Eligible Beneficiary Criterion

|Published on: 21.10.2019||

The definition of the eligible beneficiary criterion is contained in Article 86a §4 of the Tax Ordinance. On the basis of this definition, the criterion of a qualified beneficiary is deemed to be met if:

  • revenues or costs of the beneficiary, or the value of assets of this entity within the meaning of the accounting regulations, determined on the basis of the kept accounting books, exceeded the equivalent of EUR 10 million in the preceding year or in the current financial year, or;
  • the agreement made available or implemented concerns items or rights with a market value exceeding the equivalent of EUR 2.5 million, or;
  • the user is an affiliated entity within the meaning of Article 23m(1)(4) of the PIT Act or Article 11a(1)(4) of the CIT Act with such an entity. This condition refers to the relationship with entities whose revenues/costs/assets value exceeded the equivalent of EUR 10 million in the preceding year or in the current financial year.

Meeting the criterion of a qualified beneficiary decides about the obligation to inform about the tax scheme in the scope of schemes other than the cross-border tax scheme. The obligation to provide information on the tax scheme shall not arise where:

  • the reconciliation is a tax scheme other than a cross-border tax scheme, but
  • concerns a beneficiary for whom the criterion of eligible beneficiary is not met.

In the case of entities not keeping accounting books, revenues and costs are determined in accordance with the PIT Act or CIT Act in the relevant tax years, while the value of assets is determined in accordance with their market value in the relevant calendar years.

The above specific thresholds serve as a de minimis threshold for a tax scheme other than a cross-border tax scheme. It should also be remembered that the criterion of a qualified beneficiary is relevant only in the case of domestic tax schemes.

The assessment of whether an entity is a qualified beneficiary should be made at the start of the time period for providing information on the tax scheme.

Author: Olga Kamińska – tax assistant

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