Publication date: August 11, 2025
VAT crimes
The term “carousel fraud” refers to a characteristic scheme in which goods, after passing through a series of related entities, ultimately end up back at the original supplier. This mechanism allows perpetrators to conceal the actual transaction and generate undue tax benefits, most often by fraudulently obtaining VAT refunds or avoiding their payment. A key feature of VAT is its neutrality, so it should not impose an additional burden on taxpayers who do not consume the purchased goods or services but use them for business purposes. However, the structure of this tax makes it particularly vulnerable to abuse. In accordance with the principle of the free movement of goods, the supply of goods between European Union (EU) countries is subject to a 0% VAT rate. VAT carousels involve the use of complex transaction mechanisms embedded in the value added tax structure to avoid paying output tax or to unlawfully obtain a refund. These activities take the form of fictitious economic transactions, which involve the apparent movement of goods between entities located in different Member States. This can be very high, especially with relatively small financial outlays by the fraudsters, as the fraud involves goods that are repeatedly exported and returned to Poland.
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Publication date: June 23, 2025
In court practice, we increasingly encounter situations in which parties present so-called private opinions – studies / memoranda / reviews / analyses prepared by specialists in a given field, but who are not court experts appointed in a specific case. This phenomenon has become particularly important in technically complex cases, e.g. in the field of construction, medicine, IT, accounting or real estate valuation.
Although they are not evidence within the meaning of the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure, their role in civil proceedings is significant and multi-faceted.
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Publication date: June 18, 2025
What is the flat-rate tax.
Lump sum taxation of income is described in the Corporate Income Tax Act of 15 February 1992. According to Article 19 of the Polish CIT Act, the lump sum tax rate is 19% of the tax base, unless the Act provides otherwise. The Act also indicates that the dividend tax rate is 19% of the revenue (income) obtained.
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Publication date: June 18, 2025
DAC 7 Directive in the Polish legal system
The so-called DAC 7 Directive concerns the reporting of online trade. According to recital 20 of Council Directive (EU) 2021/514 of 22 March 2021 amending Directive 2011/16/EU on administrative cooperation in the field of taxation, the purpose of the regulation is to prevent tax fraud, tax evasion and tax avoidance. This objective is to be achieved by requiring platform operators to report income obtained through digital platforms. In turn, recital 27 of this regulation indicates that the purpose is also to ensure legal certainty for controlled entities, so controls should be carried out in a previously agreed and coordinated manner. This directive was transposed into the Polish legal system on the basis of the amendment to the Act of 9 March 2017 on the exchange of tax information with other countries (Journal of Laws of 2024, item 1588, as amended).
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Publication date: June 17, 2025
One of the absolutely key issues in running any business is the accounting of revenues and costs. Based on Polish legal regulations and established accounting practices, various accounting documents are used to document business transactions. In the context of contractual penalties, we most often deal with two types of documents – an accounting note and a debit note. These terms are sometimes used interchangeably, but their application and meaning may vary depending on the context and practices adopted in the company. This article will discuss the basic issues related to maintaining such documents in the context of provisions on contractual penalties.
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