On August 4, 2025, an updated draft law amending the Tax Ordinance Act and certain other acts was published. The draft law includes i.a. a number of changes to the regulations on reporting tax schemes (MDR) (Part III, Chapter 11a of the Tax Ordinance). Most of the proposed changes to the MDR are generally scheduled to enter into force on July 1, 2026.
Below are the most significant changes compared to the draft of March 26, 2025:
Reporting only cross-border tax schemes
The legislator proposes "removing" other specific hallmarks and the so-called domestic generic hallmarks. At the same time, the obligation to report tax schemes is to be linked to the requirement of meeting the cross-border criterion.
Adjustment of the Polish regulations to the CJEU judgment C-694/20 and Council Directive (EU) 2023/2226
The project assumes adjusting the issue of providing the Head of the National Revenue Administration with information on tax schemes by a promoter who is bound by legally protected professional secrecy to the judgment of the CJEU in case C-694/20 Orde van Vlaamse Balies and others and Council Directive (EU) 2023/2226 of 17 October 2023 (so-called DAC8).
Legal advisors, attorneys, tax advisors and patent attorneys are expected to be exempt from the MDR reporting obligation and be required to inform their clients, i.e., "beneficiaries" or "promoters," of the need to submit information on tax schemes to the Head of the National Revenue Administration. In the updated draft, this mechanism will also apply to standardized tax schemes.
Changes to the definitions of fundamental MDR concepts
As previously indicated in our newsletter, definitions fundamental to the MDR regulations are to be modified. This applies, i.a., to the definition of the "arrangement". The updated draft proposes further modifications to previously proposed changes.
No supporter
Within the current wording of the draft law, it is not expected for the institution of a supporter to remain in place. The proposed regulations still provide for the introduction of the institution of "supporting activities".
No “white lists”
In view of the proposal to limit the disclosure obligations to cross-border tax schemes, the legislator withdrew from the proposal to grant the minister responsible for public finances the power to exempt, by way of an ordinance, selected domestic arrangements meeting certain conditions from the obligation to be disclosed to the Head of the National Revenue Administration, as well as to exempt certain groups of taxpayers from the obligation to submit information on domestic arrangements subject to reporting.
MDR-3 reporting
In addition to the previously proposed changes to the obligation to submit information on application of a tax scheme (MDR-3 information), the legislator now anticipates extending the deadline for submitting this information. Specifically, a beneficiary who applied a tax scheme in a given year is to submit the information on application of the tax scheme to the Head of the National Revenue Administration "by the end of the fourth month following the end of:
1) the tax year:
a) in personal income tax or corporate income tax – in the case of a beneficiary who is a taxpayer of personal income tax or corporate income tax, respectively,
b) a tax capital group within the meaning of the Corporate Income Tax Act of 15 February 1992 – in the case of a beneficiary who is part of that tax capital group;
2) calendar year – in the case of a beneficiary who is not a corporate income taxpayer”.
It will be possible for the MDR-3 information to be signed by a proxy.
Reduction of fines
Failure to comply with reporting obligations under the MDR regulations will result in a lower fine – 240 daily rates instead of 720. At the same time, it is proposed to limit the maximum fine to 120 rates for late reporting, which is a change from the previous wording of the draft law. Currently, 240 daily rates for tax offenses amounts to nearly PLN 15 million.
No statutory obligation to implement an MDR procedure
The draft law does not provide for a statutory obligation to implement a procedure in place to prevent failure to comply with the obligation to provide information on tax schemes.
No MDR-2
The draft law assumes the discontinuation of the obligation to report to the Head of the National Revenue Administration through the MDR–2 notifications.
Supplementation of the MDR information
The possibility of supplementing the submitted information, both before and after the NSP is issued, is proposed to be introduced in order to allow for correcting the reported data or supplementing the submitted information.
In case of any questions regarding the discussed issues, we remain at your disposal.
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