Business Review Poland – October 2026

The Poland business review for October 2026 points to four areas needing attention: Estonian CIT dividends and financing, dividend WHT exemptions in holding chains, VAT on business vehicles and risk-driven ZUS and KAS checks. New anti-mobbing rules apply from 5 November 2026.

In the Poland business review for October 2026, court rulings, inspection data and new legislation arrive together. Boards and finance teams that follow them can adjust in time instead of correcting costly mistakes later.

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What did the NSA decide on Estonian CIT?

In judgment II FSK 1274/23 of 29 September 2026, the Supreme Administrative Court (NSA) held that the 19% PIT on dividends applies to the whole distributed profit. The company’s lump-sum tax is reflected only through the credit in Article 30a(19) of the PIT Act, covering 90% of tax at the 10% rate and 70% at the 20% rate. For a PLN 100,000 payout, the total CIT and PIT burden is PLN 20,000 or PLN 25,000 respectively. Two judgments of 1 October 2026 addressed financing and contributions:

• Bond interest paid to a related party may be a hidden profit under Article 28m of the CIT Act when the bonds worked economically like a loan.
• Contributing bonds that a shareholder holds privately does not automatically cause the temporary exclusion under Article 28k, even above EUR 10,000.

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Does the look-through approach work for the dividend WHT exemption?

Not for the shareholding test. Five judgments of 8 July 2026 found that an indirect holding cannot replace the requirement that the entity claiming the exemption directly holds at least 10% of the shares. This conflicts with Ministry of Finance guidance of 3 July 2025 and with KIS rulings issued on its basis.

Other NSA rulings favoured taxpayers: Article 22(4)(4) of the CIT Act does not demand that the dividend itself be effectively taxed, and beneficial ownership is not a separate condition under Article 22(4). Groups with multi-tier structures should re-examine exemptions resting on an indirect shareholder before the next dividend is paid.

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How is VAT on company vehicles settled?

• Passenger cars and motorcycles come under Article 86a, which limits deduction to 50% where use is mixed.
• Full recovery requires a policy excluding private use, mileage records and a VAT-26 notification by the 25th day of the month after the first vehicle expense, and no later than the JPK_V7 for that month.
• Ordinary bicycles, e-bikes meeting the statutory definition and typical e-scooters fall outside Article 86a, so Article 86(1) applies.
• For cars kept at employees’ homes, KIS refused full deduction on 20 March 2026 despite GPS and mileage records, yet allowed it on 10 August 2026 for sales representatives with a clear business rationale and enforced controls.

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How do ZUS and KAS choose whom to inspect?

ZUS carried out 20,529 inspections between January and August 2026 and found irregularities in 18,495, or 90.1%, with findings of PLN 373.3 million. Since 1 January 2026 it has selected payers through a risk framework; low- and medium-risk payers face scheduled inspections no more than once every five and three years respectively.

KAS ran 27.4% fewer customs and fiscal audits (5,113) and 11.3% fewer tax audits (8,722) in 2025, yet findings from customs and fiscal audits rose by 46.4% to PLN 6.52 billion. As KSeF and JPK data feed analytical tools, finance and HR teams need reconciled records and evidence that transactions took place.

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What must employers change under the new anti-mobbing rules?

The amendment to the Labour Code and the Code of Civil Procedure takes effect on 5 November 2026. Mobbing is redefined as persistent harassment of an employee; one-off incidents and justified performance assessments do not count. Compensation will be no lower than six times the minimum wage, and a paying employer may seek recourse from the responsible person in proportion to their fault.

Employers with at least 10 employees must set out preventive rules, procedures and their frequency in workplace regulations, unless a collective labour agreement already does so. The deadline is 5 May 2027.

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If you have any further questions or require additional information, please contact your business relationship person or use the enquiry form on the HLB Poland website.

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