Government adopts first tranche of changes implementing ViDA package

New bill implementing EUDR

On 3 September 2026, an updated version of the bill setting out national rules for the application of the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) was published. The bill designates the authorities responsible for supervision, regulates the conduct of scheduled and ad-hoc inspections, and defines remedial measures and sanctions for breaches of the rules. Administrative fines are to depend on the nature and scale of the infringement and may amount to up to 4% of annual EU turnover, and, for collective entities, between 4% and 6% of turnover. In the event of repeated infringements, the authorities will also be able to impose a temporary ban on placing products on the market or on using simplified due diligence procedures. The bill does not impose new substantive obligations on businesses beyond those arising directly from the EUDR but instead creates a domestic framework for supervising and enforcing those obligations. The possibility of obtaining an individual ruling on the application of the EUDR is to be excluded. As a rule, the provisions are to enter into force 14 days after their publication in the Journal of Laws, subject to certain exceptions. 

Last week, a bill was published providing for a temporary increase in the CIT rate for the largest entities carrying on specified activities in the energy and fuel sectors, with revenues exceeding EUR 50 million. New regulations are intended to cover, among others, businesses engaged in extracting natural gas or crude oil; trading in gas and liquid fuels; producing liquid fuels; transmitting or distributing electricity. The increased CIT rate is to be set at 30% for 2027, 26% for 2028 and 23% for 2029. From 2030, the standard CIT rate is to be reinstated. The changes are also to apply to tax groups that include a company carrying on activities covered by the draft provisions. The planned entry‑into‑force date for the Act is 1 January 2027.

On 3 September 2026, preliminary remarks to a draft regulation on the imposition of fines by way of fixed penalty notice for fiscal offences were published. The draft regulation constitutes the implementation of the authorisation contained in the Fiscal Penal Code and is intended to align the existing provisions with the changes introduced by the Act of 25 May 2026 amending the Tax Code and certain other acts. The amendment provides for the introduction, within the fixed penalty procedure, of a new type of notice, namely a fixed penalty notice issued in the offender’s absence. Such a notice would be issued without personal contact between the offender and the authority conducting the proceedings. Signing the notice form will not be required, as payment of the fine within 14 days of service will be deemed acceptance of the notice. The form will include information on the payment deadline and the consequences of missing it, as well as guidance on the grounds for setting aside a final fixed penalty notice. The draft regulation is scheduled for adoption by the Council of Ministers in Q3 2026.

On 2 September 2026, the Council of Ministers adopted a bill amending the VAT Act implementing the first tranche of the EU “VAT in the Digital Age” (ViDA) package. The bill aims at clarifying the rules governing platforms and other electronic interfaces facilitating sales; standardising the method of calculating the EUR 10,000 threshold for determining the place of taxation for intra‑EU distance sales of goods and selected services; introducing a single point in time for the chargeable event for transactions reported under the OSS procedures; simplifying registration for OSS and IOSS; extending OSS to supplies of electricity, natural gas and heating or cooling energy to consumers. Taxpayers benefiting from the small‑business VAT exemption will not be able to use the IOSS procedure to report sales of imported goods. Most of the changes are scheduled to enter into force on 1 January 2027, while the call‑off stock procedure is to be repealed on 1 July 2028 and replaced by an own‑goods movement procedure within OSS.

Last week, a clearance opinion dated 3 June 2026 (ref. DKP2.8082.11.2025) was denied by the Head of the National Revenue Administration in a case concerning the acquisition of shares in a private limited company (sp. z o.o.) by family foundations and the subsequent voluntary redemption, without consideration, of all shares held by the existing shareholder. The authority found that the planned sequence of transactions would result in tax advantages, including, in particular: the absence of taxable income on the part of the shareholder, the company and the family foundations; exemption from CIT for dividends received by the foundations; and exemption from PIT for benefits paid to the founders. In the view of the Head of the National Revenue Administration, the stated business objectives – such as simplifying the ownership structure, diversifying risk, and ensuring succession of assets – were not the predominant objectives and could have been achieved in a simpler manner. The authority also emphasised that the planned increase in the assets of the family foundations resulting from the redemption of the shareholder’s shares did not fall within the statutory catalogue of permissible forms of contributing assets to a family foundation. In addition, the Head of the National Revenue Administration held that the manner of implementation displayed features of artificiality, referring in particular to the involvement of entities that do not perform a material economic function; the achievement of an economic outcome similar to the situation prior to the transactions; and the disproportion between the tax benefits and the economic risk assumed. As a result, it was found that the general anti‑avoidance rule (GAAR) in Article 119a of the Tax Ordinance could apply to the tax benefits resulting from the planned arrangement and a clearance opinion was denied.

Informacja o odmowie wydania opinii zabezpieczającej z dnia 6 czerwca 2026 r. (sygn. DKP2.8082.11.2025)

In a judgment of 2 September 2026 (ref. I FSK 300/24), the Supreme Administrative Court held that the list of documents confirming the export of goods outside the EU is non‑exhaustive. Applying the 0% VAT rate does not depend solely on holding official customs documents, such as messages from the AES system. Actual departure of the goods from the EU territory may also be evidenced by other proof, including documents provided by a courier company, provided that they unambiguously and credibly confirm that the export has taken place.

In a judgment of 2 September 2026 (ref. II FSK 1233/23), the Supreme Administrative Court held that, for the purposes of Estonian CIT, the concept of expenses unrelated to business activity should not be equated with expenses that do not qualify as tax‑deductible costs. Donations aimed at building the company’s image and promoting its business may be related to business activity and therefore not be subject to the lump‑sum tax on company income. The Court also found that, under the legal framework in force in 2022, expenditure on passenger cars used for mixed business and private purposes by employees who are neither shareholders nor related parties did not constitute expenses unrelated to business activity.