Poland amends late-payment interest regulation on tax remission refusals

Poland’s Minister Finansów i Gospodarki has amended the 2005 regulation governing the calculation of late-payment interest and the prolongation fee, replacing the introductory wording of § 8 on decisions that refuse remission of a tax or of a tax arrears. The change was published in the Dziennik Ustaw Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej of 21 September 2026 as Dz. U. 2026 poz. 1228 and takes effect on 1 October 2026. It applies to every taxpayer who seeks relief in paying tax obligations and receives a negative decision.

The amending regulation is dated 18 September 2026 and was issued under art. 58 and art. 87 § 5 of the Ordynacja podatkowa (Tax Ordinance) of 29 August 1997, whose consolidated text is Dz. U. z 2026 r. poz. 622, as subsequently amended. It modifies the Minister Finansów regulation of 22 August 2005 on the calculation of late-payment interest and the prolongation fee and on the scope of information that invoices must contain, published in the consolidated text Dz. U. z 2021 r. poz. 703.

The amendment is deliberately narrow. Only the introductory phrase (wprowadzenie do wyliczenia) of § 8 is replaced; the enumerated items that follow it are left untouched, and no interest rate, prolongation fee or invoicing requirement is altered.

What the new wording says

The replaced phrase now reads: “Jeżeli decyzja odmawiająca umorzenia podatku albo odmawiająca umorzenia zaległości podatkowej została doręczona podatnikowi:” — that is, “If the decision refusing remission of a tax or refusing remission of a tax arrears has been served on the taxpayer:”.

• The provision covers two distinct decisions: refusal to remit a tax (umorzenie podatku) and refusal to remit a tax arrears (umorzenie zaległości podatkowej).
• The operative trigger remains service of that decision on the taxpayer (doręczenie podatnikowi).
• The list of information that must follow the introductory phrase is unchanged.
• Rates of late-payment interest and the prolongation fee are not affected.

Issuing authority and legal basis

The regulation was signed on behalf of the Minister Finansów i Gospodarki by J. Neneman, acting in place of the minister (wz.). The ministry directs the government administration department for public finances under § 1 ust. 2 pkt 3 of the Prezes Rady Ministrów regulation of 25 July 2025 on the detailed scope of the minister’s activity (Dz. U. poz. 997).

The parent statute’s consolidated text has been amended repeatedly in 2026, with the changes published in Dz. U. z 2026 r. poz. 825, 846, 875, 1098, 1154 and 1206.

Key dates

• 18 September 2026 — the amending regulation is signed.
• 21 September 2026 — it is published in the Dziennik Ustaw as poz. 1228.
• 1 October 2026 — it enters into force.

The regulation contains only two operative provisions: § 1, which replaces the § 8 introductory phrase, and § 2, which sets the entry into force.

The practical effect falls on the administrative decision itself. Taxpayers who apply for remission of a tax or of arrears and are refused will receive a decision whose reasoning is anchored to the revised wording, which distinguishes explicitly between the two grounds for refusal. Because the change is limited to the introductory phrase, it clarifies the framing of the refusal rather than the substantive criteria or the amounts at stake, and it applies uniformly to all proceedings concluded on or after 1 October 2026.

Source: Dziennik Ustaw Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej, No. 1228 of 21 September 2026, section I (official reference: Dz. U. 2026 poz. 1228).