Appeal against a tax decision in Poland

An appeal against a tax decision (odwołanie od decyzji podatkowej) is the ordinary administrative remedy that opens a fresh examination of the case by the second-instance authority (Article 220 of the Tax Ordinance Act of 29 August 1997, the Tax Ordinance). It is filed within 14 days of service of the decision, through the authority that issued it (Article 223). A non-final decision imposing an obligation enforceable by administrative enforcement is not enforceable by operation of the statute itself, unless an order of immediate enforceability has been attached (Articles 239a and 239b). The appellate authority re-examines the case within its limits, is not bound by the objections raised and, as a rule, may not issue a decision to the appellant’s detriment (Article 234). The appeal is a precondition of judicial review: a complaint to the provincial administrative court lies only against an administratively final decision (Article 52(1) of the Act of 30 August 2002, Law on Proceedings before Administrative Courts, the LPAC).

Key points

• Deadline: 14 days from the day of service on the party (Article 223(2)(1)). A deadline falling on a Saturday or public holiday expires on the next working day (Article 12(5)). It is met if, before it expires, the appeal is posted at a Polish post office of the designated operator (Poczta Polska), at a post office of the universal service provider in another EU member state or at a Polish consulate, or sent to the authority’s electronic delivery address with the sender obtaining a proof of receipt (Article 12(6)); a consignment posted outside the EU meets the deadline only when a Polish post office of the designated operator receives it. An ordinary e-mail is not enough. A late appeal ends in a ruling stating that the deadline was missed (Article 228(1)(2)); restoration of the deadline requires an application within 7 days of the obstacle ceasing, a showing that the delay was not the party’s fault, and the appeal itself filed together with the application (Article 162(1) and (2)).
• Content: the appeal must state objections to the decision, define the substance and scope of the request and indicate the evidence supporting it (Article 222). No fee is payable; a specific power of attorney carries stamp duty of PLN 17. Missing objections or request are a formal defect which the authority asks the party to cure within 7 days (Article 169(1)); only the fruitless expiry of that period allows the appeal to be left unexamined (Article 228(1)(3); since 1 October 2026 the provision also covers the elements of a pleading under Article 168(2), (3) and (3a), but applies to appeals filed from that date).
• Appellate authority: the Director of the Tax Administration Chamber for decisions of the head of a tax office and of the head of a customs and tax office (Articles 13(1)(2)(a) and 220(2) and (3)); the local government appeals board for decisions of a mayor, district head or marshal of a voivodeship. The former Article 221a, under which the head of a customs and tax office examined appeals against its own decisions, was repealed with effect from 1 July 2023 (Act of 9 March 2023, Journal of Laws item 556); the old procedure survives only for first-instance decisions issued before that date. Where the first-instance decision was issued by the Head of the National Revenue Administration, the Director of a Tax Administration Chamber or a local government appeals board, the appeal is examined by the same authority, applying the rules on appeal proceedings accordingly (Article 221); the same applies to the Director of National Tax Information.
• Enforcement: a non-final decision imposing an obligation enforceable by administrative enforcement is not enforced (Article 239a). An order of immediate enforceability may be attached only where one of the four grounds of Article 239b(1) exists and the authority additionally substantiates that the liability will not be performed (Article 239b(2)). The order is issued by a ruling subject to an interlocutory appeal, but filing that appeal does not stay enforcement (Article 239b(3) and (4)).
• Outcomes: the appellate authority upholds the decision, sets it aside in whole or in part and decides on the merits, sets it aside and discontinues the proceedings, or discontinues the appeal proceedings (Article 233(1)). Setting aside and remand for re-examination is permissible where the decision requires evidentiary proceedings to be conducted first in whole or in substantial part (Article 233(2)) and where the decision was issued in breach of the rules on competence (Article 233(1)(2)(b)). The statutory time for the appellate decision is 2 months from receipt of the appeal, or 3 months where a hearing was held or the party requested one (Article 139(3)).
• No worsening: the appellate authority may not issue a decision to the appellant’s detriment unless the challenged decision grossly violates the law or the public interest (Article 234). If the limitation period of the liability expires during the appeal, the authority sets the decision aside and discontinues the proceedings (Article 233(1)(2)(a) in conjunction with Article 208(1)), also where the tax has already been paid (Supreme Administrative Court resolutions of 3 December 2012, I FPS 1/12, and 29 September 2014, II FPS 4/13).

