Food Lion 2004 Annual Report Download - page 84

DELHAIZE GROUP  ANNUAL REPORT 2004
82
Financial Calendar
Press release - 2005 first quarter results M ay 12, 2005*
Final date for depositing shares
for the Ordinary General M eeting M ay 20, 2005
Ordinary General M eeting M ay 26, 2005
ADR dividend record date M ay 27, 2005
Dividend for the financial year 2004 becomes payable
to owners of ordinary shares M ay 31, 2005
Dividend for the financial year 2004
becomes payable to ADR holders June 10, 2005
Press release - 2005 second quarter results August 11, 2005*
Press release - 2005 third quarter results November 10, 2005*
* You are kindly invited to listen to the related conference call. See w w w.delhaizegroup.com for further details on
dial-in numbers and w ebcast.
Information for ADR Holders
ADSs (American Depositary Shares), each representing one ordinary share
of Delhaize Group, are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the
symbol DEG. ADSs are evidenced by American Depositary Receipts (ADRs).
The Delhaize Group ADR program is governed by a deposit agreement bin-
ding upon Delhaize Group, The Bank of New York and the holders of ADRs.
This program is administrated by:
THE BANK OF NEW YORK
Shareholder Relations
P.O. Box 11258
Church Street Station
New York, N.Y. 10286-1258
U.S.A.
Toll free telephone number for U.S. callers: 1-877-853-2191
Non-U.S. callers can call: 1-610-382-7836
e-mail: shareow [e-mail]
web sites: www.stockbny.com
For further information on ADRs, please see the ADR section on Delhaize
Group’s website w w w.delhaizegroup.com or call The Bank of New York.
The Bank of New York has put in place a Global BuyDIRECT Plan for
Delhaize Group, which is a direct purchase and sale plan for depositary
receipts, including a dividend reinvestment plan (DRIP). Questions or cor-
respondence about Global BuyDIRECT should be addressed to The Bank of
New York.
Taxation of Dividends of Delhaize Group Shares
It is assumed that, for the application of domestic Belgian tax legislation
and the U.S.-Belgian tax treaty, owners of Delhaize Group ADRs are treated
the same as ow ners of Delhaize Group shares and that the ADRs are trea-
ted as Delhaize Group shares. How ever, it must be noted that this assump-
tion has not been confirmed or verified w ith the Belgian Tax Authorities.
For Belgian income tax purposes, the gross amount of all distributions
made by Delhaize Group to its shareholders (other than repayment of
paid-up capital in accordance with the Belgian Company Code) is generally
taxed as dividends. All dividends that are attributed or paid on the shares
are subject to a 25% Belgian w ithholding tax.
For non-Belgian residents - individuals and corporations - Belgian w ithhol-
ding tax is retained also at the rate of 25% subject to the reductions or
exemptions provided by Belgian tax law or by the tax treaty concluded
betw een Belgium and the country of which the non-Belgian recipient of
the dividend is a resident. Such withholding tax is normally the final tax
in Belgium.
For dividends paid by Delhaize Group to a U.S. holder of ADRs, beneficial
owner of the dividends, w ho is not holding the shares through a permanent
establishment or a fixed base in Belgium and is entitled to claim benefits
under the U.S.-Belgian tax treaty, the withholding tax is reduced from 25%
to 15%. If he/ she holds at least 10% of the voting rights of Delhaize Group,
a reduced w ithholding tax rate of 5% is applicable.
Although there are exceptions, in general the full 25% Belgian withholding
tax must be withheld by Delhaize Group or the paying agent, and the
non-Belgian holder of Delhaize Group shares or ADRs may file a claim
for reimbursement for amounts withheld in excess of the treaty rate. The
reimbursement claim form (Form 276 Div.-Aut.) can be obtained from the
Bureau Central de Taxation, Bruxelles-Etranger, 10 place J. Jacobs, B-1000
Brussels, Belgium. The form should be completed in duplicate and sent to
the relevant Tax Office in the residence country of the non-Belgian holder
with the request that one copy be appropriately stamped and returned to
the sender. The non-Belgian holder can then obtain reimbursement from
the Bureau Central de Taxation, at the same address, upon presentation
of the stamped form and a document proving that the dividend has been
cashed. The request for reimbursement must be filed w ith the Bureau
Central de Taxation w ithin three years from January 1 of the year following
the year in which the dividend w as declared payable.
Prospective holders should consult their ow n tax advisors as to w hether
they qualify for the reduced w ithholding tax upon attribution or payment of
dividends, and as to the procedural requirements for obtaining the reduced
withholding tax immediately upon the attribution or payment of the divi-
dends or through the filing of a claim for reimbursement.
Annual Report
This annual report is available in English, French and Dutch. It can be
dow nloaded from Delhaize Group’s website: w ww.delhaizegroup.com. A
printed version may be ordered via the same w ebsite or directly from the
Delhaize Group Investor Relations Department (see contacts at the end of
this section).
Delhaize Group is subject to the reporting requirements of the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) governing foreign companies
listed in the U.S. An annual report w ill be filed w ith the SEC on Form
20-F. This document will be available from the SEC’s EDGAR database at
www.sec.gov/ edgarhp.htm and on the Company’s website.
Ordinary General M eeting
The next Ordinary General M eeting will take place on Thursday, May 26,
2005 at Delhaize Group’s Brussels headquarters, rue Osseghemstraat 53,
1080 Brussels, Belgium. Detailed information about the Ordinary General
M eeting is published in the Belgian new spapers L’Echo and De Tijd, as w ell
as in the Belgian Official Gazette.