KPMG Weekly Tax Review 24 MAR - 31 MAR 2025

On 28 March 2025, a new bill amending the Polish Tax Code was published on the Government Legislation Centre’s website. The bill brings around 50 important amendments, including changes regarding MDR and statute of limitations. The institution of non-barring of tax liabilities secured by a mortgage or tax lien is to be replaced with interruption of the statute of limitations with simultaneous compulsory mortgage or tax lien registration, of which the table person will be notified. This is to solve the problem of the constitutionality of the existing provisions. The suspension of the statute of limitations will only apply to the most serious fiscal crimes. It has been clarified that the suspension of the statute of limitations ends when a legally binding and non-appealing ruling is issued, and the case file is received. If the taxable person corrects the return during the year before the expiry of the 5-year limitation period, the period extends by additional 12 months. The limit of tax payable by an entity other than a taxable person is to increase from PLN 1,000 to PLN 5,000. Additionally, the requirement of requesting confirmation of a tax overpayment is to be abolished, if the overpayment is clearly demonstrated in the adjusted return. New provisions are expected to enter into force on 01 January 2026.

Projekt ustawy o zmianie ustawy – Ordynacja podatkowa oraz niektórych innych ustaw

On 25 March 2025, a draft regulation of the Minister of Finance on keeping tax revenue and expense ledgers was published. The key amendments brought include the requirement to keep the ledgers primarily in an electronic form, no requirement as regards to the place where the ledgers and records have to be stored, release from the obligation to keep the ledgers for each establishment for multi-establishment entities, release from the obligation to make daily statements of accounting records and harmonization of deadlines for making entries in the ledgers now set at the 20th day of the month following the month when expenses were incurred or revenues earned. Moreover, supplementary columns are to be included in the template ledger (through amendments to the schedule to the regulation). In the added column 3, the taxable person enters the identification number of the invoice issued using the National e-Invoicing System, while in the added column 5, the tax identifier of the counterparty has to be provided.

The draft regulation is currently under public consultation. It is expected to enter into force on 1 January 2026.

Projekt rozporządzenia Ministra Finansów w sprawie prowadzenia podatkowej księgi przychodów i rozchodów

According to the judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court issued on 20 March 2025 in case I FSK 1258/21, the then two-year time limit established in Article 89a(2)(5) of the VAT Act for the use of the so-called ‘bad debt relief’ is inconsistent with Article 90(1) of Council Directive 2006/112/EC of 28 November 2006 on the common system of value added tax. Consequently, there were no grounds to refuse a business operator the right to use the bad debt relief once that deadline elapsed. According to the Supreme Administrative Court, provisions of Article 90(1) of the Directive allow for a condition to be set in the form of a time limit, but given the principles of tax neutrality and proportionality, it is difficult to find justification for setting a two-year time limit.

According to the judgment of a Voivodship Administrative Court delivered on 26 March 2025 in case I SA/Wr 807/24, family foundations can legally run activities consisting in short-term apartment rental. Pursuant to Article 5(1)(2) of the Act on Family Foundations, there are no legal grounds for differentiating between tax consequences of rental and short-term rental. Under this provision, there are no additional criteria to be met, such as entering into a written contract, receiving a deposit or ensuring a longer rental period, which means that short-term rentals are fully compatible with the permitted activities of a family foundation.

According to the judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court delivered on 25 March 2025 in case II FSK 813/22, establishing transmission easement for a company does not result in generating taxable revenue. Pursuant to Article 12(1)(2) of the CIT Act, ‘tangible property and rights acquired gratuitously or for a partial payment’ are not recognized as revenue if the transaction is gratuitous in nature. This means that entering into a contract for free-of-charge transmission easement does not bring revenue to the company enjoying that easement.

According to the judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court delivered on 25 March 2023 in case III FSK 1497/23, during the COVID-19 pandemic, relation between hotel buildings and business activities remained uninterrupted, despite bans and restrictions imposed. Even in the case of partial or complete ban on activities, in line with Article 1a(1)(3) of the Act on Local taxes and Fees, the connection continued. The fact that business operators continue to include costs associated with hotel buildings, such as utilities or property tax, in tax-deductible costs confirms this link. Consequently, there were no grounds for applying reduced real estate tax rates in that period.

According to the judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court delivered on 25 March 2025 in case III FSK 1669/23, an area paved with concrete slabs, located 30 km from the company's main place of business, is subject to higher real estate tax rates as it is classified as being related to business activity. The fact that the area has never been used for the company’s operations and has not been recorded as a fixed asset does not affect its classification. Since the company engages exclusively in business activities, the properties it owns are considered related to such activities. Non-use of a property would only be relevant in exceptional cases where objective obstacles prevent its utilization, which was not the case in this matter.