KPMG Weekly Tax Review. Amendments to sugar tax announced

Last week, preliminary remarks to the bill amending the Public Health Act and the Personal Income Tax Act were added the list of legislative works and policies of the Council of Ministers. The bill provides, among other measures, for an increase in both in the fixed and variable fee on the sugar or sweetener content of beverages, as well as a fixed fee on the caffeine or taurine content found in energy drinks. It also sets out the maximum applicable fee. Additionally, the bill proposes raising the lump-sum income tax on winnings from competitions, games, mutual betting, or prizes related to promotional sales obtained in a Member State of the European Union or another country within the European Economic Area from 10% to 15% of the winnings or prize.

Założenia do projektu ustawy o zmianie ustawy o zdrowiu publicznym oraz ustawy o podatku dochodowym od osób fizycznych

On 8 October 2025, the Council of Ministers passed a bill amending the PIT Act and the CIT Act. The bill provides for simplifying tax regulations on accelerated depreciation through, inter alia, eliminating the wealth criterion from the conditions required to qualify for preferential depreciation, leaving only the requirement concerning the location’s average unemployment rate. New provisions are expected to enter into force on 01 January 2026. The stage of legislative work can be checked here.

During the meeting of the Monetary Policy Council held on 7- 8 October 2025, it was decided to reduce the NBP interest rates by 0.25 percentage point to the following values:

1. reference rate at 4.50% annually
2. lombard loan interest rate at 5.00% annually
3. deposit rate at 4.00% annually
4. rediscount rate at 4.55% annually
5. discount rate on bills of exchange at 4.60% annually.

Interest rates affect, among other things, the amount of interest on tax arrears (which now amounts to 12% on an annual basis), as well as the limit of notional costs of external financing, and a reduction in the amount of tax liability in the event of payment of VAT in full from a VAT account earlier than the deadline for paying the tax.

Komunikat prasowy z posiedzenia Rady Polityki Pieniężnej w dniach 7-8 października 2025 r.

At the end of September, three regulations by the Minister of Finance and Economy dated 6 September 2025 were promulgated in the Polish Journal of Laws, namely: regulation on the method of keeping revenue registry and the list of tangible and intangible assets (Dz. U. poz. 1294), regulation on keeping tax revenue and expense ledgers (Dz. U. poz. 1299), and regulation on the additional data to be included in ledgers transferable under the Personal Income Tax Act (Dz. U. poz. 1311). From 1 January 2026, certain PIT payers will be required to maintain, among other records, accounting books and tax revenue and expense ledgers in electronic form, and to submit them in a structured format to the head of the tax office at the end of the year. From 2026, the above obligation will apply to PIT payers who are required to submit VAT JPK returns for monthly periods, and from 2027 it will extend to other PIT payers, including those required to submit VAT JPK returns for quarterly periods.

Publikacja rozporządzeń Ministra Finansów i Gospodarki dotyczących ksiąg podatkowych

Last week, the National Revenue Administration held a conference on the planned EU Customs Reform. The event was attended by representatives of exporters and importers from the transport, forwarding, logistics (TFL), and e-commerce sectors. The aim of the conference was to present the main principles of the reform and the solutions adopted in the new Union Customs Code, which is currently being negotiated between the European Commission, the European Parliament, and the Council of the European Union. Two discussion panels were held during the conference. The first panel addressed the obligations of entrepreneurs and available facilitations, while the second focused on the impact of the reform on the e-commerce sector. A dedicated e-mail address has been set up for consultations regarding the proposed changes Reforma_Unii_Celnej@mf.gov.pl, where comments and suggestions for improvements can be submitted. Answers to frequently asked questions (in Polish) are published at the following link.

On 7 October 2025, a new revision of the bill amending the Polish Tax Code and certain other acts was published on the Government Legislation Centre’s website, including explanatory notes thereto and the legal impact assessment thereof. The bill provides for a raft of amendments, including revision of the statute of limitations (including the non-expiry of tax liabilities secured by a mortgage or tax lien), modification of the grounds for suspending the limitation period for liabilities in connection with the initiation of criminal tax proceedings, introduction of the possibility to extend the limitation period for tax liabilities in connection with the correction of tax returns made shortly before the expiry of the limitation period, as well as changes in MDR. The new regulations (with certain exceptions) are scheduled to come into force on 1 July 2026. All documents are available at the following link. 

Last week, a clearance opinion (ref. no. DKP3.8082.6.2025) dated 16 September 2025 was issued. It concerns a transaction involving the in-kind contribution of shares in a private limited company by partners to a holding company, in exchange for shares in the increased share capital of the holding company (i.e., a share swap). According to the Head of the National Revenue Administration, the possible tax benefits, in the form of non-occurrence of CIT, PIT and tax on civil law transactions liabilities, do not contravene the provisions or intent of tax acts. At the same time, the Head of the National Revenue Administration noted that obtaining the aforementioned tax benefits was not the main or one of the main objectives of the transaction, as its aim was to prepare the asset structure for the process of cross-generational succession, thereby facilitating family asset management. Furthermore, the applicant’s actions were not deemed artificial. Consequently, Article 119a(1) of the Tax Code was found to have no application to the tax benefits presented by the applicant. As a result, the Head of the National Revenue Administration issued a clearance opinion.

Opinia zabezpieczająca w zakresie wymiany udziałów

We would like to remind you that, pursuant to the regulation of the Minister of Finance and Economy dated 10 August 2025, from 1 January 2026 the Head of the First Mazovian Tax Office (I MTO) in Warsaw will become competent for taxpayers with revenue exceeding EUR 100 million (currently: EUR 50 million). The competence of the Head of I MTO will also cover all taxpayers who have signed the cooperation compliance agreement with the Head of the National Revenue Administration. In turn, all entities with the revenue between PLN 3 million and 100 million are to be handled by specialized voivodeship tax offices. It is worth noting that 15 October 2025 is the deadline for submitting any notification of a change in the competent tax office.

Rozporządzenie Ministra Finansów i Gospodarki z dnia 10 sierpnia 2025 r. zmieniające rozporządzenie w sprawie niektórych podatników i płatników, w odniesieniu do których zadania są wykonywane przez naczelnika urzędu skarbowego innego niż właściwy miejscowo

According to the judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court dated 7 October 2025 (case file I FSK 1585/22), with regard to expenses related to motor vehicles used for both business and private purposes, in order to calculate the deductible tax, the taxpayer is required to determine (according to the rules set out in Article 86(2a)–(2h) of the VAT Act) the input tax attributable to their business activity, and then apply the deduction referred to in Article 86a(1) of the VAT Act to the amount thus calculated (i.e. 50% of the input tax on expenses related to motor vehicles).

According to the judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court dated 7 October 2025 (case file II FSK 48/23), Article 38k of the CIT Act, which provides for the possibility of making one-off depreciation write-offs on the initial value of fixed assets acquired to produce goods related to counteracting COVID-19, also covers the self-production of fixed assets. This is because the purpose of this provision was to encourage entrepreneurs to invest in the production of products necessary to combat and counteract the effects of the pandemic.

According to the judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court dated 7 October 2025 (case file III FSK 738/24), a tank used for collecting substances not only for the sole purpose of storage (whether short- or long-term) in an unchanged state, but also for other purposes, such as separation or processing, may be treated as a non-building structure subject to real estate tax. The fact that the tanks are not used exclusively for storage, but that certain technological processes take place within them (aimed at changing the physical, chemical, or other properties of the substance) is not sufficient to conclude that they are not tanks within the meaning of Article 3(3) of the Construction Law.