01_2017 State Fiscal Administration and the excise duty
1 March 2017 will mark the entry into force of regulations establishing the so-called State Fiscal Administration. This is a truly revolutionary change in the organisation of fiscal, tax and customs authorities. It is the intention of the Ministry of Finance to implement a reform of the Polish tax administration aimed at closing loopholes in the Polish tax system by facilitating information exchange and by consolidation of certain duties in individual institutions. Entities engaged in businesses involving the excise duty will certainly be interested in the changed organisation of the authorities responsible for collection of this tax and for inspections in this respect.
Starting on 1 March 2017, as a result of cancellation of the customs service, excise duty settlements of first instance will be within the competence of tax offices. Heads of tax offices are going to take over the current responsibilities of heads of customs authorities in respect of:
(i) issuance of excise duty permits,
(ii) registration of excise duty payers,
(iii) acceptance of excise duty returns and receipt of the excise tax due.
After 1 March 2017, inspections in the area of excise duty will be the responsibility of new customs and fiscal offices.
However, consolidation of certain responsibilities and authorisations within single offices should, in the long run, contribute to increased effectiveness of their operations, in particular through integration of tax remitter databases. Considering, however, the extent of the changes, the legislator allowed a relatively short time for tax remitters to prepare for their implementation. Consequently, at least during the months immediately following the effective date of the regulations, the tax remitters are likely to experience some confusion triggered by the need to adapt to the new reality in cooperation with the tax authorities.
Contact:
Michał Zwyrtek, senior manager in Tax & Legal department at PwC
Daniel Maryjosz, senior consultant in Tax & Legal department at PwC
