Mandatory Disclosure Rules

On January 1, 2019, the Mandatory Disclosure Rules (MDR) came into force. Below is an abbreviation of the main principles only.
Reports are submitted to the head of the National Tax Administration (KAS) electronically.
Reports should be submitted electronically on the forms mentioned and by entities listed below:
MDR-1 Information about the Tax Scheme - submitted by a promoter, user or supporting entity, within 30 days,
MDR-2 Notification Concerning Tax Scheme - submitted by a promoter or supporting entity;
MDR-3 Information of the User on the Tax Scheme – submitted by the user together with the declaration for a given period
MDR-4. Quarterly Information on the Provision of a Standardized Tax Scheme - submitted by a promoter or a supporting entity.

Reporting the Scheme to the head of KAS
After reporting the scheme on form MDR-1 or MDR-3,  the head of KAS allocates to the scheme  an NSP Number (Tax Scheme Number). The entity (promoter, beneficiary or supporting entity) who obtains the NSP number,  informs the other interested entities about it, thus freeing the remaining entities from the obligation to submit the MDR-1 (in relation to the scheme that already has the NSP number assigned).
A non-cross-border scheme is not reportable, if it concerns a user for whom the criterion of qualified beneficiary (KKK) is not met.

Definitions:
The criterion of qualified beneficiary (KKK) is considered fulfilled if the revenues or costs of the user or the value of assets of that entity within the meaning of accounting regulations, established on the basis of bookkeeping, exceeded in the previous year or in the current financial year the equivalent of EUR 10,000,000 or the arrangement provided or implemented concerns items or rights with a market value exceeding the equivalent of EUR 2,500,000 or if the user is an entity related to such an entity (related in terms of transfer pricing regulations).

Promotor (intermediary) - is a natural person, legal person or organizational unit without legal personality, in particular a tax advisor, advocate, legal adviser, bank employee or other financial institution advising clients, also in the case where he has no place of residence, registered office or management in the territory of Poland. The entity acts as a promoter, if in the scope of performed activities:
o    designs  an arrangement,
o    offers an arrangement,
o    provides an arrangement,
o    implements the arrangement, or
o    manages the implementation of the arrangement

User (relevant taxpayer, beneficiary) - is a natural person, legal person or organizational unit without legal personality:
o    to whom the arrangement is made available,
o    for whom the arrangement is implemented,
o    which is prepared to implement the arrangement,
o    who carried out an action to implement the arrangement.

Supporting entity (assistant) - a natural person, a legal person or an organizational unit without legal personality, in particular a statutory auditor, notary public, bookkeeper, accountant or financial director, bank or other financial institution, as well as their employee who, with due care generally required in the activities performed, taking into account the professional nature of the activity, the area of specialization and the subject matter of performed activities, undertook to provide, directly or through other people, help, support or advice regarding the development, marketing, organization, making available for implementation or supervision of the implementation of the arrangement.

Tax scheme - it means an arrangement which:
a) fulfils the main benefit criterion and has a general hallmark,
b) has a specific hallmark, or
c) has another specific hallmark;

Cross-border scheme - shall mean an arrangement that meets the cross-border criterion and:
a) meets the main benefit criterion and has any of the general hallmark, or
b) has a specific hallmark;
An agreement that applies only to VAT, excise duty or customs duty in the territory of a Member State of the European Union does not meet the cross-border criterion.

Standardized tax scheme - it means a tax scheme that can be implemented or made available to more than one beneficiary without having to change its essential assumptions, in particular regarding the type of activities undertaken or planned under the tax scheme.