9 awards for MDDP in the Rzeczpospolita Tax Advisory Firms Ranking 2026

MDDP distinguished as many as 9 times in the latest Rzeczpospolita Ranking of Tax Advisory Firms

Tomasz Michalik named leader in VAT

Tomasz Michalik represented a client in a precedent-setting case before the CJEU, which led to a landmark judgment. The ruling confirmed that a married couple as a whole is a VAT taxpayer. As a result, tax authorities will no longer be able to force the sale to be taxed separately, half by each spouse.

There was also the first Polish tax case before the General Court of the EU, in which Tomasz Michalik acted as attorney. In MDDP’s view, the Polish legislator incorrectly made possession of a VAT invoice a condition for the right to deduct VAT to arise. The provision violates the Directive, which states that possession of an invoice is only a condition for exercising the right to deduct. The case may be of particular importance to taxpayers across the European Union.

Tomasz Michalik also secured a judgment of the Voivodeship Administrative Court confirming the need to take into account the EU principle of proportionality when applying provisions on tax interest. The court noted that interest on tax arrears is not a penalty for irregularities and is due only if the State Treasury has suffered an actual loss.

He also took part in disputes concerning additional VAT liabilities, achieving significant successes. In the first case, the sanction was to remain at the maximum level of 30%. The taxpayer applied a reduced rate instead of the 23% rate, but this was an obvious mistake – it had relied on an outdated individual tax ruling and, once the issue was pointed out, immediately corrected the rate and paid the arrears together with interest. The MDDP attorney ensured that the additional liability was reduced to a single-digit level, resulting in a difference of approximately PLN 30 million.

The second case concerned a correction made after the end of an audit and a sanction at the maximum level of 20%. The taxpayer made an error regarding the deduction of input tax and decided to make a correction. The authority initially applied a 19% sanction, but following discussions, the second-instance authority agreed to a symbolic sanction of only 0.5%.

Magdalena Marciniak named leader in transfer pricing

One of the projects carried out by Magdalena Marciniak in cooperation with Marta Klepacz was a comprehensive change to the model for settlements of guarantees and financing in an international telecommunications group. The transaction value amounted to nearly PLN 1 billion. The model covered five companies, each of which acted simultaneously as a guarantor, a beneficiary of guarantees, and an entity incurring and re-invoicing financing costs. The MDDP team adapted the settlement model to current business realities, the functional profiles of the companies, OECD guidelines, Polish transfer pricing regulations, and the current practice of tax authorities and administrative courts.

Magdalena Marciniak also led the advisory team that analysed the impact of transfer pricing regulations on the deposit return system. The MDDP team was the first to identify the significance of transfer pricing regulations in the context of the deposit return system and prepared an expert opinion in cooperation with lawyers. The analysis enabled the implementation of a project involving a multi-threaded review of relationships between companies, consideration of the entire mechanism of the deposit return system, and verification of the cooperation model between companies for compliance with the arm’s length principle. The project, led by Magdalena Marciniak together with Marta Klepacz, was one of the first of its kind in Poland – carried out shortly after the regulations entered into force and in the absence of market, interpretative, and case law practice.

Magdalena Marciniak also successfully completed, in cooperation with Magdalena Dymkowska, a multi-threaded verification project of a transfer pricing model in an international group, including in the context of GloBE. The work involved comprehensive and strategic transfer pricing advisory for a large international capital group, in which transfer pricing forms the foundation of intra-group cooperation. The MDDP team conducted more than 20 benchmarking analyses, coordinated cooperation with foreign advisers, and ensured at every stage of the project that the transfer pricing model was integrated with other taxes and the group policy.

Magdalena Marciniak, together with Julia Skóra, also represented a company from the food sector during a customs and tax audit concerning transfer pricing settlements for FY2020/2021. The tax authorities challenged the profitability level of sales of goods to related parties, seeking to significantly increase the EBIT margin. The team managed by Magdalena Marciniak conducted multi-level benchmarking analyses – calculations for individual streams of goods and their variants, as well as intra-group and market comparisons. As a result of the MDDP team’s work, the authority accepted the increased profitability, the final amount was reduced by more than ten times, and the payment amounted to PLN 0.3 million in CIT and concerned only one year.

Rafał Kran named leader in real estate

Rafał Kran, in cooperation with Monika Dziedzic, carried out a complex, multi-threaded advisory project covering the preparation and handling of applications for the confirmation of tax overpayments in several towns and cities across Poland. These applications concerned the application of a tax exemption for railway infrastructure.

