The rule of doubt on the rules in favour of the taxpayer is called the in dubio pro tributario rule. This principle, which has been present in the Polish legal order for a long time, in the case law of the administrative courts and the Constitutional Court has been expressed directly in Tax Ordinance in Section I under Article 2a only on day 1 January 2016. And from that point on, there are still many interpretational difficulties.
The in dubio pro tributario rule is an interpretative directive, on the basis of which, in the event of doubts as to the legal provisions in force, the issuing authority is to rule in favour of the taxpayer, any legal doubt which cannot be removed by means of the available interpretation rules.
The in dubio pro tributario rule is an interpretative directive, on the basis of which, in the event of doubts as to the legal provisions in force, the issuing authority is to rule in favour of the taxpayer, any legal doubt which cannot be removed by means of the available interpretation rules.
The purpose of this provision is to ensure better protection of the taxpayer in the application of the law. As a result, this rule will apply when there are at least two different and legally acceptable ways of interpreting and understanding the same provision of tax law. This refers to a different interpretation of the tax law of the taxpayer and the tax authority deciding on that taxpayer.
As per content Article 2a Tax Ordinance „the irrefutable doubts as to the content of tax legislation are settled in favour of the taxpayer." In accordance with the view expressed by the Constitutional Court, "the principle in dubio pro tributario (...) requires that, in the event of a non-repealable ambiguity of a legal provision, it reproduces a legal standard which takes into account the interests of the taxpayer" (or the Constitutional Court) dated 29 July 2014, P 49/13, Journal of Laws of 2014, item 1052; of the Constitutional Court dated 18 July 2013, SK 18/09, Journal of Laws of 2013, item 985. As a result, any vague legal regulation cannot be interpreted to the detriment of the taxpayer, since it cannot bear the negative consequences of an imprecise formulation of tax legislation by the legislator.
However, in practice, this rule is very often not applied before tax authorities.
Although the taxable person invokes the in dubio pro tributario rule, the tax authorities, when interpreting the provision in question in the facts in question, consider that the legislation does not raise doubts and that, as far as the facts are concerned, the body has made sufficient findings.
However, it should be stressed that the position of the administrative courts in this regard differs from that of the tax authorities, which are the main addressees of the provision Article 2a Tax Ordinance.
Organisation Article 2a in general rules, i.e. in Chapter I Tax Ordinance points out that the legislator has provided that the application of this provision is not limited to tax proceedings aimed at the imposition of an obligation, but also covers proceedings concerning the granting of an individual interpretation, as well as tax checks and control proceedings carried out by tax authorities.
A broader criterion that does not remove doubts about the content of tax legislation will be discussed in part second article.
Author
Piotr Bachnik
Attorney at the law firm Russell Bedford Poland, affiliated with the company since February 2016.
He holds legal education, graduated from the Faculty of Law and Administration of the University of Warsaw and graduated from the Italian and European Law School at the Warsaw University of Warsaw, together with the Faculty of Law of the University of Catania, Italy. In years 2014-2016 worked at Maminski & Partners.
He specializes in criminal law, judicial enforcement and civil law. He speaks English with legal terminology.