Impact of lifting the epidemic emergency on taxpayers
On 15 June 2023, a decree of the Minister of Health cancelling the epidemic emergency in Poland was submitted for publication. By the force of this regulation, the epidemic emergency will be revoked in Poland on 1 July 2023.
This means that the healthcare situation is becoming more stable, but it also entails significant changes in the area of taxation.
Tax scheme reporting
Article 31y of the Law of 2 March 2020 on special arrangements for counteracting, prevention and control of COVID-19, other infectious diseases and emergencies caused by them (the “Covid Law”) provided that deadlines for tax scheme reporting would not commence , and if commenced – would be suspended in the period from 31 March 2020 until the 30th day following the date of lifting the state of epidemic emergency and epidemics declared due to COVID-19.
Consequently, the suspension of tax scheme reporting obligations will be in force only until the end of July. Starting from August, reporting will become mandatory.
Deadline for notification of payment made to an account not included in the “white list”.
The deadline for filing ZAW-NR form informing that payment has been made to an account not listed in the register of VAT taxpayers will be shortened from 14 to 7 days.
ZAW-NR form is a notification of payment made to a bank account other than included on the list of VAT payers (“White List”) as of the transfer order date, referred to in Article 96b(1) of the VAT Act.
At the beginning of 2020, the acts governing income taxes and the Tax Code were amended to provide for sanctions to be imposed for payments made to accounts not included in the list referred to in Article 96b of the Value Added Tax Act (the so-called “white list”). VAT payers are registered primarily with the aim of guaranteeing safety of transactions between contracting parties.
Once the ZAW-NR notification is made, the taxpayer has the right to include the payment made to the invoice issuer as PIT and CIT deductible expenses. In addition, the taxpayer can avoid joint liability for transaction-related VAT arrears of the supplier of goods or provider of services.
Validity of the residence certificates
Article 31 of the Covid Law provides that throughout the period of the epidemic emergency or epidemic s and two months thereafter:
– remitters may use taxpayers’ certificates of residence for 2019 or 2020, provided that the taxpayer declares that the information contained therein valid,
– this includes certificates of residence with no validity date 12 months after their issuance,
– the taxpayer’s place of residence for tax purposes may be confirmed in a copy of the certificate of residence if there are no doubts as to the accuracy of information on the submitted copy of the certificate.
Upon revocation of the epidemic emergency, starting from 1 September 2023, the above rules will no longer apply. Remitters will be required to rely on the current version of the certificates of residence.
Importantly, however, Article 41(9e) of the PIT Act and Article 26(1n) of the CIT Act provide for the right to use a copy of the certificate of residence unless the information in the copy raises reasonable doubts as to its conformity with the facts.
Obligations under transfer pricing legislation
The following facilitations regarding transfer pricing will no longer apply
– the exemption from the obligation to hold a statement of adjustment from a related party in respect of adjustments made for the tax year or at the time when COVID-19 emergency was in force throughout Poland,
– the exclusion of the requirement of no loss incurred by the related party to be exempted from the obligation to prepare the local transfer pricing file for transactions between related parties – if the entity’s turnover decreased by at least 50% compared to the previous year.
– narrowing down the group of persons authorised to sign transfer pricing documentation.
Said preferences may be used until the time of revocation of the epidemic emergency or for the tax year in which the epidemic emergency was in force. Therefore, they can be used to prepare transfer pricing file for 2022-2023 even though the epidemic emergency was in force for part of the tax year only.
Tax interpretations
Lifting the state of epidemics will also affect the procedure for issuing tax rulings. On 1 July, the standard three-month period for issuing interpretations will be reinstated. The previous provisions of the Covid Law extended this period to six months.
As the epidemic emergency is going to be lifted, we encourage all taxpayers to keep track of the changes to the tax legislation. Should there be any questions or concerns regarding the issues discussed here, we are ready to provide guidance and we encourage you to contact us.
KONTAKT
E: elzbieta.lis@pl.Andersen.com
T: +48 32 731 68 58
M: +48 664 948 038
E: aleksandra.kalinowska@pl.Andersen.com
T: +48 22 690 08 70
M: +48 724 440 693