Who appeals, to whom and when

The appeal is available to a party to the proceedings: the taxpayer, the withholding agent, the collector, their legal successor and a third party held liable (Article 133). It is addressed to the appellate authority but filed through the authority that issued the decision (Article 223(1)). A document sent directly to the Director of the Tax Administration Chamber or to another incompetent tax authority is not lost: a filing made with an incompetent authority before the deadline is treated as timely, and that authority forwards it promptly to the competent one (Article 170(1) and (2)). Correct addressing nevertheless saves time and disputes over forwarding. The first-instance authority that finds the appeal fully justified issues a new decision setting aside or amending the challenged one (Article 226(1)); otherwise it forwards the appeal with the file to the appellate authority without undue delay, no later than within 14 days, responds to the objections and informs the party of its response (Article 227). No default interest accrues for the period from the day after that deadline until the appellate authority receives the appeal (Article 54(1)(2)).

Two moments must not be confused: service of the decision, from which the deadline runs, and filing of the appeal, which meets it. Since 1 October 2026 amended rules on service and powers of attorney apply (Act of 29 May 2026 amending the Tax Ordinance and certain other acts, Journal of Laws item 846). Where a representative has been appointed, documents are served on the representative (Article 145(2)) and the deadline runs from that service. For service to an electronic delivery address the date shown in the proof of receipt is decisive, and where the addressee does not collect the document, service is deemed effected 14 days after the document arrived at the address (Article 42 of the Act of 18 November 2020 on Electronic Delivery). A request to supplement or rectify the decision filed within 14 days (Article 213(1)) shifts the appeal deadline: it runs from service of the supplementing decision (Article 213(4)) and, since 1 October 2026, also from service of the ruling refusing to supplement or rectify (Article 213(5)). A missed deadline is not irreparable, but the path to restoration is narrow: the party must show absence of fault, act within 7 days of the obstacle ceasing and file the appeal at the same time (Article 162).

What the appeal must contain

Missing objections or request are a formal defect which the authority asks the party to cure within 7 days (Article 169(1)). Objections may be supplemented until the decision is issued, and the appellate authority examines the whole case, not only the objections raised, because it acts as a second-instance authority on the merits, not as a court of cassation. The requirements for the decision itself, whose breach is the typical ground of objection, are described in the entry on the tax decision, and defective reasoning in our article on defective judicial reasoning. The rules on gathering and evaluating evidence, to which procedural objections refer, are collected in the entry on evidence in Polish tax proceedings.

Enforcement during the appeal

The unenforceability of a non-final decision follows directly from Article 239a and does not depend on filing an appeal. The exception is the order of immediate enforceability, which the authority may attach where it holds information that enforcement proceedings for other monetary debts are pending against the party, the party has no assets corresponding to the arrears with interest, the party is disposing of assets of significant value, or less than 3 months remain before the limitation period expires (Article 239b(1)); in each case the authority must also substantiate that the liability will not be performed (Article 239b(2)). No order may be attached in the scope covered by an application for release from payment after compliance with a tax ruling, nor, except on the ground of approaching limitation, to a decision applying the general anti-avoidance rule (Article 239d). An order based solely on approaching limitation, without a showing of enforcement risk, is contested in case law. The effect on limitation is described in the Supreme Administrative Court resolution of 28 April 2014, I FPS 8/13: the revocation of the ruling attaching the order and the consequent discontinuance of enforcement proceedings undoes the interruption of the limitation period caused by the enforcement measure; see the entry on the statute of limitations for tax obligations and our article on tolling and interruption of the statute of limitations on tax obligations. The effectiveness of the enforcement measure itself depends on valid service of the enforcement title, as explained in our article on service of the enforcement title as a precondition for valid seizure.

