Service-Tax

How to appeal against the interpretation issued by the tax office?

The complexity of the regulations often means that entrepreneurs are not sure whether they can act in a specific situation in a specific situation. Usually their doubts result from the unusual nature of the event or the lack of a clear indication of the solution in the regulations. In such a situation, each person running a business may apply to the tax authorities for an individual interpretation.

The Office is not obliged to take the side of the taxpayer - he may take the opposite position, obviously justifying the decision in an appropriate manner. Importantly, the opinion of the tax authority resulting from the individual interpretation is not binding on any of the parties. However, if it is unfavorable for the taxpayer or, in his opinion, the opinion contains errors, he can always exercise the right to appeal against the issued tax ruling. How? We explain below.

Procedure for appealing against an individual ruling

An entrepreneur who does not agree with the individual interpretation issued by the tax office in his case must comply with the rules of the appeal procedure against such an unfavorable decision. The first step is to contact the tax authority that issued the interpretation with a request to remedy the violation of the law. Importantly, it must be filed in writing within 14 days from the date of delivery of the decision.

Important!

The taxpayer has the right to submit a summons to remedy the infringement of the law only once in one case.

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In the request to remedy the infringement of the law, the taxpayer should justify his position and indicate why he considers the explanation of the provisions by the tax authority to be incorrect. Thanks to this, the tax office has a chance to re-consider the case, which sometimes leads to the end of the procedure at this stage. This happens if the Minister of Finance (or an authorized body) agrees with the taxpayer's opinion.

However, if the tax authority upholds its previous decision, the taxpayer may lodge a complaint with the administrative court (more precisely, the voivodeship administrative court with jurisdiction over the taxpayer's place of residence or seat). The complaint, like the summons, should be made in writing and then delivered to the court within 30 days from the date of receipt of the response to the summons. What if the tax office did not respond to the call at all? In this case, the taxpayer may also file a complaint to the administrative court, but he has more time to do so, as it is 60 days from the date of filing a summons to remedy the infringement of the law.

What should a complaint against an interpretation issued by a tax office contain? Pursuant to Art. 46, 47 and 57 of the Law on proceedings before administrative courts, the necessary elements are:

designation of the court to which the complaint is directed,
first and last names of the parties, their names,
addresses of residence (seat) of the parties,
indication of the challenged interpretation,
indication of the authority that issued the interpretation,
specification of the alleged infringement of the law (with reference to the law),
information about the attorney or statutory representative (if any) with the proof of payment of stamp duty for the power of attorney (PLN 17, in accordance with the Act of November 16 on stamp duty),
signature.

You may find it helpful to find materials available on the website of the Ministry of Finance (complaint template and detailed instructions).

Important!
The complaint against the interpretation is filed through the authority that issued the interpretation inconsistent with the taxpayer's opinion. The cost of filing such a complaint is PLN 200.

After examining the complaint, the tax authority may change its interpretation ex officio. However, if he does not agree with the allegations arising from the complaint, he has 30 days to refer it to the administrative court. In the next step, the court decides who made the mistake. If he agrees with the taxpayer's opinion, the challenged interpretation is repealed.

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However, if the position of the authority issuing the interpretation is deemed correct, the complaint is revoked. In such a case, the taxpayer has the right to submit a cassation appeal to the Supreme Administrative Court. It should be drawn up by a tax advisor, attorney or legal advisor and filed within 30 days from the date of delivery of the judgment of the voivodeship administrative court with the reasons.

Individual Interpretation Challenge Briefly

Confirmation that the individual interpretation is inconsistent with the taxpayer's position.
Request to remedy the violation of law addressed to the tax office (deadline: 14 days from the date of delivery of the tax decision).
Complaint to the provincial administrative court (deadline: 30 days from the date of receipt of the response to the summons or 60 days from the date of filing a summons to remedy the infringement of the law, if the taxpayer has not received an answer to it).
Examination of the case by the court.
Submission of a cassation appeal to the Supreme Administrative Court (deadline: 30 days from the date of delivery of the judgment of the voivodeship administrative court).

The procedure may end on each of the above-mentioned stages.