Computerization of the Fiscal Administration as One of the Conditions of Smart Administration in Poland

According to the dictionary of the Polish language, computerization is the use of modern methods of processing information in the economy, technology, etc.

Available at <https://sjp.pwn.pl/sjp/informatyzacja;2466206.html> accessed 24 November 2017

Since 2002, the Polish lawmakers have been considering computerization to be one of the divisions of government administration

See art 5, item 7a of the Act on the actions of government administration of 4 September 1997 (Journal of Laws of 2019, item 945, as amended)

The civilization transformations leading to the emergence of the information society are related to the growing importance of information, increasingly more services provided electronically and the use of information and communication technologies in many spheres of social life. These spheres include, among others, the economy and public administration.

J Boć (ed), Nauka administracji (Kolonia Limited 2013) 238

In the information society development strategy in Poland up to 2013, the information society was defined as such a society in which information processing using information and communication technologies is of significant social, economic and cultural value.

Ministry of the Interior and Administration, “The Development Strategy of the Information Society in Poland until 2013” (Warsaw, December 2008) <https://www.itu.int/net/wsis/review/inc/docs/rcreports/POL/StrategyForTheDevelopmentOfTheInformationSociety.pdf>

The legal doctrine has numerous definitions of the information society, all differing from each other. However, it is invariably the case that, in each of them, a fundamental role in the development of the information society is attributed to information. Information societies develop in countries with a high degree of technological development. The competitive factors that are of critical importance both in the area of industry and services are information management, the quality of information and the speed of information flow. Development requires the use of increasingly newer techniques for collecting, processing, transferring and using information.

M Ganczar, Informatyzacja administracji publicznej: Nowa jakość usług publicznych dla obywateli i przedsiębiorców (CeDeWu 2009) 15–18

As J. Boć emphasizes, smart administration encompasses people, affects them and is implemented by them. This is because only people constitute administration, and the actions taken by the administration is only targeted at them. The term smart administration is understood as administration primarily following logic and rationality, as a result of which it performs tasks in a manner that is consistent with the law, and simultaneously, without incurring any unnecessary costs and organizational efforts. The application of these criteria means that smart administration is able to avoid losses, which administration that cannot be classified as ‘smart’ would have incurred in the same situation and losses that the addressee of its actions could incur.

Boć (n 12) 369–370

According to A. Kamiński, a smart state is one in which the classic functions of authority make way for soft coordination, which is related to information flow. The actors operating in it behave responsibly and reasonably and the state itself must be a strong state, the condition of which is the maturity of the society. Smart administration can only develop in a state understood in this way. However, none of them exist without a mature civic society.

A Z Kamiński, ‘Administracja publiczna we współczesnym państwie’ in J Czaputowicz (ed), Administracja publiczna: Wyzwania w dobie integracji europejskiej (Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN 2011) 64

The prefix ‘e’ used in these terms comes from the English word ‘electronic’. It is placed before the words to emphasize that, in the given case, contacts between the organization and its customers take place electronically, using information and communication technologies (ICT).

A Kaczorowska, E-usługi administracji publicznej w warunkach zarządzania projektami (Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego 2013) 17

In Poland, e-administration and e-government are usually used interchangeably; although, in Anglo-Saxon terms, e-government has a broader meaning.

ibid 19

E-administration is a concept that defines such administration that uses information and communication technology. Its objective is to streamline information exchange with enterprises and other citizens, provide certain services and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the activities of the administration.

Burczyński (n 19) 26

The evidence that electronic administration in Poland is developing is the list of services that can be used electronically via the website of the Ministry of Digital Affairs. This list currently has 581 items.

E-usługi w administracji [E-services in administration] in: Website of the Ministry of Digital Affairs, accessed 25 November 2017

Although fiscal administration is one of the oldest administrations and its beginnings can be traced back many years, it is still subject to change. Once an exclusive prevailing prerogative, today it holds a subservient role to citizens, it has to address their expectations, no far-reaching burdens can be imposed on it. Particularly intense reforms of the fiscal administration in Poland started at the time of the economic transformation and then at the stage of adaptation of the domestic regulations to the EU guidelines. The fiscal administration, just as the whole of the administration, is constantly changing, developing and one of the manifestations of this process is its opening to new information technologies and the ever broader list of services, which citizens can use electronically. The fiscal administration, as an important part of the whole system of public administration needs to keep pace with the social and technological transformations, because this is necessary for the whole of the Polish administration to be capable of being referred to as smart.

Two fundamental parts can be distinguished in the Polish fiscal administration – the field authorities of government administration and the authorities of territorial self-government units.

