Customs and Fiscal Audit
The Art of War You’d Rather Not Fight
Sun Tzu wrote that every battle is won or lost before it begins. A customs and fiscal audit confirms this intuition. The outcome rarely depends on what you tell the inspectors. It depends on what you did—and what you failed to do—in the months and years before they arrived.
But even the strongest opening position can be squandered through tactical errors. And even a difficult position can be defended, if you know how to move.
The Terrain
A customs and fiscal audit is not an ordinary tax inspection. It is a quasi-prosecutorial procedure, equipped with powers that under normal circumstances belong to law enforcement.
Inspectors may demand files, records, ledgers, documents—anything they deem related to the subject of the audit. They may enter buildings and premises. They may check identification, interrogate witnesses, search rooms, secure evidence. They may film, photograph, record. They may summon experts and demand physical inventory counts.
This is not a visit. It is an operation.
The sooner you understand this, the better you will prepare.
First Principle: Do Not Fight on Their Terms
Sun Tzu: “The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.”
A customs and fiscal audit is a situation in which the advantage of resources lies with the state. They have time, personnel, authority, access to information. You have a business to run, nerves to steady, and—if you’re fortunate—a good representative.
In this configuration, frontal confrontation is a mistake. The point is not to fight. The point is to give them no reason to fight.
This means: documentation in order. Procedures transparent. Decisions justified. Decision trail legible. Everything that might raise questions—thought through and recorded before anyone asks.
The best audit is one that ends with a protocol containing no findings.
Second Principle: Control the Information
Sun Tzu: “All warfare is based on deception.”
I am not suggesting you lie—that would be illegal and foolish. I am suggesting you understand that an audit is an information game in which one side tries to learn as much as possible, while the other should say exactly as much as it must.
Taxpayers make the mistake of excessive openness. They want to explain, to clarify, to demonstrate good faith. This is human—and dangerous. Every word can be recorded in a protocol. Every unconsidered answer can open a new line of inquiry. Every attempt to be helpful can supply material the inspectors did not have.
A professional representative is not there to hide facts. They are there to separate what you must say from what you may leave unsaid. To answer questions—but only the questions that have been asked.
Third Principle: Do Not React—Respond
Sun Tzu: “Be extremely subtle, even to the point of formlessness. Be extremely mysterious, even to the point of soundlessness.”
An audit generates pressure. Pressure generates emotion. Emotion generates error.
Inspectors know that people under stress say too much, agree to things they need not agree to, sign documents without reading them. The tempo and the tension are part of the tactic.
Your answer: slow down. Do not respond immediately. Ask for time. Document requests in writing. Do not argue—take notes. Let your representative be the one who talks.
Calm is an advantage. Silence is a tool.
Fourth Principle: Know Your Rights—and Make Sure They Know Them Too
An audit has rules. Inspectors have powers—broad, but not unlimited. There are things they cannot do. There are procedures they must follow. There are deadlines they must observe.
A taxpayer who does not know their rights does not know when those rights are being violated. A taxpayer who does know—and who has someone beside them capable of pointing out a violation—changes the dynamics of the entire situation.
This is not a matter of aggression. It is a matter of presence. Inspectors who know they are dealing with a professional representative behave differently. Not because they are afraid—but because they know their actions will be evaluated by someone who understands the rules of the game.
Fifth Principle: Think About What Comes After
Sun Tzu: “Victory is the main object, not glory.”
A customs and fiscal audit is not the end of the process. It is often just the beginning. After the audit may come tax proceedings. After proceedings, a decision. After the decision, an appeal. After the appeal, court. And running parallel—potentially—criminal fiscal proceedings.
Every step of the audit creates documentation that will be used later. Protocols, testimony, notes—all of it becomes evidentiary material in subsequent stages.
That is why, from the first day of the audit, you must think not only about how to survive it, but about what position you are building for the future. What will end up in the file. How your picture will look. What arguments you will be able to raise in a year, in two years, before a court.
The game is long. One must play accordingly.
What We Do
We represent entrepreneurs from day one of a customs and fiscal audit. We are present during inspection activities, we monitor procedures, we ensure that the inspectors’ powers are not abused.
We advise on what to say and what not to say. We analyze demands and help respond to them—precisely, in accordance with the law, without giving more than necessary.
We prepare strategy for the entire proceeding, not just its opening phase. We know that an audit is a beginning—and we plan with an eye toward what comes next.
Because in this game, the winner is the one who thinks further ahead than the opponent.
Founder and Managing Partner of Skarbiec Law Firm, recognized by Dziennik Gazeta Prawna as one of the best tax advisory firms in Poland (2023, 2024). Legal advisor with 19 years of experience, serving Forbes-listed entrepreneurs and innovative start-ups. One of the most frequently quoted experts on commercial and tax law in the Polish media, regularly publishing in Rzeczpospolita, Gazeta Wyborcza, and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna. Author of the publication “AI Decoding Satoshi Nakamoto. Artificial Intelligence on the Trail of Bitcoin’s Creator” and co-author of the award-winning book “Bezpieczeństwo współczesnej firmy” (Security of a Modern Company). LinkedIn profile: 18 500 followers, 4 million views per year. Awards: 4-time winner of the European Medal, Golden Statuette of the Polish Business Leader, title of “International Tax Planning Law Firm of the Year in Poland.” He specializes in strategic legal consulting, tax planning, and crisis management for business.
