We present below a short summary of the most important changes in tax/business law and practice in September.
Legislation
- The Decree amending the Decree on the use of the National System of e-Invoices was published in the “Journal of Laws” (item 1760) – issues of granting rights to the KSeF (e-invoicing).
- The Act amending the Code of Commercial Companies was published in the “Journal of Laws” (item 1705).
- The Act amending CIT and PIT Act was published in the “Journal of Laws” (item 1787) – the possibility of shortening the depreciation period of buildings and residential structures by taxpayers from the SME sector up to 5/10 years, depending on the level of unemployment in a given county (Pol. powiat).
- A draft decree on cases in which the taxpayer is not obliged to issue structured invoices has been published on the website of the Government Legislation Centre – it concerns motorway tolls, transport journeys and air traffic control and supervision fees.
- The Decree amending the Decree on transfer pricing information in the field of PIT and CIT was published in the “Journal of Laws” (items 1894 and 1895).
- The Decree amending the Decree on the detailed scope and methods of implementation of certain tasks of the Agency for Restructuring and Modernization of Agriculture was published in the “Journal of Laws” (item 1965) – i.a. granting assistance to agricultural producers who are threatened with loss of financial liquidity due to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, and who have not yet been granted aid.
- The Council of Ministers adopted the draft of state budget for 2024.
Tax practcie
Income taxes and transfer pricing
- The fee for production readiness may be included in the (tax exempted) SEZ income in CIT (judgment of the District Administrative Court of 6 September 2023, file reference number III SA/Wa 1096/23).
- Interest on a loan granted to a taxpayer before the transition to “Estonian” CIT and paid after entering this taxation regime constitute taxable hidden profits (individual interpretation of the Director of the National Tax Information of 6 September 2023, file reference number 0111-KDIB2-1.4010.298.2023.1.AS).
- A lump sum for using a private car for business purposes does not create income in PIT – judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court of 14 September 2023, file reference number II FSK 2632/20.
- Expenses for providing accommodation to foreign employees may constitute tax-deductible costs in CIT – individual interpretation of the Director of the National Tax Information of 8 September 2023, file reference number 0114-KDIP2-2.4010.316.2023.3.KW.
- A change of address or name of a foreign counterparty does not affect the validity of its tax residence certificate. What counts is the fact of continuing to be a resident of a given country – individual interpretation of the Director of the National Tax Information of 11 September 2023, file reference number 0114-KDIP2-1.4010.331.2023.1.MW.
- The stay of employees in a facility (real estate) as part of benefits from the Social Benefits Fund is not similar to a legal relationship of rental or lease, which does not create an obligation in the so-called commercial real estate tax (judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court of 19 September 2023, file reference number II FSK 2733/20).
- The Ministry of Finance has published a draft tax explanation in the field of expansion allowance – LINK.
- The Ministry of Finance has published tax explanations on the “cost plus” method – LINK.
VAT
- The Ministry of Finance has published an information brochure on the structure of the FA(2): LINK.
- It is not possible to rely before the tax authorities on the deduction of input tax only on the basis of VAT registers in the absence of VAT invoices – judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court of 13 September 2023, file reference number I FSK 1181/18.
- The right to correct sales invoices to zero is granted in the case of tax fraud (the taxpayer was convinced that he was making ICS) – judgment of the District Administrative Court in Wrocław of 19 September 2023 (file reference number I SA/Wr 84/23). What is important here is the possibility of demonstrating due diligence on the part of the taxpayer.
International taxation
- The Ministry of Finance has published a draft tax explanation in the field of withholding tax (WHT) –LINK.
- The conditions for meeting the participation exemption (WHT) for dividends can be applied not only to the direct but also to the indirect owner (under the look through approach concept) – judgment of the District Administrative Court in Warsaw of 14 September 2023, file reference number Act III SA/Wa 1513/23.
- Insurance services are not subject to WHT – in particular, they are not similar to guarantee and surety services (judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court of 1 September 2023, file reference number II FSK 2510/20). This is another positive judgment in this regard.
- With effect from 1 September, the MLI Convention will apply to the Polish tax avoidance agreement with Vietnam – a relevant statement was published in the “Journal of Laws” (item 2044).
Other
- A draft of the so-called BEFIT Directive – consolidation of the tax base for the largest capital groups (revenues over EUR 750 million) has been published on the EU website.
- From 1 September this year, the monthly amount of reducing the basis for calculating social security contributions for financing meals for employees increases (from PLN 300 to PLN 450).
- The Ministry of Finance stated that work on the amendment to the Tax Ordinance will not be continued – despite the fact that positions were collected during pre-consultations.
