Is the “plurality” of adjudication centres useful?
As a rule, in tax matters, the local jurisdiction of provincial administrative courts "follows" the authority. There are exceptions to this rule, such as in interpretation cases, where this jurisdiction is determined by the seat/place of residence of the taxpayer (applicant)," writes Lesław Mazur, tax adviser, Partner at Thedy & Partners, in Rzeczpospolita.
But let us focus on the principle and the so-called specialised tax authorities. There are categories of cases/entities that are dealt with by a specific, so-called specialised tax authority. This means that any complaints against their rulings go to a specific provincial administrative court (defined according to the seat of the authority). And although within each WSA it is possible to set up a panel of judges with different personalities, it is not without reason that there is a saying in the space about adjudication centres due to the single line of judgement often presented in this centre on a given issue, regardless of the panel of judges.
I know of a jurisprudence centre (provincial administrative court) in which no taxpayer – since the transfer of a given category of cases to the jurisdiction of this centre – has so far succeeded in winning his case. And this is in spite of the widespread positive practice of the tax authorities themselves in the past, the practically unchanging legislation, the previous positive rulings of other administrative courts, the consistency of doctrine, etc. And since the category of cases – of which I am writing – is quite common, this centre has already issued several dozen negative judgments for taxpayers, with several dozen more waiting in line.
The entire article can be read in Rzeczpospolita of 30 June 2023, p. A14