Tax authorities lose easy access to bank accounts under new Polish rules

In brief

• Poland's Sejm has approved changes limiting the tax administration's access to citizens' bank accounts.
• Under the new rules, checks would be limited to people suspected of tax offences or crimes.
• The measures still need to pass the remaining legislative stages before taking effect.

Narrower access for the tax administration

The Sejm has approved changes that would curb how freely tax officials can look into private bank accounts. Under the new rules, KAS would no longer be able to review a citizen's finances as a precaution, without a specific basis (Dostęp KAS do kont bankowych. Nowe przepisy ograniczają uprawnienia skarbówki. Kiedy fiskus może sprawdzić konto bankowe obywatela? - Super Biznes – superbiz.se.pl) (Skarbówka. Sejm ogranicza dostęp urzędników do kont bankowych - Biznes w INTERIA.PL – interia.pl).

Who is affected and when checks would be allowed

Under the new framework, account checks would be possible only for people suspected of committing a tax offence or a crime. Officials would not gain a general view of someone's finances simply because it might turn up something useful. Commentators describe the change as ending the routine, broad scrutiny of private finances that had been possible until now (Kontrola skarbowa na nowych zasadach. Urzędnicy stracą łatwy dostęp do kont bankowych – eska.pl).

What changes for banks

Banks would only hand over customer data to KAS within the limits set by the new law. The tax administration would have to justify why it needs the information in each request, which makes the process more formal.

Status and next steps

The measures have passed the Sejm, but they still have to go through the remaining stages of the legislative process before they can take effect. Details of the implementation timetable have not been confirmed in the available reporting.