Poland: Update of tax procedure for relief at source and quick refund

Effective

1 January 2015

Further to our announcement A14171 dated 9 December 2014, we hereby provide the updated withholding tax procedure applicable for interest, dividends and redemptions from Polish domestic securities.

Background

Further to the new role of tax remitter endorsed by our local depository, Citi Handlowy, the offer of relief at source and quick refund has been extended and the deadlines reviewed.

Withholding tax rates to be applied

There is no change to the applicable tax rates.

Types of securities for which Citi Handlowy is tax remitter

Our local depository is already tax remitter for:

• Interest from T-Bills and T-bonds: relief at source and quick refund;
• Dividends: only relief at source;
• Redemptions: relief at source and quick refund.

Our local depository will become tax remitter in 2015 for:

• Interest from corporate, municipal and mortgage bonds issued as of 1 January 2015: relief at source and quick refund.
  Note: For those issued before 31 December 2014, the issuer will remain tax remitter until their redemption and no quick refund will be offered. The current procedure will remain.
• Dividends paid as of 1 January 2015: relief at source and quick refund.

Eligibility for tax relief

The eligibility criteria for relief at source and quick refund remain the same. A full description can be found in our announcement A12087 dated 17 November 2013.

Documentation requirements

In order to obtain  relief at source or a quick refund of tax on all interest (except for Corporate, Municipal and Mortgage bonds issued until 31 December 2014), redemptions and dividends paid from 1 January 2015, customers of Clearstream Banking¹ must provide the required documentation within the prescribed deadlines. Documentation is the same for both processes. A full description can be found in our announcement A12087 dated 17 November 2013.

Validity of documentation

Our local depository has confirmed the validity of the documentation as follows:

• Certificate of Tax Residence (COTR): From 4 January 2015, a COTR issued without any validity period will be considered as valid for twelve months from the date of issuance. However the validity period, if mentioned, will always supersede the issuance date. Please refer to our announcement A14133 for full details.
• Statements: Specific Statement for banking entities, Investment Fund Statement and Pension Fund Statement are valid until revoked.

Deadlines for receipt of documentation

The below tables show the applicable deadlines for relief at source and quick refund, by type of instrument:

Bonds (T-bills, T-bonds, Corporate/Municipal/Mortgage
issued from 1 January 2015) and redemptions

Dividends

Further information

For further information, please contact the Clearstream Banking Tax Help Desk, Clearstream Banking Client Services or your Relationship Officer.

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1. Clearstream Banking refers collectively to Clearstream Banking AG, registered office at 61, Mergenthalerallee, 65760 Eschborn, Germany and registered in Register B of the Amtsgericht Frankfurt am Main, Germany under number HRB 7500, and Clearstream Banking S.A., registered office at 42, avenue John F. Kennedy, L-1855 Luxembourg, and registered with the Luxembourg Trade and Companies Register under number B-9248.