On 16 August 2022 the Global Forum for Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes released a second round (phase 1) peer review report in relation to Poland. The peer review report examines the legal and regulatory framework in Poland and its compliance with the international standard on transparency and exchange of information on request (EOIR).

The first round peer review had noted that there was a need for improvement of availability of ownership and identity information, including identity information on owners of bearer shares. Since then, progress has been made by Poland in complying with the transparency standards, particularly since the Commercial Companies Act was amended in 2019 to require bearer shares of joint stock companies and limited joint stock partnerships to be deposited with the National Depository for Securities or included in the register of shareholders retained by an authorised entity, within the period from 1 March 2021 to 1 March 2026.

The second round report recommends that Poland should strengthen the mechanisms to encourage the conversion or deposit of bearer shares, so the information that identifies the shareholders can be made available as soon as possible.

Anti-money laundering (AML) institutions should perform customer due diligence in some situations, such as when any change in the beneficial ownership of a customer is reported to the Central Register of Beneficial Owners. The reporting entity may not however be aware that there has been a change in the beneficial ownership of its customer, especially if that change does not need to be reported to the National Court Register. Even when that change is reported by the customer, the AML institution may not be aware that the report has been made in relation to its customer, and may therefore fail to update the information.

The report notes that Poland should take action to ensure that the up-to-date information on beneficial ownership is available in relation to foreign companies with sufficient nexus to Poland, to the extent that they engage with AML institutions in Poland, and in relation to bank accounts.

Current information is not available on legal ownership of foreign companies with sufficient nexus in Poland, and the report recommends that Poland should take steps to ensure that this information is available as required by the standard.

The report also recommends that Poland should ensure that its network of treaties on exchange of information covers all relevant treaty partners, including jurisdictions that are interested in concluding an agreement. The report considers that all requests from peers for an information exchange treaty should be taken forward by Poland.

The report notes that Poland sent 6.891 requests for information in the years 2018 to 2020 and received 1,428 requests, providing responses in 99.6% of those cases. Poland responded to 65% of the requests for information within 90 days and to 88% within 180 days. The peer review report recommends that Poland should establish a routine process to update the requesting authority on the status of their request, if the response requires more than 90 days.