The Supreme Administrative Court confirmed that the implementation of the discount in the framework of promotional actions organised by the online purchasing platform does not constitute revenue for participants in the promotion.
The case was initiated by the request for an individual interpretation, with which the largest online purchasing platform in Poland was presented to the Director of National Tax Information, Allegro.pl.
The company wanted to ensure that discounts which are granted to users in the framework of promotional actions organised or co-organised by the company did not constitute income for those persons subject to tax on income from individuals.
If it were found that these coupons would constitute revenue for the participants in the promotion, the company wanted to make sure that in the situation presented, i.e.
if the limit of the exemption was not exceeded, the conditions with Article 21(1)(68a) Act of 26 July 1991 on personal income tax (Journal of Laws of 1991, item 350), which states that income tax free is: ‘the value of the unpaid benefits referred to in Article 20(1), received from the provider in connection with its promotion or advertising - if the one-off value of these benefits does not exceed the amount 200 PLN…”,and thus confirm that the company and the participants in the promotion will be exempted from the obligations arising from obtaining income from personal income tax.
The tax authority disagreed with the position of the company, considering that the person who received the discount coupon was obliged to pay income tax and the purchasing platform to issue the PIT to the participant of the promotion.
However, the sentence of the company divided the Provincial Administrative Court in Poznań by a judgment dated 10 May 2017 (reference no. I SA/Po 1313/16), indicating that the use of a discount coupon for the purchase of goods or services via an online platform does not result in a buyer’s revenue. According to the court, the buyer purchases the goods or services at a price that includes the discount, without receiving money or monetary value.
The position of the company was also confirmed by the Supreme Administrative Court, which dismissed the cassation complaint of the tax authority while at the same time upholding the sentence of the WSA in Poznań. The NSA found that both receiving a discount coupon which entitles to purchase a commodity or service at a price that includes the discount granted and its use when purchasing a commodity or service does not fall within the concept of income.
In conclusion, according to the NSA, the discount does not constitute an income for participants in the promotion, so it is not subject to income tax on individuals. This means that no tax is required for the use of the discount coupon.
The sentence is final.
Judgment of the NSA of 11 April 2019 o reference no. II FSK 2478/17
Author: Paweł Boś, law student at the Kozminski Academy in Warsaw, employee of Russell Bedford