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ZENTIVA N.V. Amsterdam, The Netherlands, June 8, 2005 Zentiva N.V. is pleased to announce the declaration of a dividend of CZK 8 per share payable on June 24, 2004 to shareholders of record at the close of business on June 17, 2005. Taxation General The distribution of cash dividend by Zentiva N.V. is taxed with Dutch dividend withholding tax. The applicable rate of Dutch dividend withholding tax is 25%. This rate can be reduced under applicable tax conventions. Shareholders may be eligible for a partial of complete refund of this Dutch dividend withholding tax provided that such refund is duly claimed. Certain categories of holders of shares may be subject to special rules which are not addressed below and which may be substantially different from the general rules described below. Investors who are in doubt as to their tax position in The Netherlands and in their state of residence should consult their professional advisors. Until July 14, 2005 the ING Bank, the head paying agent of Zentiva N.V., in co-operation with the local bank which holds the shares in custody, assisted the shareholders by applying a relief of Dutch dividend withholding tax at source (if applicable). As of July 15, 2005 the shareholders should file a request directly with the Dutch tax authorities without the assistance of the company and/or the ING Bank in order to obtain a refund of Dutch dividend withholding tax (if applicable). For shareholders residing in most countries, such request could be done by completing a so-called ‘IB 92 form’. Please note that for shareholders residing in some countries (for example: the United States of America, Switzerland, Belgium and the Netherlands Antilles) other regulations and forms may apply. Shareholders are instructed to read the explanation accompanying form IB 92 universal in order to determine whether the IB 92 refund form can be used in their specific situation. This form can be downloaded (PDF). The form has to be completed by the recipient shareholder. After completion of the form the first and second copies must be submitted (unseparated) to the competent Tax Authority of the shareholders’ place of resident who should add his certificate to the first copy and should return it to the applicant, retaining the second copy. The tax refund form provides notice that the shareholder is a resident of that country. The certificated form together with the dividend statement (and any other documents showing that the shareholder has received the dividends and that 25% Dutch dividend tax has been withheld) should be filed with the Dutch tax authorities. The local bank of the recipient shareholder can provide him with aforementioned dividend statement. The address of the Dutch tax authorities is: Belastingdienst/Limburg/kantoor Buitenland
P.O. Box 2865
6401 DJ Heerlen
The Netherlands After approving the documentation, the Dutch tax authorities will refund the excess dividend withholding tax to the shareholders. Specific information for Czech shareholders Under the Tax Treaty concluded between the Netherlands and the Czech Republic, the Dutch dividend withholding tax rate on dividends paid by a Dutch resident company to a Czech resident (company or individual) is in principle limited to 10% on the gross amount of the dividend distribution. The refund procure is as described under “General”. Under Czech law, dividend income of Czech tax residents received from abroad is included in separate tax base and subject to 15% Czech tax. Therefore, a Czech tax resident shareholder (company or individual) should be required to declare the tax liability in his tax return. Such shareholder (company or individual) should be entitled to credit the Dutch withholding tax (i.e. the amount of 10% of the gross amount of the dividend) against his Czech tax liability. It may be possible that the Czech tax authorities require a legalized/certified Czech translation of the English version of the IB 92 form. Instead, a certified standard Czech declaration of residence could be obtained from the competent Czech Tax Authority by the Czech recipient shareholder. This declaration should subsequently be included in the completed IB 92 form by the recipient shareholder (which is not certified by the Czech tax authorities) and filed, together with the dividend receipt, with the Dutch tax authorities. IB 92 form for download (pdf, 51 KB)
Note: this form needs to be filled with EUR currency information, based on the exchange rate as of June 24, 2005 of CZK 29.925.
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