The government blocks Poles' accounts. Opposing banks will face court
The Supreme Administrative Court made an important decision for banks. The case is related to the STIR system and blocking of Poles' accounts at the request of the tax office.
For several months, the National Tax Administration has been able to block bank accounts of Poles suspected of participating in the so-called VAT carousels. The procedure uses, among others, STIR, i.e. the ICT System of the Clearing House, which is used to track down tax frauds. Now the court has made an important decision regarding it.
Blocking Poles' accounts and the court
Rzeczpospolita describes the case of one financial institution (we do not know its name) that was targeted by the National Tax Administration. The officials did not like the fact that the bank was late in fulfilling its obligations related to STIR. These concerned 52 accounts of 19 entities and ranged from 6 to even 404 days.
The bank claimed that the delays were due to technical problems and had been partially resolved. In addition, the institution informed the system provider about the matter. However, this did not convince KAS, which imposed a fine on the bank in the amount of PLN 80,000. zloty. The case referred to Art. 119zzh § 1 in connection with joke. 119zzj in § 1 of the Tax Ordinance. According to officials, obligations related to the STIR system must be strictly respected and punishment for failure to fulfill them is mandatory.
The bank decided to appeal against this decision and won the case. The Supreme Administrative Court agreed with the earlier decision of the Provincial Administrative Court in Warsaw, which found that the above-mentioned provisions allow for the imposition of a penalty in connection with failure to provide data, untruthful provision or concealment of information. However, the regulations do not provide for a penalty for delay and therefore there can be no penalty.
The judgment is final.
