Poland: Debit note does not allow VAT deduction after limitation period expires (Supreme Administrative Court decision); other tax developments
Other tax developments include denial of clearance opinion on planned corporate restructuring on grounds of top-up tax avoidance
September 14, 2026
The KPMG member firm in Poland prepared a September 2026 report summarizing recent tax developments, including:
- Clearance opinion on planned corporate restructuring denied on grounds of top-up tax avoidance: The Director of the National Revenue Information Service on September 11, 2026, issued a decision denying a clearance opinion on a planned corporate restructuring because there was a justifiable suspicion that the arrangement was designed to avoid the top-up tax.
- Debit note does not allow VAT deduction after limitation period expires: The Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) on September 8, 2026, held (case file I FSK 19/24) that a debit note issued after the expiration of the limitation period does not entitle a purchaser to deduct input VAT. The court emphasized that such a document cannot replace an invoice as the legal basis for deducting VAT once the underlying tax liability has become time-barred.
- Free-of-charge business transfer is not a transfer of assets for VAT purposes: The General Court of the EU on September 9, 2026, held in a case referred from the SAC (T‑366/25), that the gratuitous transfer of a business to two individuals who intend to contribute it to a company does not constitute a transfer of assets and thus cannot benefit from the VAT exemption provided for in Article 19 of the VAT Directive.