The National Tax Administration (KAS) has the right to block a suspected bank account if it is suspected that it is used for VAT fraud. Date 13 January 2018 Act amending certain laws entered into force to prevent the use of the financial sector for tax fraud (Law).
The purpose of the Act is to fight tax fraud. In particular, legislators want to provide even more protection against VAT fraud in the form of VAT carousels. This will be served by the IT System of the Chamber of Clearance (STIR), which is entrusted to the National Settlement Chamber.
STIR is a system for the exchange of information between banks, cooperative savings and credit registers (SKOK) and the tax administration, which allows the tax administration to carry out financial analyses to identify flows characteristic of tax fraud.
At the same time, STIR allows the banking system to carry out analysis of transactions in business accounts, which will allow to identify accounts established by so-called poles i.e. entities appointed for the purpose of committing a crime, or fiscal criminal offence (VAT fraud, blank or unreliable invoices).
As a consequence, the KAS may carry out risk analyses of the use of banks or SKOKs for tax fraud as well as public data from the Central Register of Entities – the National Register of Taxable Persons (CRP) will be entered into the system.
This will enable the competent authorities to react appropriately when irregularities are detected.
According to the new regulations, the head of the KAS has the right to block a suspected account on 72 hours, with the possibility of extending the lock to 3 months if suspected that in a given case the extortion would exceed the equivalent 10,000 EUR.
Further new instruments are the refusal to register as a VAT taxable person and the removal of an entity as a VAT taxable person without the need to inform that entity.
It should be stressed that the data transmitted to STIR concern business accounts whether they are VAT payers or not.
According to the will of the legislator, STIR is an additional tool to seal the tax system. In addition, according to information from the Ministry of Finance during 10 years through the Treasury Act will save about 47,500,000,000 PLN.
An important issue with regard to the protection of personal data is that the tax administration cannot collect data from transactions between traders and natural persons who do not carry out business activities. As a result, the risk of personal privacy (e.g. company employees) or professional secrecy has been eliminated.
Author:
Rafał Dąbrowski
Senior Manager in Tax Advisory. Lawyer, tax advisor, restructuring advisor. At Russell Bedford responsible for the Department of Tax Advisory. From 2011 It provides advice to leading companies from various sectors of the economy. In particular, he specializes in consulting the steel, fuel, construction, transport, real estate and IT industries. Speaker of conferences and training on tax law. Author of numerous tax-related articles published in the industry press.