Poland to Postpone Introduction of GAAR

The Polish Ministry of Finance has announced that it will postpone the introduction of a new general antiavoidance rule, citing a “need of further analysis.”

The government was to adopt amendments to the 1997 Tax Code, including a new GAAR clause, at its weekly meeting on May 5. A prior GAAR was declared unconstitutional in 2004 by the Constitutional Tribunal and has been repealed.

The draft GAAR was criticized by numerous observers for being vague and requiring too much interpretation by the tax authorities. Perhaps fearing another constitutional challenge, the government has decided to give the MOF time to prepare a new draft.