Under the Act of June 8, 2022, amending certain acts in order to automate the handling of certain matters by the National Tax Administration (Journal of Laws of 2022, item 1301), electronic delivery and automation of the process of issuing certificates using an account in the e-Tax Office has been introduced. According to Article 306ka of the Tax Ordinance Act of August 29, 1997 (Journal of Laws of 2022, item 2651), if certificates are generated automatically in the e-Tax Office, the provisions of Section VIIIA concerning the issuance of certificates of the Tax Ordinance Act apply accordingly.
Furthermore, in accordance with Article 35c (1) of the Act of November 16, 2016, on the National Tax Administration (Journal of Laws of 2022, item 813, as amended), the Head of the National Tax Administration issues letters generated automatically in the e-Tax Office. According to paragraph 4 of the above-mentioned provision, handling a matter in the e-Tax Office is equivalent to handling the matter by the competent KAS authority.
As also indicated in the communication issued by the National Chamber of Tax Advisers, “electronic certificates should be treated on an equal footing with paper documents. An electronic document (file) downloaded from the e-Tax Office has the same legal force as a traditional paper document. The certificate delivered to the taxpayer’s account in the service is marked with a qualified electronic seal of the Head of the National Tax Administration or a qualified electronic signature by an authorized employee of the tax office.”
E-certificates in tenders
Contracting authorities sometimes have doubts as to whether to accept e-certificates issued by the tax office, especially when they are stamped with an electronic seal. Recently, the Public Procurement Office issued an opinion stating that “it should be considered permissible to submit a certificate issued in the form of an electronic document by the e-Tax Office as a subjective means of proof confirming the absence of grounds for exclusion within the meaning of Article 109(1)(1) of the Public Procurement Law in a public procurement procedure.” The opinion is available at: https://www.gov.pl/web/uzp/zaswiadczenie-wydawane-przez-e-urzad-skarbowy-jako-podmiotowy-srodek-dowodowy