KPMG Weekly Tax Review. CJEU on excise duty
07 JUL - 14 JUL 2025
-
Share
-
-
1000
Welcome to the next issue of the “Weekly Tax Review” prepared in cooperation with tax experts in KPMG in Poland.
On 9 July 2025, the final revision of tax clarifications dated 3 July 2025 relating to the application of the beneficial owner clause for the withholding tax purposes (WHT clarifications) was published on the website of the Ministry of Finance. The WHT clarifications address the key and most challenging issues related to withholding tax, including the definition of a beneficial owner (BO) and the potential for applying the look-through approach. They explore topics such as the status and definition of the beneficial owner (BO), the requirement of conducting genuine business activity, common substance, and specific exceptions in assessing the BO condition, such as the look-through approach clause. At the same time, the Ministry of Finance stressed that the BO clause, unlike the GAAR and SAAR, is not strictly an anti-abuse clause. Importantly, entities adhering to WHT clarifications are afforded protection, even if the interpretation of regulations changes. This protection is formally guaranteed for future events occurring after the clarifications are issued.
On 7 July 2025, two new deregulation statutes were published in the Polish journal of Laws, namely: the Act of 24 June 2025 amending the Act on the National Revenue Administration and the VAT Act, which grants audited entities the right to voluntarily submit corrected tax returns to address errors identified during customs and fiscal audits, and the Act of 24 June 2025 amending the VAT Act, providing for, inter alia, raising the VAT exemption threshold from PLN 200,000 to PLN 240,000. In both cases, new regulations are to come into effect on 01 January 2026.
Furthermore, during a Sejm session held on 8-10 July 2025, over 15 statutes were passed, including:
- the Act amending the Accounting Act and Act on Statutory Auditors, Audit Companies, and Public Supervision, and certain other acts, which delays by two years the entry into application of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive requirements for (second-wave) large companies as well as listed small and medium-sized businesses;
- the Act amending the Act on Investment Funds and Alternative Investment Fund Management, which provides for, among others, easing merger requirements for private closed-end investment funds.
Ustawa z dnia 24 czerwca 2025 r. o zmianie ustawy o podatku od towarów i usług
On 7 July 2025 an event titled “Deregulation. Removing barriers, making life easier” took place. According to the statistical data presented, currently, 125 demands have been accepted, 90 amendments are in progress, 214 proposals to amend laws have been submitted by the Government (in 63 packages), 65% of demands have been accepted for implementation and 24% of demands have been rejected. Focus has been placed on the need of digitization and key areas of deregulation have been identified, namely: digitization (the mObywatel app) and judiciary (lowering court fees). Subsequently, the social aspect of deregulation was summarized, highlighting key areas for change from a business perspective. These areas included the presumption of taxpayer innocence in tax settlements, streamlined tax settlement processes, and simplified debt enforcement procedures. An independent summary report had been prepared (the SprawdzaMY Report), which evaluated 35 selected deregulation projects and announced the next phase of deregulation, the so-called Phase 2.0.
According to the judgment of the Polish Constitutional Tribunal dated 9 July 2025 (case file SK 64/20), the provisions of the PIT Act that were in force from 1 January 2007 to 31 December 2008, which conditioned the application of the PIT exemption on the submission of a permanent residence certificate, are against the Polish Constitution. In the Tribunal's view, to achieve the purpose of the introduction of the registered residence relief, it was sufficient for the taxpayer to be registered as a permanent resident for a period of not less than 12 months. The condition relevant for utilizing the registered residence relief was the fact of staying in a specified building or premises for a minimum period, rather than merely submitting a registered residence declaration. Consequently, the registration relief became a fictitious institution, as taxpayers who acted in good faith, trusting in the state and the law, were unable to clearly establish and correctly fulfil their obligation, which was of a purely formal nature.
On 10 July 2025, a clearance opinion dated 12 June 2025 (case file DKP3.8082.6.2024) was published, relating to a sequence of activities involving a family foundation, which included, inter alia, establishment of a family foundation as a limited partner of subsidiaries, limited partnership’s withdrawal from subsidiaries, a donation involving all rights and obligations of the limited partner to the family foundation and the dissolution of the limited partnership. According to the Head of the National Revenue Administration, while tax benefits (in the form of non-occurrence of a tax liability in CIT and PIT and postponement of occurrence of tax liability in CIT) the obtaining of which was the primary or one of the primary purposes behind performing the transactions, can be identified, such benefits do not contradict the intent or purpose of tax law or any of its provisions and the approach adopted is not considered artificial. In the opinion of the Head of the National Revenue Administration, the applicant's actions are rational and understandable. Having accumulated assets, the applicant seeks the most advantageous method for ensuring a secure generational succession and safeguarding the future of his immediate family, particularly given his age. To achieve this, he is utilizing the newly established legal institution of a family foundation. As a result, a clearance opinion was issued.
Opinia zabezpieczająca z 12 czerwca 2025 r. (sygn. DKP3.8082.6.2024)
According to the judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court dated 9 July 2025 (case file II FSK 1372/22), Article 16i(5) of the CIT Act neither directly prohibits the correction of tax returns due to retroactive changes made to depreciation rates nor does it directly forbid making changes to depreciation rates for previous years. The Court stated that if the legislator had intended to introduce such a restriction, they would have done so in a manner that left no room for doubt. This is because such restriction cannot be left to taxpayers’ or the tax authority’s interpretation.
According to the judgment of the CJEU dated 10 July 2025 (case file C-276/24, KONREO v. o. s.), EU law does not preclude a national practice which imposes on a taxable person, recipient of a supply of goods for consideration, a joint and several obligation to pay the value added tax (VAT) due from the supplier of those goods, even though the recipient of that supply of goods was refused the right to deduct the input VAT due or paid on the ground that he, she or it knew or ought to have known that he, she or it was participating in VAT evasion. Thus, in the CJEU's view, in the case of fraudulent VAT transactions, the tax authorities can simultaneously deny the right to deduct VAT and hold the taxpayer jointly and severally liable for the VAT not paid by their counterparty.
According to the CJEU’s judgment dated 9 July 2025 (case file T-534/24, Gotek), EU law precludes national legislation, as interpreted by the national authorities, which provides that excise duty is chargeable on the basis of a fictitious supply of excise goods appearing on falsified invoices.
According to a KPMG report surveying 48,000 individuals across 47 countries, including 1,082 participants from Poland, Poles utilize artificial intelligence (AI) more frequently than Germans or Americans. 69% of Poles use AI regularly, exceeding the global average. Despite their openness to new technological advancements, Poles remain cautious, with only two out of five respondents expressing trust in AI.
