VAT real estate transactions
The sale or purchase of real estate is associated with the turnover of significant amounts of money from the perspective of any business. The process of buying or selling real estate is preceded by a lot of analysis starting with market analysis, location, purpose of the property, and, of course, ending with property valuation.
Trading in real estate involves many risks, which must be properly identified, verified even before the transaction. Often, a very wrongly overlooked aspect is the verification of the planned transaction in terms of VAT settlements. Failure to properly verify a transaction involving real estate can lead to mistakes in aspects such as VAT taxpayer status, first settlement, correct VAT rate, eligibility for exemption, profitability and efficiency of the planned method of acquiring or disposing of real estate.
Real estate transactions are one of the types of VAT transactions where many a doubt can arise. Given the amount of both domestic and EU case law, as well as the changing practice of the tax authorities, leaving this issue without proper care can result in severe consequences that may even impinge on the profitability of the transaction being carried out.
Therefore, already at the stage of planning the transaction, we should dispel all doubts about the principles of settlement of this transaction, in order to avoid unnecessary and costly complications whether at the stage of the transaction itself or already after it has been carried out.
Who is it for?
- Is your company planning to sell a property?
- Is your company planning to purchase real estate?
- Your corporate group plans to transfer real estate among its members?
- Do you own a sizable property that you plan to sell after subdividing it in advance and adjusting it to market needs?
- Are you planning to start a real estate development or construction business?
Our support scope:
- Analysis of the VAT taxpayer status of the planned transaction.
- Analysis of the appropriate method of taxation of the real estate purchase/sale transaction.
- Analysis of the profitability of the planned method of acquiring real estate in the group.
- Comprehensive support in the examination of real estate for VAT.
Contact one of our experts on VAT
Winning the case before the Supreme Administrative Court
on tax control for 2013 and determination of tax liability. Ref. act II FSK 585/20
Winning the case before the Supreme Administrative Court
regarding the Company's CIT exemption. Ref. act II FSK 1250/22
Winning case before the Voivodeship Administrative Court
on alleged abuse of VAT law. Ref. no. III Sa/Wa 203/22
Judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court, ref. no. I FSK 1816/20
The court objected to the very common approach among the tax authorities, but also often among the courts, of attributing an implicit awareness of participation in a fraud by pointing out that the evidence on the record did not show that such awareness existed. The court ordered that very precise criteria be taken into account that would make such awareness of fraud plausible.
Judgment of the Voivodeship Administrative Court in Warsaw (III SA/Wa 2555/20)
Judgment on abuse of rights. The court questioned the authorities' instrumental attempts to apply the concept of abuse of rights, pointing out that the conditions for abuse were not met in the evidence on the record.
Winning case before the CJEU. C-395/09
The right to deduct input tax when purchasing services from countries considered to be tax havens, Oasis East Ltd.
Winning case before the CJEU. C-395/09
The incompatibility with Community law of Polish provisions concerning the restriction of the right of entrepreneurs to deduct VAT on the purchase of passenger cars and fuel for them, Magoora Sp. z o.o.
Winning case before the CJEU. C-313/05
Excise duty levied on imported second-hand cars in connection with their first registration in Poland, Maciej Brzezinski
Most conducted and won cases when representing taxpayers before the CJEU among all Polish attorneys.
Jerzy Martini - author and co-author of Commentary on the VAT Directive (Unimex ed.)
Jerzy Martini - author, co-author and editor of Commentary to the VAT Act (publ. C.H.Beck)
Jerzy Martini - author and co-author of "VAT in the jurisprudence of the European Court of Justice" (publ. C.H.Beck)
Marek Wojda - co-author of Commentary on the VAT Directive (Unimex ed.) and the VAT Act (C.H.Beck ed.)
Featured in the 'Law firm on Linkedin - a practical guide' by legal marketing agency Tomczak Stanisławski.
Repeatedly recognised in the rankings of Rzeczpospolita and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
We teach at universities, including the School of Economics
Jerzy Martini honoured annually in the prestigious Chambers & Partners ranking, indicated as Band I (highest possible level) in the individual ranking of tax advisers in the Tax Consultants category.