KPMG Weekly Tax Review. VAT rate on non-alcoholic and energy drinks to increase

Last week, preliminary remarks on the bill increasing the preferential VAT rate on non-alcoholic beverages in which the mass proportion of fruit, vegetable or fruit/vegetable juice constitutes not less than 20% of ingredients, was published. The increase is to apply to, inter alia, non-alcoholic (up to 0.5% alcohol) equivalents of alcoholic beverages (e.g. non-alcoholic beer) and energy drinks (with added caffeine or taurine). The bill is expected to be passed by the Council of Ministers in Q4 2025.

Założenia do projektu ustawy o zmianie ustawy o podatku od towarów i usług

On 1 November 2025, the KSeF Certificates and Permissions Module was launched, enabling entrepreneurs to apply for invoice issuer certificates. The certificates serve as one of the authentication tools in the new system and are required to assign unique codes to invoices, enabling issuer identification when invoices are issued under special circumstances, specifically in offline24, offline, or emergency modes. To obtain the certificate, an entrepreneur must authenticate themselves in KSeF as a taxpayer or authorized person (this can be done, for example, using a trusted signature, a qualified electronic signature or a qualified electronic seal). A KSeF certificate remains valid for up to two years from the date of issuance or from the initial use date indicated by the taxpayer. Certificates can be generated in the Module from October 2025 through the end of January 2026. From February 2026, the feature will be available in the KSeF 2.0 API and the KSeF 2.0. Taxpayer App.

https://www.gov.pl/web/finanse/ministerstwo-finansow-udostepnilo-modul-certyfikatow-i-uprawnien-w-ksef

At the end of October, the Council of Ministers adopted a bill providing for a reduction in the tax on the extraction of certain minerals, specifically silver and copper, starting in 2026. The changes include

1. modification, for the years 2026–2028, of the formulas used to calculate tax rates for copper and silver.
2. Additionally, starting in 2029, taxpayers will be able to deduct from the tax a portion of the expenditure incurred in connection with copper and silver extraction in Poland, including expenditure incurred from the date of entry into force of the Act.

In subsequent years, the amount of the allowable tax deduction will depend on the level of expenditure incurred by taxpayers on projects related to copper and silver mining in Poland. New regulations are to enter into force on 1 January 2026.

Rząd przyjął projekt ustawy zmniejszający podatek od wydobycia niektórych kopalin w zakresie miedzi oraz srebra

At the end of the week, a conference was held at which it was announced that Poland intends to compete for the seat of the European Union Customs Authority (EUCA). The proposed location is Warsaw, which already hosts the EU agency Frontex. The Minister of Finance and Economy has appointed a representative to lead Poland’s bid for the establishment of the new office. The office is to be created under the provisions of the new EU Customs Code and is ultimately expected to employ approximately 250 people.

A complaint was submitted to the Ombudsman concerning provisions that impose personal income tax on individuals who own greenhouses with an area exceeding 25 m². Currently, crops grown in unheated or heated greenhouses with an area exceeding 25 m² are classified as special agricultural production. Individuals cultivating such crops are required to register this special production activity, submit an additional tax return, and cannot settle their personal income tax through the e-Tax Office. By contrast, polytunnels, whether unheated or periodically heated (without permanent heating), and regardless of their size, are not treated as a special agricultural production activity. As a result, a farmer cultivating crops in polytunnels covering several hundred hectares is not required to register this activity or pay tax on such production. In the complainant’s view, these regulations violate the principles of proportionality and social justice. Consequently, the Office of the Ombudsman has requested the Ministry of Finance and Economy to provide its position on the matter. 

On 28 October 2025, the Supreme Administrative Court issued a judgment (case file I FSK 1498/22) holding that the term “turnover” used in Article 90(3) of the VAT Act should be understood as the value forming the basis for calculating output tax, i.e., the taxable base. Since, under the VAT margin scheme rules, only the margin constitutes the taxable amount and the tax due is calculated solely on that basis, the margin should be used when determining the proportion.

In its judgment of 29 October 2025 (case file I FSK 1762/22), the Supreme Administrative Court ruled that in the case of a free-of-charge transfer of real estate (land with a building) to the individual property of spouses, only the building is subject to VAT as goods produced by the taxpayer, for which the taxpayer has exercised the right to deduct input tax. The land itself, however, is not subject to VAT at the time of its free-of-charge transfer.

According to the judgment entered by the Supreme Administrative Court last week (case file II FSK 163/23), remote work activities in which the employer provides employees with computers do not give rise to a permanent establishment under Article 4a(11) of the CIT Act and Articles 5(1) and 5(5) of the Polish-German Double Taxation Treaty. This is because the mere transfer of computer equipment (laptops) to employees does not constitute the allocation of space by the company for its own use.

According to the judgment entered by the Supreme Administrative Court last week (case file II FSK 1164/24), the mere fact of entering into cooperation (consortium) agreement does not render the companies related. Consequently, the companies are not considered related entities within the meaning of the CIT Act. Therefore, the documentation obligation under Article 11k of the CIT Act does not arise from the conclusion of a consortium agreement between entities, nor from the conclusion of any other agreement between them, whether before or after the consortium agreement.

According to the ruling of the Supreme Administrative Court in case II FSK 895/25, if a specific electronic address (e.g., an e-Deliveries address) is indicated in a power of attorney, tax authorities are required to use that address for correspondence. In particular, an attorney has the right to designate an electronic address for service, and authorities are required to use it accordingly. As a result, authorities are bound by the address indicated in the power of attorney. At the same time, the Court noted that if an attorney initially submits a power of attorney specifying a particular address for service and later consents to service via e-Tax Office, this consent should be treated as an update of the address for service to e-Tax Office.