More and more VAT audits, risk of sanctions increases
The VAT gap is growing again and this is causing the tax authorities to put VAT settlements under the microscope. Experts point to new trends in audits - there are more of them and they increasingly concern VAT. According to experts, the tax authorities will also impose a VAT sanction on taxpayers more frequently. The regulations in force since June 2023 allow to moderate the amount of sanctions, but it will be more difficult for taxpayers to avoid them, writes the Prawo.pl portal.
Dr Grzegorz Keler of Thedy & Partners, when asked by the portal, points out that one can observe an increased interest of the authorities in withholding tax settlements. Controls not infrequently concern distant periods and are directed, for example, at determining whether the recipient of the payment was its actual beneficiary. It is therefore worth reviewing the payments made, which could potentially be subject to withholding tax, in terms of meeting the conditions for the application of a tax exemption or a reduced tax rate on the basis of a double tax treaty.
There is also no shortage of audits directed at the area of transfer pricing. The authorities clearly make use of additional sources of information allowing them to select entities for audit. Transfer pricing information (TPR) in particular is important in this respect. The value of well-executed benchmarking analyses is therefore increasing.
VAT settlements continue to be of interest to the authorities. It seems that they are less likely to find classic tax carousels, but are interested in intangible services, among others. Taxpayers should therefore remember to document such services in a reliable manner, as the consequences of questioning by the tax authorities as to the actual nature of taxable activities are very serious, also in terms of criminal and penal-fiscal liability.
The main directions of inspections, as well as the practice of the authorities in the course of their conduct, indicate that the tax office is making increasingly effective use of tools facilitating the typing of entities for inspection, as a consequence of which they are potentially more effective. However, some of the controls are directed at issues that should not raise doubts in the authorities. It happens that the tax office questions actions which, in the light of the case law, were correct. In such cases, the aim of the authorities may be to change the jurisprudence line that is favourable to taxpayers. Especially in this type of situation, it is worth defending one’s position.
Entire article: Co kontroluje skarbówka w 2024 roku (prawo.pl)