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Poland – changes in the competent tax offices

By December 16, 2015July 10th, 2021No Comments

As of 1st January 2016 the new Minister of Finance Decree on competent tax authorities for taxable persons will be in force. In consequence the competent tax office for some categories of taxpayers may change …

Tax Alert No 4/2015: Changes in the competent tax offices in Poland

As of 1st January 2016 the new Minister of Finance Decree on competent tax authorities for taxable persons will be in force. In consequence the competent tax office for some categories of taxpayers may change next year.

The proposed changes do not apply to non-resident taxpayers who are merely registered for VAT in Poland and neither have registered seat nor fixed establishment in Poland. Those taxpayers will continue to be served by the Second Tax Office Warszawa-Śródmieście.

According to the new rules for taxable persons with registered seat, permanent or fixed establishment in Poland as of 1 January 2016 the three categories of tax offices should be distinguished: First Masovian Tax Office in Warsaw (National Specialized Tax Office), other 19 specialised tax offices across Poland and local tax offices. The competence should be distinguished as follows:

   1. First Masovian Tax Office in Warsaw would be responsible for physical persons (with the exception of taxpayers of Inheritance and Donation Tax) and legal persons or entities without legal identity, which in the last tax year achieved net revenue from sales of goods, products and services of at least 50 million EUR,
   2. other 19 Specialised Tax offices across Poland would be responsible for nine categories of taxpayers specified in the Regulation including among others:

  • branches or agencies of foreign companies acting on the basis of the Law on Freedom of Economic Activity and the Agreements on avoidance of double taxation,
  • physical persons (with the exception of taxpayers of Inheritance and Donation Tax) and legal persons or entities without legal identity, which in the last tax year achieved net revenue from sales of goods, products and services of at least 3 million EUR.

   3. local tax offices in Poland would be competent in all other cases when conditions specified above would be not be met. 

The threshold specified above would be determined on the basis of data for the tax year that ended in year 2014.

Additionally, as a  result of changes the entities managed by a non-resident or in which non-resident has 5% of the voting rights or entities managing or having shares in foreign entities may no longer be supported by specialised tax offices. If they do not reach the above revenue limits these entities will be served as of 1st of January 2016 by the local tax office competent for them.

The change of the competencies as of 1st of January 2016 will be made automatically without the need to submit any additional documents. In December 2015 taxpayers for which the competent tax office will change should get from his „old” and „new” tax office information in this regard.

 

Dorota Baczewska-Golinska
Independent Tax Advisers