Standard refund - eligibility, documentation, deadlines - Polish equities and ETF

Who can apply for a standard refund?

A standard refund of withholding tax on income from Polish Equities and ETFs is available through Clearstream 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. Polish residents should submit their request directly to the Polish Tax Authorities.

a. From 1 January 2026, a 0% rate applies to all funds (not only EU/EEA) domiciled in a jurisdiction whose legal framework allows Polish authorities to obtain information on accounts held by the fund though an automatic exchange mechanism.

Documentation requirements

In order to benefit from a standard refund of withholding tax on income from Polish equities and ETFs, clients must ensure that we receive the following documents. The templates of the documents are available in the Tax forms to use - Poland page.

The documentation required varies depending on the type of beneficial owner.

a) FOR ALL ELIGIBLE BENEFICIAL OWNERS

Letter of Request to Clearstream for Reclaim of Polish Withholding tax

The Letter of Request should be duly completed and signed by Clearstream’s client. It authorises us to process the reclaim with the Polish Tax Authorities on the client'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)

The CoTR should be provided as an original. The CoTR must cover the date of the income payment.

Electronic CoTRs are accepted under following conditions:

• The beneficial owner’s country tax authorities only issue CoTRs in electronic form;
• Confirmation that such electronic CoTR was obtained from the electronic system dedicated in the beneficial owner country for issuing digital CoTRs, and it constitutes valid and binding ground for applying reduced DTT rates.
• The electronic CoTR is provided as an attachment in a non-editable form (PDF file).

Letter of request for registration of electronic CoR

In addition to the CoTR, clients must provide a letter of request to register the COTR, on company letterhead, duly signed and stamped and confirming:

• That the electronic CoTR was obtained from the electronic system dedicated in the beneficial owner’s country for issuing digital CoTRs and it constitutes valid and binding ground for applying reduced DTT rates.
• Whether the electronic CoTR must be used for the securities deposited with our custodian Bank Handlowy, with the CSD KDPW or for both.

Declaration of beneficial ownership - Statement A-RAS BO Declaration or Statement B (for supranatiional organisations)

A self-certification to be signed by the final beneficial owner (BO) or its representative under a POA and stating that:

• The applicant is the beneficial owner as well as a taxpayer with respect to the relevant income payments;
• The applicant conducts actual business activities in the place of its registered office, which are connected with the income earned in Poland;
• Interest/dividends are not received by the applicant’s permanent establishment in Poland and are not effectively connected with a business it carries out.

Power of Attorney (POA) - Omnibus Account

Notarial and apostilled confirmation required, confirming that the person signing the POA is authorised to act on behalf of the 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 advice

This is a 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. It is recommended to use the Proof of Final Distribution templates provided by Clearstream's depository to avoid translation delays and costs.

RAS statement 

A statement which supports the respective status of bank (Tax Forms to use – Statement C), investment fund statements (Tax forms to use – Statement F) and pension fund (Tax forms to use - Statement D). 

Additional document, if applicable

In case of any change to the BO’s registered details (name, address, etc.) clients 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.

Translation, notarisation and apostille       

Documents provided in a foreign language will be translated in Polish 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's depository or to provide the documents in English if no Polish version exists.

The Power of Attorney and the Beneficial ownership declaration must be notarised and apostilled. 

Specificity for EU investors with substantial holding

For EU investors with substantial holding, all requests will be assessed on a case-by-case basis, taking into account current tax regulations and other requirements taken into account. There is no standard set of documentation.

Specificity for 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 in coordination with Clearstream's depository.

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 income 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 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 on a “best efforts” basis. However, in such cases, Clearstream 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

Clients warrant the completeness and accuracy of the information they supply to Clearstream.

It is the client'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 is under no obligation to carry out any investigation in respect of such information.

With respect to tax reclaims in general, clients are reminded that Clearstream accepts no responsibility for their acceptance or non-acceptance by the tax authorities of the respective country.