Customs reform approved by European Parliament

Package of tax Acts passed by Sejm

At its 65th sitting held on 15–18 September 2026, the Lower House of the Polish Parliament adopted, among others, the following Acts:

• Act on the tax on extraordinary profits derived, between March and December 2026, from the sale of liquid fuels – adopted in response to the President’s referral of the previous Act to the Constitutional Tribunal. The Act introduces a temporary tax on windfall profits earned by businesses involved in the production and trading of fuels imported from abroad. Druk nr 3100 - Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej
• Act amending the Personal Income Tax Act and the Corporate Income Tax Act  – aimed at simplifying transfer pricing information obligations for businesses, i.e., information relating to intra‑group transactions between companies within the same group. Druk nr 2837 - Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej
• Act amending the Value-Added Tax Act – implementing changes to the Polish VAT rules in connection with EU law reforms that abolish the customs duty exemption for consignments with a value of up to EUR 150. Druk nr 2838 - Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej
• Act amending the Act on the Local Taxes and Duties and the Act on the Tax on Civil Law Transactions – increasing the exemption threshold for civil law transactions tax on the sale of movable property from PLN 1,000 to PLN 3,000. This will cover, for example, second‑hand furniture, phones, computers, or household appliances sold by individuals. The Act also amends the rules on local and spa resort fees. Druk nr 3099 - Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej
• Act amending the Excise Duty Act – introducing uniform rules for taxing electronic cigarettes and vaporising devices, i.e. equipment used to heat liquids or other products for inhalation. Druk nr 2839 - Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej

The statutes are now to be submitted before the Senate.

On 15 September 2026, a clearance opinion dated 3 September 2026 (ref. DKP1.8082.1.2026) was published,  concerning a planned group reorganisation involving the use of a family foundation and a reverse merger

The transactions covered by the opinion included, in particular:

• a donation of shares in Company B and shares in Company C held by an individual to a family foundation;
• free-of-charge acquisition by Company B of its own shares held by Companies D and E, for the purpose of voluntary redemption;
• exit of Company E from Company C with no consideration;
• reverse merger of Companies A, B and C, whereby all assets of the “parent” companies (B and C) are transferred to the “subsidiary” (A).

In the view of the Head of the National Revenue Administration, although these steps would give rise to tax benefits and securing those benefits was one of the main purposes of the planned arrangement, those benefits fall within the intention of the legislature and are not inconsistent with the subject or purpose of the PIT and CIT Acts, in particular the rules on family foundations. The way in which the arrangement is to be implemented does not meet the criteria of artificiality within the meaning of Article 119c of the Tax Code.

Accordingly, the general anti‑avoidance rule in Article 119a § 1 thereof will not apply to the identified tax benefits.

On 17 September 2026, the European Parliament adopted a reform of the Union Customs Code designed to align the framework with the growth of e‑commerce, improve the collection of customs duties, and strengthen control over goods placed on the EU market. Sellers and e‑commerce platforms established outside the EU will be treated as importers, bearing responsibility for customs formalities, payment of duties and compliance of goods with EU rules. The reform also provides for introducing an EU‑wide handling fee for consignments sent directly to consumers from third countries, to apply no later than 1 November 2026; establishing an EU customs data hub and an EU Customs Agency; allowing businesses that meet high compliance standards to benefit from simplifications under the “Trust and Check” model; imposing sanctions for persistent non‑compliance by e‑commerce operators, which in the most serious cases may reach 6% of the value of goods imported in the preceding 12 months.

On 16 September 2026, the Ministry of Finance announced plans to extend, until the end of 2027, the period during which penalties will not be imposed for errors in the use of KSeF (the National e‑Invoicing System). The deferral of penalties does not suspend the obligation to use KSeF. The National Revenue Administration is to focus primarily on supporting businesses and reminding them of their obligations under the VAT Act. At the same time, the authorities will be reacting to cases of issuing invoices outside KSeF where no statutory exception applies and verifying whether failure to use KSeF is leading to unreliable VAT reporting.

Przedłużenie odroczenia kar za błędy w stosowaniu KSeF do końca 2027 r.

On 15 September 2026, the Government published the policy assumptions for a bill amending the VAT Act aimed at further developing the e‑VAT system.

Taxpayers who opt in via the e‑Tax Office will receive a pre‑filled JPK_VAT file with the VAT return, prepared on the basis of data held by the National Revenue Administration. The first such pre‑filled returns are expected to be made available in Q4 2029. The underlying systems will be connected gradually, meaning that, initially, taxpayers will still need to supplement missing information themselves. The bill also provides for shortening invoice‑issuing deadlines so that the administration can prepare preliminary returns in suitable time. The bill is expected to be passed by the Council of Ministers in Q4 2026.

Last week, a further version of the bill amending the Tax Code was published. The proposal aligns the rules on third party liability for the tax arrears of companies with the CJEU judgments of 27 February 2025 in case C-277/24 and of 30 April 2025 in case C-278/24. Under the bill, a person held liable for a company’s tax arrears would be able to challenge the factual findings and contest the legal classification adopted by the tax authorities in the proceedings conducted against the company. The latest version also clarifies the conditions for issuing a security decision; the concept of a person “actually managing” the company; and the criteria for demonstrating due care.

The bill further provides that security over the assets of an individual will lapse only at the point at which enforcement proceedings are initiated against that person; and the seven year time limit for issuing a decision on third party liability will apply where the managing person disputes the existence or amount of the company’s tax arrears The bill is currently at the stage of the Committee for European Affairs, with the new rules scheduled to come into force on 1 January 2027.

On 14 September 2026, an updated version of the wide-ranging PIT and CIT amendment bill (UD116), dated 2 September, was published. Among other things, the bill provides for allowing the use of carried forward tax losses when calculating the solidarity levy; including income taxed under the IP Box regime in the solidarity levy base; clarifying the “safe harbour” rules for debt financing; extending the restrictions on deductibility of financing costs for equity transactions to refinancing loans, consolidation loans and similar liabilities. The proposals also affect Estonian CIT, including restricting the ability to switch to Estonian CIT mid-year; clarifying the definitions of hidden profits and expenses not related to business activity; and introducing a mechanism to remedy certain formal defects relating to the preparation of financial statements.

Further changes concern the tax on shifted income; tax depreciation; the tax treatment of share disposals following corporate transformations; and taxation of IP licensing to related parties. Furthermore, the bill introduces a 17% lump-sum rate for specified agreements relating to intellectual property; and a 15% rate on the portion of rental income (both private and business) exceeding PLN 100,000 per year where the tenant is a related party. The new rules are planned to enter into force on 1 January 2027.

In its judgment of 17 September 2026 in case C-197/25, the Court of Justice of the European Union held that a Member State may not levy an indirect tax on the conversion of one profit making entity into another such entity where the transaction is not accompanied by a capital contribution. According to the interpretation of Directive 2008/7/EC, such a conversion must be exempt from all forms of indirect taxation, subject only to those charges and taxes expressly permitted by the Directive.

In its judgment of 9 July 2026 (case file I FSK 1928/23), the Supreme Administrative Court ruled that the right to opt out of the VAT exemption for financial services rests solely with the service provider. A Polish recipient accounting for the import of such a service under the reverse charge mechanism cannot unilaterally decide to tax that service.

In the Court’s view, while the reverse charge makes the recipient the person liable to account for VAT on the transaction, it does not transfer to the recipient the provider’s right to elect taxation under Article 43(22) of the VAT Act.