The order attached to an assessment decision must be distinguished from the security decision under Article 33: that decision is immediately enforceable by operation of law unless the authority has accepted voluntary security in one of the forms listed in Article 33d(2), such as a bank or insurance guarantee, a bank surety or a cash deposit (Article 239c). The conditions for security and the way to contest it are discussed in our articles on prejudgment security over taxpayer assets, on the preconditions for prejudgment security over business assets and on the seizure of company assets without a court judgment. The withholding of enforcement of an administratively final decision after security is accepted is governed separately by Article 239f and concerns the stage of the complaint to the administrative court.

Default interest continues to run during the appeal, but none accrues for the period from the day after the deadline of Article 139(3) until service of the appellate decision, if that decision was not issued within the deadline (Article 54(1)(3)). The rule does not apply where the party or its representative contributed to the delay or the delay arose for reasons beyond the authority’s control (Article 54(2)), and it applies accordingly on re-examination after the decision is set aside (Article 54(3)). Withholding of enforcement does not deprive the party of the possibility to perform the decision voluntarily (Article 239g): the taxpayer may pay the disputed amount to stop interest without losing the appeal. After a favourable outcome an overpayment may arise, whose refund or crediting against other liabilities and interest follow the conditions of Articles 72 to 78; an overpayment resulting from the setting aside or amendment of a decision is refunded within 30 days if no new decision needs to be issued (Article 77(1)(3)), and interest accrues as a rule from the day the overpayment arose, unless the authority did not contribute to the ground for setting aside and refunded the overpayment in time (Article 78(3)(1)). See the entry on tax overpayment recovery and our article on administrative dilatoriness and the right to interest on tax overpayments.

Proceedings before the appellate authority and outcomes

The appellate authority is bound by the two-instance principle (Article 127): it re-examines the case as to facts and law, may conduct supplementary evidentiary proceedings (Article 229), holds a hearing ex officio or at the party’s request (Article 200a) and, before issuing its decision, sets the party a 7-day period to comment on the evidence gathered (Article 200(1)). The party may withdraw the appeal before the appellate decision is issued, but the authority refuses to accept the withdrawal if there is a likelihood that a decision issued in breach of provisions justifying its setting aside or amendment would be left in force (Article 232(1) and (2)). The list of outcomes in Article 233 is exhaustive. A remand under Article 233(2) is permissible only where evidentiary proceedings must first be conducted in whole or in substantial part; the appellate authority may not use it to avoid a decision on the merits where the supplementation of evidence falls within its own powers under Article 229. A local government appeals board may set the decision aside and decide on the merits only where the law leaves no discretion to the authority (Article 233(3)). If the limitation period expires during the appeal, the authority sets the decision aside and discontinues the proceedings in the case, not merely the appeal proceedings, since discontinuing only the latter would leave the first-instance decision in force. Resolutions I FPS 1/12 and II FPS 4/13 add that after the limitation period has expired it is impermissible to conduct proceedings and rule on the amount of a liability even where that liability was earlier extinguished by payment; this does not mean an automatic refund of the amount paid, but the closing of the dispute over its amount.

The prohibition of reformatio in peius (Article 234) protects the appellant from the appeal turning against him: the appellate authority may not determine the liability in a higher amount, refuse a relief granted at first instance or otherwise worsen the appellant’s position; a change of the legal basis alone is not a worsening unless it alters the party’s position to its detriment. The exception for decisions grossly violating the law or the public interest is construed narrowly. The prohibition binds the appellate authority; the mere filing of an appeal gives no guarantee that, after the decision is set aside and the case remanded, the first-instance authority will not issue a less favourable decision, which is one argument against the abuse of remands. Where only one of several addressees appeals, the authority must ensure the active participation of the others (Articles 123 and 133). Where the appellate authority exceeds its deadlines, the party may lodge a reminder (Article 141) and challenge the delay before the court; see our articles on administrative inaction and on administrative law, where the citizen meets the state.

