Service-Tax

Passenger car definition - 2013

2013 was to be the year of changes in the definition of a passenger car in force in Polish regulations. However, the adoption of the new regulations has been postponed by a year - according to the latest plans, they will become effective on January 1, 2014. Why all the fuss about this matter and what does the current legal status mean for entrepreneurs?

The necessity to change the regulations defining what a passenger car is and what requirements a vehicle must meet in order to be considered a car other than a passenger car results from the need to adapt the PIT and CIT Acts to the amended provisions of the VAT Act.These are the effects of the Act of 15 April 2011 amending the Accounting Act and certain other acts (Journal of Laws of 2011, No. 102, item 585). These changes are important from the point of view of deducting VAT on the purchase of such a car and deducting VAT on fuel and the amount of tax deductible costs - depreciation and insurance.

How was it from 2011 to the end of 2012?

In 2011, the definition of a passenger car disappeared from the income tax laws. Art. 7 of the aforementioned Amendment Act specified that in the period from January 1, 2011 (although the law was adopted on April 15, the amendments to a passenger car came into force retroactively from January 1) to December 31, 2012, whenever the provisions of the Acts on Income tax refers to a passenger car, this means a passenger vehicle with a maximum permissible weight not exceeding 3.5 tons, designed for the transport of no more than 9 people, including the driver, with the exception of:

a motor vehicle with one row of seats, separated from the part intended for the carriage of loads by a wall or a permanent partition, classified under the road traffic regulations into the following sub-types: multi-purpose, van;
a motor vehicle with more than one row of seats which are separated from the part intended for the carriage of goods by a wall or a permanent partition and whose length of the part intended for the carriage of goods, measured on the floor from the farthest point of the floor, allowing for the erection of a vertical wall or a permanent partition between the floor and the ceiling to the rear edge of the floor, exceeds 50% of the vehicle length; for the calculation of the proportion referred to in the preceding sentence, the vehicle length is the distance between the lower edge of the vehicle's windscreen and the rear edge of the floor of the cargo section of the vehicle, measured horizontally along the length of the vehicle between the lower edge of the vehicle's windscreen and a point derived vertically from the rear edge of the floor of the load carrying part of the vehicle;
a motor vehicle that has an open part intended for the carriage of loads;
a motor vehicle that has a driver's cabin and a body intended for the carriage of loads as structurally separate elements of the vehicle;
a motor vehicle which is a special vehicle within the meaning of the road traffic law with the intended use listed in the appendix to this Act.

The difference between the new regulations and those before the amendment is mainly the determination of the meaning of the term "special vehicle" in the regulations in force since the beginning of 2011. The earlier definition resulting from both Income Tax Acts indicated that a passenger car is not a motor vehicle which is a special vehicle under the provisions of the road traffic law, with the intended uses listed in Annex 9 to the VAT Act. Meanwhile, since January 1, 2011, the VAT Act does not include this annex, therefore it was necessary to clarify this concept in the amended provisions. Therefore, the Act of April 15, 2011, in the appendix, contains a list of special purpose vehicles, referred to in point 5. These are:

electric / welding aggregate,
armored car,
for drilling work,
excavator, backhoe loader,
charger,
for road cleaning,
a hoist for maintenance and assembly works,
Roadside assistance,
for winter road maintenance,
truck crane,
funeral.

This list applies to special vehicles that meet the conditions and technical requirements specified for the purpose of these vehicles, contained in separate regulations.

How was it supposed to be from January 1, 2013?

The aforementioned Art. 7 of the amending act was to apply until the end of 2012. From 1 January 2013, a new definition of a passenger car was to appear in the income tax laws. According to these regulations, whenever the PIT and CIT Acts refer to a passenger car, it means a motor vehicle with a maximum permissible weight not exceeding 3.5 tons, designed for the transport of no more than 9 people, including the driver, with the exception of:

a motor vehicle with one row of seats, separated from the part intended for the carriage of loads by a wall or a permanent partition, classified under the provisions of the road traffic law into the following sub-type: multi-purpose, van,
a motor vehicle with more than one row of seats which are separated from the part intended for the carriage of goods by a wall or a permanent partition and whose length of the part intended for the carriage of goods, measured on the floor from the farthest point of the floor, allowing for the erection of a vertical wall or a permanent partition between the floor and the ceiling to the rear edge of the floor, exceeds 50% of the vehicle length; for the calculation of the proportion referred to in the preceding sentence, the length of the vehicle is the distance between the lower edge of the vehicle's windscreen and the rear edge of the floor of the cargo section of the vehicle, measured horizontally along the length of the vehicle between the lower edge of the vehicle's windscreen and a point derived vertically from the rear edge of the floor of the part of the vehicle intended for the carriage of goods,
a motor vehicle that has an open part intended for the carriage of loads,
a motor vehicle that has a driver's cabin and a body intended for the transport of loads as structurally separate elements of the vehicle,
a motor vehicle which is a special vehicle - if from the extract from the approval certificate or from the copy of the decision exempting from the obligation to obtain a certificate of approval, issued in accordance with the provisions of the road traffic law, or other documents specified in the regulations issued on the basis of art. 86a paragraph 10 of the Value Added Tax Act, it follows that it is a special vehicle,
a motor vehicle other than that mentioned in point (a) a-e, in which the number of seats (seats), including the driver's seat, is:
- 1 - if the maximum load capacity is equal to or greater than 425 kg,
- 2 - if the maximum load capacity is equal to or greater than 493 kg,
- 3 or more - if the maximum load capacity is equal to or greater than 500 kg.

In the case of motor vehicles with a permissible total weight not exceeding 3.5 tons, the fulfillment of the requirements set out in points 1-4, which allow the vehicle not to be classified as passenger cars, is determined on the basis of an additional technical examination carried out by the district vehicle inspection station, confirmed by a certificate issued by this station, and the vehicle registration certificate, containing the appropriate annotation about the fulfillment of these requirements.

The permissible load capacity of vehicles and the number of seats referred to in point 6 are determined on the basis of an extract from the approval certificate or a copy of the decision exempting from the obligation to obtain an approval certificate, issued in accordance with the provisions of road traffic law. Vehicles which, in the excerpt from the approval certificate or in the copy of the decision referred to in the first sentence, do not have the permissible load capacity or number of seats specified, will be treated as passenger cars.

How is it from January 1, 2013?

Contrary to expectations, the provisions of the Amendment Act have not come into force since the beginning of this year. It happened, in accordance with the provisions of Art. 11 of the Act of December 7, 2012 amending certain acts in connection with the implementation of the Budget Act (Journal of Laws of 2012, item 1456). According to this document, the date of entry into force of the presented changes has been postponed by one year - to January 1, 2014. At the same time, therefore, the validity period of the definition of a passenger car contained in Art. 7 of the Amendment Act, was postponed until December 31, 2013.

Therefore, we have to wait another year for the introduction of a definition of a passenger car that is more favorable to the entrepreneur (containing fewer types of cars that can be included in this category).