Tax office tries to impose retroactive VAT on IT sector

Until 2002, the sale of such licenses was exempt from VAT, but the Supreme Administrative Court (NSA) passed a verdict in a case back in November 2003, which allows the fiscal authorities to treat the sale of licenses by agents the same as software sales which are subject to VAT. Tax officials have already begun to inspect companies accounts, and these may include all the largest IT companies on the market such as Prokom, Computerland and Softbank. Ireneusz Dąbrowski, the head of the Polish IT and Telecommunication Chamber (PIiT) stated that, "The fiscal authorities are overinterpreting the facts," and added that, "It will end badly for the tax authorities in an even more restrictive way than in the case of Optimus". If the fiscal authorities will realize their plan, the losses of the sector may amount to tens of millions of złoty. (Puls Biznesu, pp. 1, 3, 4) E.B.