CIT bad debt relief in Poland and instalment payments – Supreme Administrative Court of Poland (NSA) ruling

CIT bad debt relief in Poland must take account of the statutory payment deadline. In judgment II FSK 1383/24 of 9 April 2026, the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland (NSA) confirmed that where a large enterprise owes a micro, small or medium-sized enterprise (SME), the 60-day limit applies to every instalment. A later contractual deadline that breaches this limit cannot postpone the start of the 90-day period under Article 18f of the Polish Corporate Income Tax Act.

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What did the NSA decide in case II FSK 1383/24?

The case concerned a large enterprise purchasing water and sewage infrastructure from SME-sector entities. The purchase price was paid in instalments, some of which were contractually due more than 60 days after delivery of the invoice.

The NSA held that splitting the payment into instalments cannot circumvent the limit under Article 7(2a) of the Act on Counteracting Excessive Delays in Commercial Transactions. The restriction applies to each part of the monetary payment.

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When does the 90-day CIT period start?

Article 18f of the Polish Corporate Income Tax Act (CIT Act) requires the 90-day period to be calculated from the first day after the applicable payment deadline expires.

If a payment date stated in a contract, invoice or bill breaches the anti-payment-delay rules, the statutory deadline must be used for the CIT adjustment instead of the later contractual date.

Companies should therefore:

• determine when the payment period starts;
• assess each instalment against the 60-day maximum;
• replace a non-compliant contractual deadline with the statutory deadline;
• calculate the 90-day period from the following day.

If the invoice delivery date cannot be established, or the invoice was delivered before the goods or services were received, the period may instead run from the date the debtor receives the goods or services.

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How does the rule apply to several instalments?

For a PLN 120,000 invoice divided into four instalments of PLN 30,000, payable after 30, 60, 90 and 120 days, the first two deadlines remain within the limit. The third and fourth exceed 60 days and must therefore be assessed using the statutory deadline for Article 18f purposes.

This does not mean that every instalment automatically receives a 60-day deadline. Where a valid deadline is shorter, such as 30 days, that shorter deadline remains applicable.

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What are the consequences for creditors and debtors?

Once the Article 18f conditions are met, the creditor may reduce the taxable base or increase a tax loss by an unpaid receivable previously recognised as taxable revenue.

The debtor must increase the taxable base or reduce a tax loss by the amount of an unpaid liability previously recognised as a tax-deductible cost.

The rules also apply to partially settled receivables. Article 18f(1) and (2), however, does not apply to commercial transactions between related parties under Polish transfer pricing rules.

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Does every B2B transaction have a 60-day limit?

No. The absolute 60-day limit concerns the specific relationship in which a large enterprise is the debtor and an SME is the creditor.

In other business-to-business transactions, the parties may expressly agree a longer payment period provided that it is not grossly unfair to the creditor.

Judgment II FSK 1383/24 concerns corporate income tax (CIT). It does not determine the separate rules governing bad debt relief under value added tax (VAT), so the two taxes require separate analysis.

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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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