Publication date: January 14, 2025
Practical comments on beneficial owner, treaty shopping, beneficial owner clauses for dividends, beneficial owner clauses for interest, substitute companies and abusive clauses, the status of a beneficial owner in various types of intermediary centres between service orderers and service providers, withholding tax on interest paid within the cash pooling structure.
Basic definitions
The look-through approach (also known as LTA) is an issue in international tax law concerning the problem of double taxation, also related to the issue of the so-called withholding tax. It allows for the application of preferential double taxation rates based on a double taxation treaty concluded between Poland and the country of the beneficial owner’s seat, in the scope most often concerning dividends, interest and royalties. However, only an entity with the status of a beneficial owner, is entitled to such privileges.
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Publication date: January 13, 2025
The obligation to pay withholding tax occurs when an entrepreneur uses services provided by foreign business partners. This type of fee is a flat-rate form of income tax, concerning specific transactions regulated in Article 29 of the Personal Income Tax Act[1]. “Income tax [is collected, among others] from income obtained in the territory of the Republic of Poland by persons [who do not have a place of residence in the territory of the Republic of Poland]:
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Publication date: January 07, 2025
Legal regulations
The issue of the European order for payment procedure is regulated in the provisions from Article 50515 to Article 50520 of the Act of 17 November 1964 – the Polish Code of Civil Procedure (consolidated text: Journal of Laws of 2024, item 1568), hereinafter referred to as the Civil Procedure Code. The introduction of the above provisions into the Polish legal order was dictated by the entry into force of Regulation (EC) No 1896/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2006 creating a European order for payment procedure (OJ EU. L. of 2006, No. 399, p. 1, as amended), hereinafter referred to as the Regulation. If the conditions resulting from the Act and the Regulation are met, the court issues a European order for payment. Pursuant to Article 2 paragraph 1 of the Regulation, its provisions apply in cross-border civil and commercial cases, regardless of the type of court or tribunal. The definition of a cross-border case can be found in Article 3 Regulation: a cross-border case should be understood as a case in which at least one of the parties is domiciled or habitually resident in a Member State other than the Member State of the court seised.
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Publication date: January 06, 2025
Introduction
The modern economy based on knowledge and innovation makes intellectual property rights (IPR) a key element in protecting the interests of creators, inventors, and entrepreneurs. Infringement of these rights by illegally introducing counterfeit goods to the market poses a serious threat to both fair competition and consumer safety. The European Union has introduced systems aimed at detaining such goods at the time of their attempted import into the Community, which is regulated by detailed legal provisions, as well as procedures related to the protection of intellectual property rights. This article discusses the mechanisms for detaining goods suspected of infringing IPR, with particular emphasis on the legal regulations in force in the European Union.
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Publication date: January 03, 2025
Binding force of general tax interpretation
A general tax interpretation is an institution regulated in the Polish tax ordinance of 29 August 1997. It is a legal instrument used by the Polish Ministry of Finance to explain tax law provisions to ensure their uniform application, prevent differences in interpretation and reduce the risk of many conflicting interpretations of tax regulations by tax authorities. A general tax interpretation may be issued ex officio or upon application, which, in accordance with paragraph 2 of Article 14 of the tax ordinance, should justify the need to issue an interpretation, i.e. contain a presentation of the issue and an indication of the tax law provisions that require interpretation and an indication that in the same legal situations there has been an inconsistent application of tax law provisions by tax authorities. An essential part of a general interpretation is to describe the issue in connection with which the interpretation is issued and to explain the scope and manner of application of the provisions in the aforementioned issue.
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