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Promotions to senior associate in the legal team at GWW

We are pleased to announce that attorney Agnieszka Żabicka and legal advisor Marta Wegner-Sarzyńska have been promoted to the position of senior associate.

Marta Wegner-Sarzyńska has extensive experience in civil and commercial litigation and real estate law. She provides clients with support in enforcement proceedings and in matters related to the enforcement of claims. She also deals with bankruptcy and restructuring cases and issues related to the employment of foreigners in Poland.

Agnieszka Żabicka specialises in commercial and economic law, providing ongoing services to large and medium-sized enterprises and advising them on transactions, including M&A. In addition, she has been comprehensively representing clients in litigation involving entrepreneurs for many years.

This promotion is a recognition of their knowledge, professionalism and development within the firm. We are delighted to be building GWW together as an environment for development and cooperation.

Congratulations to Agnieszka and Marta!

Is the sale of private plots always considered economic activity subject to VAT? Article.

‘VAT payer on the sale of plots of land – is this the end of the problems or the beginning of new ones?’ – an article by our VAT experts Małgorzata Militz and Angelika Dahms appeared in the July issue of Przegląd Podatkowy.

Is the sale of private plots of land always a business activity for VAT purposes?

The CJEU judgment of 3 April 2025 sheds new light on who can be considered a VAT taxpayer when selling land from private property.

The dispute in this regard, which has been ongoing since 2004, has gained a new dimension, once again with the involvement of the Court of Justice of the European Union. This time, the CJEU addressed the issue of the independence of activities in the sale of land by natural persons, as well as the issue of ‘marital’ companies, or more generally, ‘two-person’ taxpayers selling such plots of land.

Will the new ruling end years of uncertainty in the interpretation of the law? Or will it open the door to further disputes?

Details of the case, key conclusions and expert commentary are now available in the article by Małgorzata Militz and Angelika Dahms, LL.M., in the July issue of Przegląd Podatkowy (Tax Review) – ‘VAT taxpayer on the sale of plots of land – is this the end of the problems or the beginning of new ones?’

Landmark ruling by the Supreme Administrative Court in a holding company dismissal case – a success for the GWW team

On 9 July 2025, GWW lawyers, tax advisor Artur Bubrowiecki and attorney Kamil Szczęsny, represented a GWW client in a hearing before the Supreme Administrative Court in case no. II FSK 1425/24, brought by the Director of the Tax Administration Chamber in Warsaw against the judgment of the Provincial Administrative Court in Warsaw of 5 June 2024 (case no. III SA/Wa 907/24), concerning the refusal to confirm an overpayment of corporate income tax for 2022.

It should be noted at the outset that the Provincial Administrative Court in Warsaw, in its judgment favourable to GWW’s client, indicated, first of all, that an analysis of the conditions for obtaining the status of a Polish holding company shows that the requirement to obtain information on the status of all dispersed shareholders (stockholders), including entities listed on stock exchanges and, indirectly, natural persons, the applicant (GWW’s client) was imposed obligations that were impossible to fulfil. The court emphasised that the provisions cannot therefore be interpreted in such a way as to impose impossible obligations on the beneficiary (such action would directly violate the principle of trust in the state and the law expressed in Article 2 of the Polish Constitution).

The Supreme Administrative Court, in its judgment (ref. no. II FSK 1425/24), the first, as it seems, in this type of case, dismissed the cassation appeal of the tax authority, stating that the client of GWW in this particular case (this should be emphasised, as the Supreme Administrative Court also did so at least twice in the oral grounds for its decision) had, in its opinion, taken all possible measures (which the Court listed verbatim during the hearing) to identify potential indirect shareholders from territories or countries excluding the application of the holding exemption referred to in Article 24m(1)(2)(e) in conjunction with Article 24o of the CIT Act.

In the opinion of the Supreme Administrative Court, the Company exercised due diligence in applying the regulations in question and it was unreasonable (as argued by the tax authorities of both instances) to expect GWW’s client to perform other obligations which it could not objectively perform.

The Supreme Administrative Court generally supports the literal interpretation of the provisions, considering it to be correct. Nevertheless, as the representatives of GWW’s client rightly pointed out in the case in question, there are situations in which a thorough examination of the shareholder structure, especially in the case of listed companies or difficulties in identifying natural persons, is impossible or excessively difficult. In such exceptional circumstances, in order to ensure the fair and effective application of the law, it becomes necessary, as in the present case, to deviate from a strict literal interpretation in favour of a purposive interpretation. This allows the result intended by the legislator to be achieved.

Thus, the Supreme Administrative Court confirmed that what is crucial is the real scope of the taxpayer’s ability to act, and not the formal fulfilment of conditions which are objectively impossible to meet.

The case was handled for GWW’s client by GWW partner, tax advisor Mariusz Tkaczyk, tax advisor Artur Bubrowiecki and attorney Kamil Szczęsny.

New excise duty declarations from 1 July 2025 – what you need to know

New excise tax return forms and a new method of filing them have been in effect since the beginning of July.
Pursuant to the Regulation of the Minister of Finance of 27 May 2025, all returns must be filed electronically – exclusively via the PUESC portal and using an electronic signature (qualified, trusted or personal).

The new forms apply from the settlements for July 2025, which means that we will use them in August. In the case of nicotine products, such as sachets or e-cigarette liquids, the new forms will be used a month later, i.e. only for the August settlements.

This is not just a change in forms, but also a consequence of a broader reform of excise duty. The list of products subject to tax now includes, among others, vaporisation devices, their parts and other innovative nicotine products. Some of these products are also subject to mandatory labelling.

These changes require companies to make appropriate preparations, both technical and organisational. We encourage you to verify that your systems and procedures are adapted to the new requirements.

 

Please contact us for more details.

”The Devil in vestments” – on tax authorities overstepping the bounds of legal action

Today’s “Rzeczpospolita” newspaper published a commentary on the phenomenon of tax authorities entrusting key tasks, such as evidence analysis and decision-making, to persons outside the administration.
This practice raises serious legal concerns, including violations of the principle of legality and protection of tax secrecy. It may also lead to the invalidity of decisions and undermine taxpayers’ trust in the actions of public authorities, emphasises Andrzej Ladziński, managing partner at GWW.

Access to the full article for subscribers – https://www.rp.pl/opinie-prawne/art42643681-andrzej-ladzinski-diabel-w-ornacie-czyli-przebierancy-w-urzedach