Legislation and Practice – August in taxes and business law

We present below a short summary of the most important changes in tax/business law and practice in August.

Legislation

• The assumptions for the draft act amending the Corporate Income Tax Act have been published on the website of the Government Legislation Centre – “tightening” changes for family foundations.
• The President vetoed the Act amending the Fiscal Penal Code and the Tax Ordinance Act – simplification of administrative tax obligations and mitigation of penalties for fiscal offences.
• The assumptions for the draft act amending the Tax Ordinance Act have been published on the website of the Government Legislation Centre – publication of local government individual interpretations in the EUREKA database.
• The draft act amending the Act on inheritance and donation tax has been published on the website of the Government Legislation Centre – the possibility of reinstating the six-month deadline for reporting an inheritance/donation in group “0”.
• The President signed the Act amending the Act on Value Added Tax and certain other acts – confirmation of the postponement of the mandatory KSeF until 2026, simplifying changes.
• The assumptions for the draft act on the National Labour Inspectorate and certain other acts have been published on the website of the Government Legislation Centre – primarily the right of the National Labour Inspectorate to issue administrative decisions on the transformation of improperly concluded civil law contracts into employment contracts.
• A draft act on packaging and packaging waste has been published on the website of the Government Legislation Centre – a new model of Extended Producer Responsibility, including a packaging fee.
• The assumptions for the draft act amending the Corporate Income Tax Act and the Act on the Tax on Certain Financial Institutions have been published on the website of the Government Legislation Centre – increase in CIT and reduction of the bank tax for banks.
• The assumptions for the draft act amending the Excise Duty Act and the Personal Income Tax Act have been published on the website of the Government Legislation Centre – increasing the excise duty on alcohol and the PIT rate on competitions to 15%.
• A draft act amending the Personal Income Tax Act has been published on the website of the Government Legislation Centre – increasing the “cash PIT” limit from PLN 1 to 2 million.
• A draft decree amending the regulations on the exclusion of the obligation to collect flat-rate personal income tax have been published on the website of the Government Legislation Centre – exemption of technical remitters from the “pay and refund” mechanism until the end of 2026 (extension of the currently applicable exemption).
• A draft decree of the Council of Ministers on the minimum wage and the minimum hourly rate in 2026 has been published on the website of the Government Legislation Centre – from 1 January 2026, the minimum wage for work would be set at PLN 4,806 and the minimum hourly rate at PLN 31.40.
• The Act amending the Corporate Income Tax Act has been published in the Journal of Laws (item 1074) – elimination of obligations in the field of information on the implemented tax strategy.
• The assumptions for the draft act amending the Act on Counteracting Unfair Market Practices and the Act on Consumer Rights have been published on the website of the Government Legislation Centre – implementation of Directive (EU) 2024/825 of the European Parliament and of the Council, extension of the catalogue of unfair market practices.  

Practice in taxes

Income taxes and transfer pricing

• Income from conditional loan forgiveness arises on the date of conclusion of the agreement, regardless of the fulfillment of any subsequent conditions – judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court of 5 August 2025, file reference number II FSK 1444/22.
• Short-term lease of real estate falls within the scope of permitted business activity for family foundations, exempt from CIT – judgment of the District Administrative Court in Bydgoszcz of 5 August 2025, file reference number I SA/Bd 315/25.
• A Tax Capital Group is not entitled to settle the costs of debt financing that were incurred by a TCG member before it was established – judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court of 6 August 2025, file reference number II FSK 949/23.
• Partial redemption and sale of shares for the purposes of entering the “Estonian” CIT regime does not constitute tax avoidance – clearance opinion of the Head of the National Tax Administration of 6 August 2025, file reference number DKP16.8082.1.2025.
• Damages/contractual penalty for loss, damage or delay of a shipment is not in principle a non-tax cost – judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court of 7 August 2025, file reference number II FSK 1478/22.
• If the contractual performance does not constitute a guarantee in the strict sense of the word, it is not subject to the cost limitation in CIT – judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court of 12 August 2025, file reference number II FSK 1519/22.
• Remuneration for holiday and sickness is an eligible cost of the R&D relief, however, the nominal working time should be taken into account when calculating the proportion – judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court of 12 August 2025, file reference number II FSK 1515/12.

International taxes

• The mere use of the services of an unrelated logistics operator does not create a permanent establishment (PE) in Poland – individual interpretation of the Director of the National Tax Information of 1 August 2025, file reference number 0111-KDWB.4010.50.2025.2.KP.
• As part of the application of the so-called “participation exemption” in WHT on dividends, there is no need to examine the issue of the “beneficial owner” – judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court of 13 August 2025, file reference number II FSK 1510/22.
• Only a tax residence certificate allows you not to collect WHT. It cannot be supplemented with other documentation – judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court of 20 August 2025, file reference number II FSK 47/23.
• The OECD has recognised Polish regulations on the (global) minimum tax as qualified regulations.

VAT

• The initial declaration of ICS, when the goods are subsequently exported without the taxpayer’s knowledge, does not deprive the right to apply the 0% VAT rate – judgment of the Court of Justice of the EU of 1 August 2025 in the (Polish) case, file reference number C-602/24.
• A married couple as a single entity is a VAT taxpayer on the sale of real estate – judgments of the Provincial Administrative Court in Wroclaw of 5 August 2025, file reference number I SA/Wr 92/23 and 99/23.
• Only obtaining an advantage contrary to the objectives of the EU VAT system leads to an abuse of law in VAT – judgments of the Provincial Administrative Court in Gdansk of 19 August 2025, file reference number I SA/Gd 453-4/25.
• Issues related to VAT rates for complex services should be considered on the basis of Binding Rate Information – judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court of 26 August 2025, file reference number I FSK 1685/22.

Other

• It is not permissible to “shift” the obligation to pay for beer advertising to an advertising agency – judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court of 7 August 2025, file reference number III FSK 546/24.
• The Director of the National Tax Information Service may not refuse to issue individual interpretations in the scope of MDR regulations – judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court of 12 August 2025, file reference number III FSK 610/24.
• The President proposed tax changes, including in particular tax reliefs for families with at least two children. Importantly, however, this draft also provides for mandatory transfer pricing (TP) inspections, at least once every 3 years (revenues over PLN 5 billion).
• The Ministry of Finance and Economy is proposing the introduction of a new voluntary solution to support long-term investing: the Personal Investment Account (OKI). It is proposed to invest up to PLN 100,000 without the capital (“Belka”) tax, including up to PLN 25,000 in the savings part. For funds above the limit of PLN 100,000, the asset tax will apply in the amount of 0.8%-0.9% of the investment value. This solution would come into force in the course of 2026
• The First President of the Supreme Court appealed to the Constitutional Tribunal against the provisions on real estate tax in the scope of unequal rules of taxation of garages with this tax.
• The National Tax Administration informs about the possibility of paying excise duty and customs duties as well as fuel and emission surcharges on PUESC (Tax and Customs Electronic Services Platform) using the BLIK payment system.