A Copy of the Tax Residency Certificate Made Available on the Service Provider’s Website May Justify Withholding Tax Exemption
The conditions for applying withholding tax (WHT) preferences often raise many doubts among remitters, frequently concerning the tax residency certificate and its form. In the case of acquiring intangible services, particularly from major tech companies, recipients of payments sometimes refrain from sending individual residency certificates to remitters. Instead, they make copies of such certificates available on their websites. This raises the question of whether such a copy fulfills the requirements of a tax residency certificate.
In a recently issued individual tax ruling dated April 23, 2025 (No. 0114-KDIP2-1.4010.118.2025.1.MR1), the Director of the National Tax Information (KIS) confirmed that such a document does meet the criteria, provided it is either the original certificate or a copy that does not raise any doubts as to its accuracy and compliance with the facts.
This position is in line with Article 26(1n) of the Corporate Income Tax Act (CIT), which allows the remitter to rely on a copy of the tax residency certificate. However, it is essential to remember that the form of the certificate alone does not automatically entitle the remitter to withhold tax exemption or apply other WHT preferences. In each case, it is necessary to verify whether the document provided by the payee is in fact a valid tax residency certificate, and not, for example, a taxpayer registration confirmation or another similar document. The issuance date and the period covered by the certificate are also crucial.
At Thedy & Partners, we support clients with all matters related to withholding tax. If you have any doubts regarding its application or reporting, we encourage you to get in touch.