On 9 July 2025, the Ministry of Finance published tax clarifications dated 3 July 2025 concerning the application of the beneficial owner clause for withholding tax purposes. The guidance covers key issues related to withholding tax (WHT), such as:
- the status and definition of the beneficial owner (BO) as a condition for applying WHT preferences;
- the scope of payments subject to the beneficial ownership test;
- circumstances examined to verify the beneficial ownership condition;
- standard for examining the applicability of a preferential tax rate, exemption or non-collection of tax;
- special cases of testing the beneficial ownership condition, i.e. the look-through approach, extended scope of entities subject to beneficial ownership condition testing, presumption of fulfilment of the beneficial ownership condition, collective management organisation (CMO) as a beneficial owner.
The explanations were prepared on the basis of an analysis of comments submitted during tax consultations with tax experts (including SPCG). The above cooperation also resulted in the issuance by the Ministry of Finance of two general interpretations concerning the conditions for exemption from withholding tax on dividend and interest payments.
The first general interpretation of 15 November 2024 (DD9.8202.1.2024) concerns certain conditions for the application of the exemption specified in Article 22(4) of the CIT Act, i.e. the conditions for applying the exemption to the payment of dividends or other profits from shares of legal persons.
In the above interpretation, the Ministry of Finance indicates that the fact that the recipient of dividends from another EU or EEA Member State benefits from a tax exemption of a specific nature in relation to the dividends received does not violate the condition of not benefiting from the exemption from income tax on all income, regardless of the source of such income.
At the same time, the Ministry of Finance issued another general interpretation (DD9.8202.2.2024 dated on 20 November 2024) on a similar issue in relation to interest and licence fees.
In the opinion of the Minister of Finance, in the case of a company deriving income from interest and licence fees, which is also the actual owner of such receivables, the condition of not benefiting from an exemption from income tax on total income, regardless of the source of such income, should be assessed in the light of the tax law in force in its country of tax residence or in the light of special tax preferences granted (e.g. on the basis of an administrative decision) by the tax authorities of that country to such an entity.
Agnieszka Sułkowska, Tax Advisor, Senior Associate and Maksymilian Olejniczak, Advocate, Senior Associate contributed to this review.