After the appellate decision

The appellate decision is administratively final and enforceable unless its enforcement has been withheld (Articles 128 and 239e). A complaint to the provincial administrative court may be filed within 30 days of service (Article 53(1) LPAC), and its filing suspends the limitation period (Article 70(6)(2)). The first-instance tax authority withholds enforcement of the final decision once a complaint is filed: on application, after voluntary security in the forms of Article 33d(2) is accepted, up to the amount of the security and for its duration, or ex officio, after the final registration of a compulsory mortgage or treasury pledge enjoying priority of satisfaction (Article 239f(1)). The conditions and course of judicial review are described in the entry on the complaint to the administrative court against a tax decision. Independently of the complaint, a final decision may be challenged in the extraordinary procedures: reopening of proceedings (Article 240), declaration of nullity (Article 247) and revocation or amendment (Articles 253 and 254); see the entries on the annulment of tax decisions, on the revocation and modification of final tax decisions and on the reopening of tax proceedings.

What to check before filing

• The date and manner of service (substitute service, service on the representative, service to an electronic delivery address, deemed service after 14 days); count the 14 days from the following day and check whether the last day falls on a Saturday or holiday; where a request to supplement the decision was filed, the deadline runs from service of the ruling on that request (Article 213(4) and (5)).
• Whether the decision was signed by an authorised person, served on the representative appointed in the case and contains all elements required by Article 210; an incorrect instruction on the right of appeal, or its absence, cannot prejudice the party (Article 214), which in case of delay supports an application for restoration of the deadline under Article 162.
• Whether the liability is time-barred or will become so during the appeal; if so, raise limitation and request discontinuance; see our article on the decisive moment of service for the statute of limitations.
• Procedural objections: evidence disregarded (Articles 187(1) and 191), no period set under Article 200, evidentiary motions not decided (Article 188), records from other proceedings used without an opportunity to comment (Article 192), factual doubts resolved contrary to Article 122(2); see the entry on evidence in Polish tax proceedings and the entry on the tax audit protocol.
• Substantive objections with an alternative request: setting aside and discontinuance, failing which setting aside and a decision on the merits in a lower amount.
• Whether immediate enforceability was ordered and whether there are grounds for an interlocutory appeal (no ground under Article 239b(1), no substantiation under Article 239b(2)); an assessment of whether to pay the disputed amount to stop interest, and what voluntary security to prepare for the court stage.
• Whether fiscal penal proceedings were opened before the limitation period expired and whether the taxpayer or its representative was notified under Article 70c; see the entry on fiscal penal cases in Poland.

Planned changes

On 6 October 2026 the Council of Ministers’ legislative work schedule published the assumptions of a further amendment of the Tax Ordinance (no. UD483). The draft provides for an extension of the appeal deadline from 14 to 30 days, a right to waive the appeal so that the decision becomes final once the last party’s waiver reaches the authority, substantive review of a security decision by the appellate authority even after the decision has expired, and an extension of the catalogue of voluntary security forms to mortgages and pledges. Adoption by the Council of Ministers is planned for the first quarter of 2027. As at the date of this entry the 14-day deadline applies.

Counterparts in other jurisdictions

In Germany a tax assessment is challenged by an objection (Einspruch) to the same authority within one month (section 355 Abgabenordnung), and only after its determination by an action before the fiscal court; in objection proceedings the authority may change the assessment to the taxpayer’s detriment after warning him and giving him an opportunity to comment (section 367(2) AO), which Article 234 of the Polish Tax Ordinance as a rule forbids. In the United States a taxpayer who has received a so-called 30-day letter may file a protest with the IRS Independent Office of Appeals within 30 days, and after a notice of deficiency may petition the Tax Court within 90 days (150 days where the notice is addressed outside the United States) without first paying the tax (IRS Publication 556). The Polish model, in which a higher authority re-examines the case on the merits with a prohibition on worsening the appellant’s position, is procedurally favourable; its limitation is that both instances belong to the same administration, and independent review begins only before the court.

Frequently asked questions

How long do I have to appeal a Polish tax decision?

14 days from the day of service (Article 223(2)(1) Tax Ordinance). The deadline is met by posting the document at a Poczta Polska post office or sending it to the authority’s electronic delivery address with a proof of receipt (Article 12(6)). A missed deadline can be remedied only by restoration, if the delay was not the party’s fault and the application is filed within 7 days of the obstacle ceasing, together with the appeal (Article 162).

To whom is the appeal filed?

To the Director of the Tax Administration Chamber, through the head of the tax office that issued the decision (Articles 220(2) and 223(1)). An appeal against a decision of the head of a customs and tax office is examined by the Director of the Tax Administration Chamber competent for that office’s seat (Article 220(3)); the former Article 221a was repealed with effect from 1 July 2023.

