Glosa aprobująca do wyroku Naczelnego Sądu Administracyjnego z dnia 1 czerwca 2023 r. (sygn. akt II FSK 2899/20)
Glossa of approval to the judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court dated June 1, 2023 (file no. II FSK 2899/20)

Summary/Abstract: The subject of the commentary is to address the question of whether a tax authority, as a public administration body, is bound by factual findings made in decisions issued by other authorities in relation to a different taxpayer. Following an analysis of both the judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court (hereinafter: SAC) dated June 1, 2023 (file no. II FSK 2899/20), and the opinions of legal doctrine as well as the case law of administrative courts in this area, the response is negative. There is no doubt that decisions constitute official documents within the meaning of Article 194 § 1 of the Tax Ordinance (hereinafter: O.p.) and serve as proof of what has been officially stated therei. However, the nature of a decision as an official document does not imply the absolute obligation of the tax authority in a given case to adhere to the findings that served as the basis for issuing a decision in another case. Public administration authorities are, of course, entitled to use evidence collected in other proceedings, but this is invariably associated with the need to assess such evidence. This means that a tax authority may, regarding factual findings, align with the position expressed in a decision issued concerning another entity. However, this alignment does not stem from an obligation to do so but rather because the authority independently arrives at similar conclusions based on the evidence gathered. The fact that another authority, during the course of an inspection or proceeding involving a different taxpayer, collected evidence, evaluated it, and subsequently issued a decision, is not sufficient. The evidence must be gathered, analyzed, and evaluated by the authority conducting the specific proceeding.

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