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Advanced pricing agreements are a type of agreement with the head of the National Revenue Administration in which it was agreed that the amount and method of calculating the price applied in transactions between the companies of the group would correspond to the market price. The provisions governing the receipt of the agreement are amended, which means the following:

• simplified procedure for applying for a prior price agreement;

• the possibility of submitting an application by a foreign company planning to start up business in Poland;

• limitation of the conditions for inadmissibility of obtaining an APA;

• Standardization of the data contained in the application so that the scope of the application is consistent with that contained in the local file documentation.

Receiving an APA gives taxpayers the assurance that the terms of the transaction will not be challenged by the tax authority.

We would be happy to assist you in obtaining the Pricing Agreement.

Withholding tax is a tax that is generally paid by Polish companies (tax payers) in connection with the certain payments to foreign companies, including the payment of dividends (19%), interest (loan or credit) or remuneration for consultancy services (20%). Previous regulations allowed for the exemption of such payments from withholding tax in Poland or were subject to a reduced rate of withholding tax (e.g. 5% or 15%), provided certain legal requirements were met. From 01/07/2020 similar rules will apply, but with other important changes.

If the amount paid out to the same taxpayer (i.e. the same foreign company) exceeds PLN 2,000,000.00 during a tax year, the taxpayer will be obliged, as a rule, to collect without exemption of withholding tax at an unreduced Polish withholding tax rate (as a rule 19% or 20%) and pay it to the Polish tax office in case of the excess over PLN 2,000,000.00.

The withholding tax can then be notified for reimbursement under a special procedure. Under the new rules, there are now two ways to waive the need to collect withholding tax, i.e. obtain a certificate of exemption from withholding tax or submit a declaration by all members of management board of the taxpayer.

We will be happy to assist you in obtaining tax benefit

Dear Sirs,

on behalf of the DWK in Poznan and the team of the law firm VON ZANTHIER & SCHULZ, we cordially invite you to participate in a free webinar about business activities during the coronavirus pandemic.

The webinar in German language will take place on Wednesday, 8 April 2020 at 11.30 a.m. on Webinarjam. The meeting will be held by attorney at law Karolina Barałkiewicz-Sokal and tax consultant Magdalena Stefaniak-Odziemska. The webinar takes about 45 minutes.

The webinar addresses the issues that are currently of crucial importance for entrepreneurs, in particular:

• relationships with employees,
• trade agreements,
• anti-crisis legislation.

How to join the webinar? If you are interested, please send a message to: carrieri@vonzanthier.com. A link to the meeting will be sent to the participants just before the meeting. To join the webinar, simply click on the received link.

You are cordially invited!

From the 01/04/2020, the VAT rates system will be simplified and harmonized. Uniform VAT rates will apply to the same or similar goods or services. VAT rates - reduced or increased - will also be revised. The basis for identification of goods and services for VAT purposes will be the Combined Nomenclature (CN) for goods and the Polish Classification of Goods and Services (PKWiU 2015) for services. As a result of these changes, VAT-tax payers will gain certainty in the application of the VAT rate. In case of uncertainty as to the application of the appropriate VAT rate, it will be possible to apply for binding VAT information (BTI).

Binding VAT Information (BTI) is an official decision confirming the correctness of the VAT rate applied to the relevant goods or services. This decision contains a description of the goods or services, the classification according to the Combined Nomenclature or the Polish Classification of Goods and Services and the correct VAT rate. The tax office will not be able to challenge the applicable VAT rate on the basis of binding VAT information.

Therefore, please consider whether you wish to confirm the correctness of the applied VAT rate as part of the Binding VAT Information.

Dear Sirs,

on behalf of the DWK in Poznan and the team of the law firm VON ZANTHIER & SCHULZ, we cordially invite you to participate in a free webinar about business activities during the coronavirus pandemic.

The webinar in the Polish language will take place on Tuesday, 31 March 2020 at 11 a.m. on clickmeeting. The meeting will be held by attorney at law Karolina Barałkiewicz-Sokal and tax consultant Magdalena Stefaniak-Odziemska. The webinar takes about 45 minutes.

The webinar addresses the issues that are currently of crucial importance for entrepreneurs, in particular:

• relationships with employees,
• trade agreements,
• anti-crisis legislation.