The National Fiscal Administration (Krajowa Administracja Skarbowa – KAS) has been operating since March 2017, having been set up with three previously operating services reporting to the minister responsible for public finance: tax administration, fiscal audit and the customs service.

Krajowa Administracja Skarbowa [National Fiscal Administration] – brochure in: Online Service National Fiscal Information Service, accessed 24 November 2017

The list of tax authorities was written into the Tax Code by the lawmakers. In accordance with its regulations, the tax authorities, according to their responsibilities, are: the manager of the tax office, the manager of the customs and fiscal office, the mayor, the head of the county, the marshal of the voivodship, the director of the fiscal administration chamber, the local authority board of appeal, the Head of the National Fiscal Administration, the Director of the National Fiscal Information Office and the minister responsible for public finance. The Council of Ministers may also award the rights of tax authorities to such bodies as the Head of the Intelligence Agency, the Head of the Internal Security Agency, the Head of the Central Anticorruption Bureau, the Head of the Military Intelligence Service and the Head of the Military Counterintelligence Service by way of a regulation. The premises for issuing of such a regulation are the protection of classified information and requirements of state security.

See arts 13 and 13a of the Tax Code of 29 August 1997 (Journal of Laws of 2019, item 900, as amended)

However, the Act on the KAS contains a list of authorities that jointly constitute the National Fiscal Administration. The lawmakers included among them: the minister responsible for public finance, the Head of the National Fiscal Administration, the director of the National Fiscal Information Office, the director of the fiscal administration chamber, the head of the tax office and the head of the customs and fiscal office.

See art 11 of the Act on the KAS

The ability to pay stamp duty electronically is provided for by the Act on stamp duty, according to which, this payment is made at the cash desk of the appropriate tax authority or to its account. In order to more efficiently handle matters of public administration, the Act also introduced the right of the legislative body of the municipality to pass resolutions on the collection of stamp duty by way of collection.

See art 8 of the Act on stamp duty of 16 November 2006 (Journal of Laws of 2019, item 1000, as amended)

Stamp duty is payable on the performance of official transactions on the basis of a notification or a request, issuing a certificate on request, issuing an authorisation, submission of a document confirming the award of a power of attorney or official representation (its extract, excerpt or copy) in court proceedings or in the matters of public administration. Stamp duty is also payable on the performance of those activities by the entity performing public administration tasks (not being a body of government or self-government administration).

See art 1 of the Act on stamp duty

As J. Masiak indicates, in international terms, it is the tax authorities that are the leaders in the provision of services electronically. The benefits to the citizens arising from the computerization of the procedures related to taxes are the simplification of the submission of information to the tax authorities, as well as the possibility of easier access to information on changes in the tax law.

Matusiak (n 20) 139

The ability to pay tax liabilities electronically became possible as a result of the Tax Code. In accordance with the current regulations, it is possible to submit declarations via means of electronic communication unless specific provisions provide otherwise. The submission of a tax return in this way will be confirmed in the form of an electronic document (by the tax authority, an electronic mailbox for receiving documents in the ICT system or the tax portal).

See art 3a of the Tax Code

The ICT system of the Polish fiscal administration is the Tax Portal. Its objective is to be to support taxpayers correctly perform their tax obligations. It can be used to submit tax returns electronically, as well as find information on the individual taxes, a schedule with the most important dates and pre-filled tax returns. The portal also provides the ability to check the status of the entity regarding VAT and check the tax ID number, as well as containing various types of calculators (calculators of PIT, VAT, inflation and statutory interest, foreign exchange, default interest on tax arrears and renewal fees). After logging onto the portal, access can be obtained to the tax returns that have been submitted and pending matters. It is also possible to communicate electronically with the tax authorities, through the ability to submit and receive correspondence. The e-Deklaracje [e-tax returns] IT system, which constitutes a part of the e-Podatki [e-Tax] system (implemented within the framework of the e-Declarations2 project) enables the submission of tax returns electronically. Tax returns may be submitted with such tools as the taxpayer's account on the Tax Portal, a PFR pre-filled tax return, electronic forms, e-Deklaracje Desktop application and a Universal Documents Gateway. The portal declares that over 62 million electronic documents had been submitted by the end of 2016.

Tax Portal, access on 25 November 2017

The PUESC platform is a single point of access to the e-services offered by the National Fiscal Administration within the scope of the support and control of trading in goods with other states and the trading of excise products. The platform also gives access to the customs databases (EU e-Service). The e-Klient [e-Customer] service gives access to electronic services provided by KAS. It gives access to data and information and enables the registration arising from the regulations in one application. The following services are or will shortly be available in the e-Klient service:

Katalog e-Usług [List of e-Services] in: Online Electronic Fiscal and Customs Services Platform, [access: 24/11/2017]