Do I have to pay the tax before the appeal is decided?

No. A non-final decision is not enforceable (Article 239a) unless an order of immediate enforceability was attached (Article 239b). Default interest continues to run, however, so voluntary payment of the disputed amount (Article 239g) is sometimes worthwhile; after a successful appeal its refund and interest follow the conditions of Articles 72 to 78.

Can the appellate authority increase the tax?

No. The prohibition of reformatio in peius (Article 234) excludes a decision to the appellant’s detriment unless the challenged decision grossly violates the law or the public interest. The prohibition binds the appellate authority and does not guarantee that, after a remand, the first-instance authority will not issue a less favourable decision.

What if the liability becomes time-barred during the appeal?

The appellate authority must set the decision aside and discontinue the proceedings (Article 233(1)(2)(a) in conjunction with Article 208(1)). After the limitation period has expired, no ruling on the amount of a liability earlier extinguished by payment is permissible either (resolutions I FPS 1/12 and II FPS 4/13). Filing a complaint with the court, by contrast, suspends the limitation period (Article 70(6)(2)).

How long do appeal proceedings take?

They should end within 2 months of the appellate authority receiving the appeal, or 3 months where a hearing was held or requested (Article 139(3)). After that period no default interest accrues, unless the party contributed to the delay or it arose for reasons beyond the authority’s control (Article 54(1)(3) and (2)), and the party may lodge a reminder (Article 141).

Related entries

• Tax decision
• Complaint to the administrative court against a tax decision
• Annulment of tax decisions
• Tax proceedings in Poland
• Evidence in Polish tax proceedings
• Statute of limitations for tax obligations
• Tax overpayment recovery
• Reopening of tax proceedings

Skarbiec Law Firm drafts appeals against tax decisions and represents taxpayers in tax disputes and tax litigation from the appeal to the cassation complaint, including cases in which the authority has ordered immediate enforceability.

Legal status as of 1 November 2026.

Robert Nogacki

Robert Nogacki is a Polish attorney at law (radca prawny), the founder and managing partner of Kancelaria Prawna Skarbiec (Skarbiec Law Firm), which has operated continuously since 2006.

The law is equal for everyone, but the parties rarely are: on one side stands an organization with time, money, and lawyers, on the other a person with one business, one nest egg, and one life.

Clients rarely come to him with a legal problem. They come with a problem that also has a legal side: an audit that began with a single invoice, money entrusted to someone who has disappeared, a company that has to be passed on before it is too late. Most such matters are decided long before the first letter is written, in decisions made without asking and in deadlines nobody remembered. So he begins by asking how the client got here, not what the client should have done.

He advises entrepreneurs and families from more than a dozen countries, including those whose accounts the tax office has just seized and who do not know what to do tomorrow morning. He defends them in tax audits, customs and fiscal inspections, disputes with the tax authorities, and criminal tax proceedings. He represents victims of investment fraud and Ponzi schemes. He helps families set up family foundations and plan succession, so that a life’s work outlasts a single generation.

Not every case can be won. Every case can be run so that the client knows where they stand. Since 2006 he has represented the victims in the WGI case (Warszawska Grupa Inwestycyjna, the Warsaw Investment Group), one of the longest criminal cases in the history of the Polish financial market, because some things must not be left half finished, even when they take two decades. In the case of the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange Zonda (Zondacrypto, operated by BB Trade Estonia OÜ), he represents several hundred victims in the criminal investigation conducted by Poland’s National Prosecutor’s Office and in the Estonian bankruptcy proceedings.

Kancelaria Prawna Skarbiec is listed in the rankings of Poland’s largest tax advisory firms published by Dziennik Gazeta Prawna and Rzeczpospolita, and it is a four-time recipient (2015 to 2018) of the European Medal awarded by the Business Centre Club and the European Economic and Social Committee. Robert Nogacki publishes regularly, in the press and on the firm’s website, for people who have a problem rather than a law degree, because a legal opinion the client cannot understand protects only the lawyer.

He believes that the best legal advice is the kind that means the client never has to appear in court.