How to join the webinar? If you are interested, please send a message to: carrieri@vonzanthier.com. A link to the meeting will be sent to the participants just before the meeting. To join the webinar, simply click on the received link or register here: vonzanthierdachowski.clickmeeting.pl/business-vs-coronavirus/register.

You are cordially invited!

New rules for the split payment apply from 01/11/2019. This mechanism is based on the fact that the buyer can only transfer a net amount to the current account of the seller. The VAT is transferred to a special VAT bank account. The funds in the VAT bank account belong to the seller, but cannot be freely disposed. The funds may be used in particular to settle tax or other public law liabilities. A VAT bank account is automatically opened by the Tax Office, but this does not apply to foreign entities that do not have a bank account in Poland.

The split payment mechanism is mandatory as of 01/11/2019 for transactions documented by invoices issued in the amount exceeding PLN 15,000 gross and concerning among others:

• construction works;
• secondary raw materials and waste;
• electrical equipment;
• coal;
• engine petrol, diesel oils, heating oils and lubricating oils;
• steel and metal products.

If the new rules are not applied, the Tax Office may impose an additional tax obligation or the VAT-tax payer may bear the consequences resulting from the Fiscal Penal Code. At your request, we will be happy to check whether you are subject to the mandatory split payment mechanism and whether your invoice templates and payment processes are adapted to this.

Lukasz Dachowski, managing partner in the Poznań office of VON ZANTHIER & SCHULZ, will lead the discussion "What do clients expect from their lawyers?" during the LEGAL MARKET DAY 2020!

LEGAL MARKET DAY 2020 is the biggest conference for lawyers in Poland. This is the seventh edition. Approximately 200 lawyers took part in each of the previous ones. The special guest of this year's edition is a world-famous specialist, a futurologist in the legal industry, prof. Richard Susskind. Łukasz Dachowski will lead a discussion with Kamila Bury, LL.M., Michał Jackowski Prof., and Ryszard Sowa.

Małgorzata Justyńska legal advisor and tax advisor in our office will also take part in LEGAL MARKET DAY 2020.

Attacks by hackers on companies to extort money are becoming more and more frequent and more expensive for German companies. We have decided to make our contribution to fight against hackers and to minimize the damage of enterprises, if possible: VON ZANTHIER & SCHULZ is therefore from March 2, 2020 cooperating with the Europe-wide and successful cyber security company SEC Consult Deutschland GmbH

SEC Consult offers immediate help around the clock in case of hacker attacks: in case of an attack technical countermeasures are swiftly initiated to ward off the hacker and prevent further damage (so called Incident Response). Within the scope of the forensic analysis the traces of the attacker are secured for potentially following legal steps.

VON ZANTHIER & SCHULZ provides legal support to SEC Consult in Germany, be it by determining the necessity of a legally required breakdown report, checking possibilities of recourse claims, or managing customer claims. As a preventative measure, we put on our hat as data protection officer and implement the DSGVO requirements in the respective company, which reduces the possibilities of claims against it.

From 01/01/2020 VAT-tax payers are obliged to make transfers to the bank account indicated in the so-called white list if the invoice amount exceeds PLN 15,000 gross. Payment to an account not included in the list will have the following consequences:

• expenses cannot be included in the tax deductible costs under the personal income tax and corporate income tax,

• The purchaser may be liable, together with the seller, for payment of VAT to an unlisted bank account number.

Exemption from this liability may be granted by timely (within 3 working days from the date of payment) formal notification to the relevant Tax Office. We recommend that you check the bank account details of your business partners before making transfers. These details can be checked on the following website: www.podatki.gov.pl/wykaz-podatnikow-vat-wyszukiwarka.

At your request, we will check the relevant information and, if necessary, send a notice to the Tax Office.

From 01/01/2020 Polish personal income tax payers and corporate income tax payers have the possibility to report losses due to bad debts, which until now was possible only for VAT-tax payers. By applying bad debts relief the taxable income may be reduced by the amount of unpaid receivables. Application of this relief is possible when:

• the debtor is not in bankruptcy or liquidation proceedings on the day preceding the date of the submitting tax return,

• less than two years have passed since the date of issue of the invoice or the date of conclusion of the contract which documents the claim, counting from the end of the year in which the documents were issued,

• the commercial transaction was issued as part of the creditor's and debtor's business and their income is subject to taxation in Poland,

• the date of payment of the invoice was not earlier than after 31/12/2019.

At your request, we can prepare a calculation of bad debt relief for the above tax