumstances, as soon as possible after such first payment. Once such a form has been filed in respect of any three-calendar-year period, no additional Form 1001A-F need be filed in respect thereto unless the Commissioner of Internal Revenue notifies the withholding agent that another such form shall be filed by the taxpayer. If, after filing such form, the taxpayer ceases to be eligible for the reduced rate of United States tax granted by Article 6A of the convention in respect to such interest, he shall promptly notify the withholding agent by letter in duplicate. When any change occurs in the ownership of the interest as recorded on the books of the payer, the reduction in rate of withholding of United States tax shall no longer apply unless the new owner of record is entitled to and does properly file a Form 1001A-F with the withholding agent.

The duplicate of each Form 1001A-F shall be immediately forwarded by the withholding agent to the Director, International Operations Division, Internal Revenue Service, Washington 25, D. C.