On 26 February 2019 the Supreme Administrative Court reversed the ruling of the Provincial Administrative Court in Bydgoszcz regarding real estate tax charged on technical parts of wind farms in 2017. The reversal was further to a pleading made by lawyers at Dentons law firm that the Provincial Administrative Court had in fact failed to present its stance regarding Poland’s breach of its notification obligation relating to state aid in connection with this taxation. The ruling is a far cry from the administration of justice that had been applied by the Supreme Administrative Court. The case will be returned to the first instance court, which will finally have to comprehensively handle the issue of aid.

The investor was represented in the proceedings before the Supreme Administrative Court by members of the Dentons Tax Team: partner Cezary Przygodzki, Dr. Michał Bernat, and Dariusz Stolarek.

Dentons law firm represents numerous entities operating in the wind energy sector in cases concerning real estate tax charged on wind farms after 1 January 2017. Dentons’ lawyers prepared detailed argumentation with regard to, among other, state aid, which provides that only construction parts of wind farms are liable to this tax, hence it should not be charged on technical elements of this type of power plants, which are much more expensive.

Last year the Supreme Administrative Court took note of the pleadings made by Dentons’ lawyers representing the Taxpayers’ Rights Association and decided – in the form of a so-called signalling ruling – to forward an official notice to the Prime Minister informing it about inconsistencies regarding the Act of 2016 on Wind Power Plants Investments.

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