Individual tax ruling – FAQ [1 of 2]
August 7, 2023
Tax regulations are complex, which makes them difficult to interpret. If you do not know how to understand a given provision, ask the Polish tax authorities for an individual tax interpretation. They will analyze your situation and tell you how to apply a given provision in a specific case.
Before you read the text below, we encourage you to read part 1 about the individual tax ruling.
1. Does the individual tax ruling have the legal validity?
The main purpose of individual tax rulings is to provide taxpayers with a certain tax security. This means that if the taxpayer complies with the issued interpretation, the tax authorities cannot question such proceedings. Importantly, the taxpayer has the right, not the obligation, to comply with the tax interpretation.
2. How long is the individual tax ruling valid?
Currently, tax rulings are issued indefinitely. They remain in force until the provisions of the tax law, which have been resolved in the interpretation, are changed. At the moment, as part of the work on amendments to the Tax Ordinance, the Ministry of Finance plans that the interpretations will only be valid for 5 years.
Important! The head of the National Revenue Administration may ex officio change the decision indicated in a given tax ruling, if he considers it to be incorrect. If such a situation concerns the interpretation issued for us, we will be informed about it.
3. What if the tax ruling is “unfavorable” for me?
It may happen that the Director of the National Tax Information (KIS) will not share our understanding of tax regulations – stating that the position presented by us in the application is incorrect or will present an understanding of the regulations with which we do not agree. If we are convinced of our reasons or we really want to confirm the decision described in the application for tax ruling, we can use the appeal procedure. The first stage is to call the Director of KIS to verify the issued decision again. If this does not bring the expected result – we can go to the administrative court. Then submit a complaint to the Provincial Administrative Court, and then to the Supreme Administrative Court. The decision of the Supreme Administrative Court is final.
4. Can I read somewhere tax rulings that have been issued for other entities?
Yes – the Ministry of Finance publishes issued tax rulings, you can read them in the search engine Strona główna | Eureka (mf.gov.pl). The interpretations are anonymized – that is, in their content we will not find information that could identify the entity for whom it was issued.
5. Can I use tax rulings issued for another entity?
Tax rulings issued for other entities are not binding for other taxpayers. They may provide some kind of guidance on how the tax authorities may interpret tax regulations in a given case, but we cannot effectively refer to them in the event of a dispute with the tax office.
6. Can the Director of the National Tax Information refuse to issue an individual tax ruling?
Yes – the Director of KIS may refuse to issue an interpretation if he considers that it may lead to the circumvention of tax law.
7. Will my tax office find out that I applied for an individual tax ruling and what decision did I get?
Yes – the Director of KIS will inform your tax office about the individual tax ruling issued to you.
