Fund Taxation Alert 2025-20

On 28 November 2025, Poland adopted the amendments, aligning Polish law with the previously mentioned CJEU rulings. The new rules will enter into force on 1 January 2026 and will apply to income received from that date onwards. If a taxpayer's tax year is not the calendar year and the tax year began before 1 January 2026, the existing rules will continue to apply until the end of that tax year.

The key changes introduced in the final version are the following:

• Removal of the EU/EEA requirement: removal of the EU/EEA-only requirement, permitting third-country funds to qualify for the exemption.
• Inclusion of internally managed funds: Expand the ManCo condition to include internally managed funds, provided that either the fund’s activity or its management is authorised by the competent local supervisory authority. The provision should specify that such authorisation – whether for an external ManCo or for internal management – must be granted by the authority explicitly responsible for supervising fund management.
• Updated residency criteria: The law now recognises both the registered seat and the place of effective management. A fund whose registered seat is in one jurisdiction but is effectively managed in another may qualify for the exemption if it is a tax resident in the jurisdiction where it is effectively managed. This residency requirement applies to the fund itself and not to any external ManCo, and the amendment is not intended to allow choosing the fund’s residency based on the ManCo’s residence. The legislative explanatory notes state that a fund cannot satisfy the residency test by relying on the ManCo’s certificate of tax residence. However, that note only reflects the drafter’s intention and does not have binding legal force, so the provision’s final interpretation could differ.
• New condition for investment fund exemption – automatic exchange of information: The amendment adds a further condition: the fund’s home jurisdiction must participate in automatic exchange of tax information with Poland (under CRS, including DAC2, or under FATCA), and Polish authorities must be able to obtain information on the fund’s investors and accounts. Consequently, funds based in jurisdictions lacking effective automatic information‑exchange mechanisms may be ineligible. The Ministry of Finance publishes and regularly updates a list of jurisdictions that satisfy this requirement.
• Anti-abuse provisions: The object‑based exemption for investment funds (i.e., those not structured as UCITS) is now subject to an anti‑abuse mechanism, permitting denial of the exemption where the fund’s structure or transactions are artificial.