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Introduction of the obligation to report tax schemes and the Bank’s role in the process
As of 1 January 2019 the tax law was changed as a result of which the obligation to report information on tax schemes (the so-called MDR, Mandatory Disclosure Rules) was implemented to the Polish law. Those regulations are designed to provide the tax administration with information on potentially aggressive planning or abuses connected with tax planning as well as on entities offering and applying tax schemes.
Under the new requirements, banks and their employees are now obliged to undertake some reporting actions prescribed by the law, in particular where client’s activity demonstrates actions fulfilling one of the so-called hallmarks of a tax scheme defined in the relevant provisions.
Bank Handlowy w Warszawie S.A. would like to inform you that as required by the new regulations it has implemented processes to fulfil the said obligations. Thus, if the statutory premises which bring forth the Bank’s obligations related to MDR are fulfilled, the Bank may, depending on the circumstances, request clients to explain doubts whether a transaction should be treated as a tax scheme, invoke the applicable reporting obligation on the part of the client or provide necessary information to tax authorities.
Due to the fact that the practice based on new regulations is not fully established and the relevant explanations will be published later in 2019, as announced by the Ministry of Finance, any doubts as to the new requirements should preferably be explained directly through the communication channels provided by the Ministry of Finance and dedicated to the MDR. More information on the outline and premises of the MDR is available on the official website of the Ministry of Finance: https://www.podatki.gov.pl/mdr/raportowanie-schematow-podatkowych-mdr
At the same time the Bank would like to note that as stated by the Ministry of Finance, the very fact of a tax scheme being applied by a given entity should not be considered as inappropriate or reprehensible.
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