A tax ruling application constitutes a formal request to the Director of the National Tax Information Office (Dyrektor Krajowej Informacji Skarbowej) for an authoritative assessment of the tax consequences attending a specific factual situation. A properly submitted application initiates proceedings that culminate in a binding interpretation of tax law provisions.
The concept appears straightforward. The execution proves considerably more demanding.
Statutory Foundation and Jurisdictional Authority
The right to submit a tax ruling application derives from Article 14b of the Tax Ordinance Act (Ordynacja podatkowa). Jurisdictional competence lies with the Director of the National Tax Information Office, headquartered in Bielsko-Biała. For matters concerning local taxes, competence vests in the municipal mayor (wójt), town mayor (burmistrz), city president (prezydent miasta), county head (starosta), or regional marshal (marszałek województwa), as appropriate.
Applications may be submitted in paper form or electronically via the ePUAP platform. The prescribed form is ORD-IN, established by the Minister of Finance’s Regulation of December 28, 2020.
Substantive Requirements
A tax ruling application must contain three substantive elements:
A comprehensive description of the factual circumstances or contemplated future transaction. This constitutes the foundation of the entire construct. The interpretive authority is bound by the description—it conducts no evidentiary proceedings and does not verify the veracity of assertions. Yet this principle operates bilaterally: where actual circumstances diverge from the description, the ruling affords no protection.
“Comprehensive” does not signify “maximally detailed.” It signifies: complete with respect to matters material to legal assessment. Each superfluous datum represents a potential point of attack for an authority subsequently inclined to challenge the ruling’s applicability.
A question concerning legal assessment. The question must be formulated to permit an unambiguous response. Alternative, compound, or conditional questions complicate proceedings and elevate the risk of evasive responses.
The applicant’s proposed interpretation. The authority formally evaluates whether the applicant’s position is correct or incorrect. A well-reasoned position—with citations to statutory provisions, jurisprudence, and general interpretations—facilitates the authority’s confirmation.
Declaration and Fee
A tax ruling application must include a declaration that the described factual circumstances are not currently subject to pending tax proceedings, tax audit, or customs and fiscal audit. This declaration is made under penalty of criminal liability for false statements—submission of a false declaration renders any subsequently issued ruling legally ineffective.
The fee is PLN 40 per factual circumstance or future transaction. Where an application addresses three separate transactions, the aggregate fee is PLN 120.
Procedural Timeline
The Director maintains a three-month period for issuing rulings, calculated from receipt of a complete application. This period excludes delays attributable to the applicant—particularly time consumed in remedying formal deficiencies.
Where the authority fails to issue a ruling within the prescribed period, a so-called “silent ruling” results—the applicant’s position is deemed correct. In practice, authorities monitor deadlines carefully, rendering silent rulings relatively uncommon.
Grounds for Refusal
The Director will refuse to issue a ruling by formal decision (postanowienie) where:
The matter concerns provisions governing tax authority jurisdiction or anti-avoidance provisions—including the general anti-avoidance rule under Article 119a of the Tax Ordinance, controlled foreign corporation (CFC) provisions, or measures limiting treaty benefits under double taxation agreements.
Reasonable grounds exist to suspect that the described transaction may constitute a transaction within Article 119a § 1 (tax avoidance), may be subject to a decision applying measures limiting treaty benefits, or may constitute abuse of law within the meaning of Article 5(5) of the VAT Act.
The factual circumstances are subject to pending tax proceedings, tax audit, or customs and fiscal audit, or have already been resolved by tax decision or ruling.
The presented factual circumstances correspond to matters addressed in a general interpretation—in which case the authority issues a decision applying the general interpretation.
Decisions refusing to issue rulings are subject to interlocutory appeal (zażalenie), followed by complaint to the administrative court.
Cross-Border Transactions: Additional Requirements
Where a tax ruling application concerns transactions with an international element—involving foreign entities, foreign permanent establishments, or transactions with cross-border effects—the applicant must additionally identify the relevant states or territories and provide identifying information for foreign entities.
This requirement does not apply to applications concerning exclusively individual matters of natural persons, nor to applications concerning VAT or excise duty.
Challenging Rulings
An individual ruling may be challenged before the Regional Administrative Court (Wojewódzki Sąd Administracyjny) within 30 days of service. Standing to challenge extends to both negative rulings (determining the applicant’s position incorrect) and rulings that fail to address the question posed or contain errors in legal assessment.
Judgments of the Regional Administrative Court are subject to cassation appeal before the Supreme Administrative Court (Naczelny Sąd Administracyjny).
Our Practice
We prepare tax ruling applications in matters concerning income taxes, VAT, civil transaction tax, inheritance and gift tax, and local taxes.
We assist in preparing applications to the Central Statistical Office (GUS) for interpretive opinions concerning statistical classification—where proper PKWiU or CN classification bears upon VAT or excise duty rates.
We challenge negative rulings and decisions refusing to issue rulings before the administrative courts.
A properly prepared tax ruling application represents an investment in legal certainty. A poorly prepared one represents wasted time and resources—and potentially furnishes the authority with grounds for subsequent challenge to the taxpayer’s positions.
