Standard refund - eligibility, documentation, deadlines – Polish debt securities
Who can apply for a standard refund?
A standard refund of withholding tax on dividends from Polish Debt Securities is available through Clearstream Banking for the following beneficial owners, if the required certification has not been provided within the relief at source or quick refund deadlines.
Note: The standard refund is not available for Polish residents through Clearstream Banking. Polish residents should introduce their request directly to the Polish Tax Authorities.
Eligible beneficial owners | Rate applicable at source |
Individuals (resident and non-resident) | N/A |
Foreign central banks | DTT rate (0% or reduced, as applicable) |
Supranational or international organisations | 0% |
Foreign governments, foreign administrative sub-divisions and foreign local authorities | DTT rate (0% or reduced, as applicable) |
Foreign banks and investment firms (as defined in EU MiFiD regulations) | DTT rate (0% or reduced, as applicable) |
Entities specifically mentioned in the DTT signed between Poland and their country of residence | DTT rate (0% or reduced rate, as applicable). These entities are usually governmental bodies specifically defined in the treaty. |
Documentation requirements
In order to benefit from a standard refund of withholding tax on income from Polish Debt securities, customers must ensure that we receive the following documents. The templates of the documents are available on our Tax forms to use section.
The documentation to provide varies depending on the type of beneficial owner
For all beneficial owners
- Letter of Request to Clearstream Banking for Reclaim of Polish Withholding tax.
The Letter of Request should be duly completed and signed by Clearstream’s customer. It authorises us to process the reclaim with the Polish Tax Authorities on the customer’s behalf. Additionally, it specifies the payment details and the beneficial owner information.
The document should be provided for each reclaim application.
- A Certificate of Tax Residence (CoTR):
to be provided in original by all entities claiming the benefit of the DTT signed between their country of residence and Poland. The COTR must cover the date of the income payment. Electronic CORs are accepted under following conditions:
- The beneficial owner’s country tax authorities only issue CORs in electronic form;
- Confirmation that such electronic COR was obtained from the electronic system dedicated in the beneficial owner’s country for issuing digital CORs and it constitutes valid and binding ground for applying reduced DTT rates.
- The electronic COR is provided as an attachment in non-editable form (PDF file).
- A letter of request for registration of electronic COR
In addition to the COR, customers must provide a letter of request to register the COR, on company letterhead, duly signed and stamped and confirming:
- That the electronic COR was obtained from the electronic system dedicated in the beneficial owner’s country for issuing digital CORs and it constitutes valid and binding ground for applying reduced DTT rates.
- If the electronic COR must be used for the securities deposited with our custodian Bank Handlowy, with the CSD KDPW or for both.
- A Power of Attorney (POA)
Omnibus Account, notarial confirmation required, confirming the person signing the POA is authorised to act on behalf of investor. The investor’s name on the POA must be consistent with disclosed data of beneficial owner and the CoTR. A new template was issued to reflect the local regulatory requirements on professional secrecy
- A full chain of credit advices
confirmation of the money transfers related to interest/dividend payments as well as the deduction of tax. It must be provided for each standard refund application by each intermediary between the final beneficial owner and Clearstream Banking. It is recommended to use the Proof of Final Distribution templates provided by Clearstream Banking’s depository to avoid translation delays and costs.
- Additional document, if applicable: in case of any change to the BO’s registered details (name, address, etc.) customers must provide any document confirming the changes. This is necessary to determine the beneficial ownership or entitlement to reduced withholding tax rates or tax exemptions.
In addition, for DTT resident being a legal entity:
- A Declaration – Beneficial ownership: new template of this self-certification to be signed by the final beneficial owner (BO) or its representative under a POA and stating that:
a) the applicant is the beneficial owner as well as a taxpayer with respect to the relevant interest/dividend payments,
b) the applicant conducts actual business activities in the place of its registered office, which is connected with the income earned in Poland,
c) interest/dividends are not received by the applicant’s permanent establishment in Poland and are not effectively connected with a business carried out in Poland by said permanent establishment
In addition, for DTT resident being an eligible bank:
- Any document supporting the status of the bank: attestation from the regulator confirming that the entity has permission for banking business or notarized copy of the banking licence. It should cover the year of the income payment;
In addition, for EU Parent-Subsidiaries
- A Parent-subsidiary declaration: Self-certification stating that the conditions required to apply exemption on the interest/dividend payments under the EU Parent-Subsidiary Directive are met (only where applicable). Please use the appropriate template for interest or dividend.
In addition, for EU/EEA pension funds or EU/EEA investment funds
- A Declaration - Beneficial ownership: self-certification to be signed by the final beneficial owner (BO) or its representative under a POA and stating that:
a) the applicant is the beneficial owner as well as a taxpayer with respect to the relevant interest/dividend payments,
b) the applicant conducts actual business activities in the place of its registered office, which is connected with the income earned in Poland,
c) interest/dividends are not received by the applicant’s permanent establishment in Poland and are not effectively connected with a business carried out in Poland by said permanent establishment, - Any document supporting the status the EU/EEA pension fund or EU/EEA investment fund. Can be Articles of Association, Attestation from regulator (German BAFIN, Luxembourgish CSSF, French AMF etc.), Extract from business register, Trust Deed, Annual Report, Domestic regulations. All documents must clearly refer to and must be issued in the year of payment of the income.
Supranational/International organisations
The entitlement and certification requirements for Supranational/International organisations may vary and will therefore be treated on a case-by-case basis with Clearstream Banking’s depository.
Translation, notarisation and apostille
Documents provided in a foreign language will be translated in Poland by a sworn translator. The cost will be charged as out of pocket expenses. To limit the cost and delay, it is recommended to use the templates provided by Clearstream Banking’s depository or to provide the documents in English if no Polish version exists.
The Power of Attorney, Beneficial ownership declaration must be notarised and apostilled.
Statutory deadline for reclaiming withholding tax
The statutory deadline for reclaiming withholding tax is usually five years after the end of the calendar year in which the dividend payment is made, unless stated otherwise in the DTT signed between Poland and the country of residence of the BO.
Such exceptions exist in the DTTs signed by Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands.
Clearstream deadline for standard refund applications
The deadline by which Clearstream Banking must receive the documentation for an application is at the latest four months before the statutory deadline.
All reclaim applications received after this deadline will be processed by Clearstream Banking on a “best efforts” basis. However, in such cases, Clearstream Banking will apply an extra charge and accepts no responsibility for forms that have not reached the Polish Tax Authorities by the date considered to be the statute of limitations deadline.
Notes on tax reclaim
Customers warrant the completeness and accuracy of the information they supply to Clearstream Banking.
It is the customer's responsibility to determine any entitlement to a refund of tax withheld, to complete the forms required correctly and to calculate the amount due. Clearstream Banking is under no obligation to carry out any investigation in respect of such information.
With respect to tax reclaims in general, customers are reminded that Clearstream Banking accepts no responsibility for their acceptance or non-acceptance by the tax authorities of the respective country.