A key element of the project was a precedent-setting Polish case before the CJEU concerning property tax and the future of tax reliefs. Its positive outcome allowed the submitted applications to be successfully reviewed by the tax authorities. The Court confirmed that the exemption for private railway sidings was not selective and constituted an element of the “normal tax”. The judgment is important both from the perspective of owners of railway sidings and the state. Taxpayers may expect favourable outcomes in their proceedings, gain certainty regarding their situation without the risk of having to return state aid with interest, and continue to submit applications for confirmation of overpayments for 2020–2021. From the state’s perspective, the key point is the confirmation that it may freely shape the system of tax preferences.

Another key aspect of Rafał Kran’s work was supporting a client from the fuel sector in the tax settlement of the largest industrial investment in Europe, worth several dozen billion zlotys, in terms of fixed assets and determining the property tax base. Rafał Kran developed a methodology enabling the precise separation of thousands of components according to whether they are subject to property tax or do not increase the tax base.

Rafał Kran also handled proceedings concerning overpayments resulting from the application of the property tax rate for residential buildings to private student houses classified as residential buildings in the land and building register. As a result, he secured a precedent-setting judgment of the Voivodeship Administrative Court confirming the right to apply the lower property tax rate. Thanks to the ruling, the owners obtained a basis for paying a tax 30 times lower and the right to recover the overpayment.

Jakub Warnieło named leader in proceedings

Jakub Warnieło, together with Tomasz Michalik, represented a client in the first Polish tax case before the General Court of the EU. The MDDP team argued that the Polish legislator incorrectly treated possession of a VAT invoice as a condition for the right to deduct VAT to arise, thereby violating the Directive. Under the EU directive, possession of an invoice is only a condition for exercising the right to deduct. The case may be of key importance to taxpayers across the European Union.

Jakub Warnieło, together with Paweł Mazurkiewicz and Bartosz Doroszuk, represented a client in a case that ended with a precedent-setting judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court concerning the correction of foreign exchange differences, with implications for all corrections of tax returns. The Supreme Administrative Court held that taxpayers may correct a tax return with respect to a statement on the application of the foreign exchange differences method even after the end of the tax year, and that such a statement may be changed like any other element of the return. The ruling allows the mechanism to be applied not only in the future but also to past periods.

Jakub Warnieło, in cooperation with Aleksandra Bulaszewska and Marta Klepacz, contributed to the first judgment in Poland of the Supreme Administrative Court concerning irregularities in deliveries via the e-Tax Office. The court confirmed that provisions concerning attorneys modify the general rules on the possibility of delivering letters via the e-Tax Office, and that the delivery address indicated in the power of attorney is binding on the tax authorities. Correspondence should therefore be sent to that address.

Jakub Warnieło also acted as attorney in a case in which the Voivodeship Administrative Court issued a judgment confirming the need to take into account the EU principle of proportionality when applying provisions on tax interest. The court confirmed that interest on arrears is due only when the State Treasury has suffered an actual loss.

Jakub Warnieło was also involved in an important judgment of the Voivodeship Administrative Court concerning the imposition of VAT sanctions on taxpayers. The judgment confirmed that there were no grounds for imposing an additional VAT liability on the company. The court found that there had been no tax loss, only an incorrect allocation of tax, and therefore there were no grounds to impose a VAT sanction. The court also confirmed that a VAT sanction is intended to counteract tax fraud and abuse as well as real problems with tax collection. For this reason, it was held that if neither of these situations occurs in a given case, imposing a VAT sanction is disproportionate to the infringement.

Aleksandra Bulaszewska named Young Talent in tax advisory

Aleksandra Bulaszewska specialises in tax and court proceedings. In 2025, she successfully supported clients in multi-million disputes concerning, among others, VAT, excise duty, and transfer pricing, which ended with significant rulings before courts and tax authorities. The Chapter recognised both the broad range of cases in which she was involved and the significance of the rulings obtained for tax practice.

One of the key cases in which she participated was a landmark ruling of the Supreme Administrative Court concerning the ineffectiveness of delivering a decision to an attorney’s account in the e-Tax Office. In judgment ref. II FSK 895/25, the Supreme Administrative Court confirmed for the first time that tax authorities are bound by the address indicated in the power of attorney and cannot freely choose the delivery channel.

Aleksandra Bulaszewska was also involved in one of the most important Polish VAT cases before EU courts in recent years, which ended with the first judgment of the General Court of the EU in a VAT case. Case ref. T-689/24 concerned the possibility of exercising the right to deduct VAT earlier.

An important element of her work was also effective support for clients in disputes conducted at the stage of tax proceedings. Aleksandra Bulaszewska contributed to the recovery of an excise duty overpayment exceeding PLN 1 million on so-called crew vans, paid after a customs and tax audit. Importantly, the positive resolution was obtained already at the level of the tax authority, after an effective appeal was filed and the first-instance authority issued a self-review decision.

She also supported a client from the renewable energy sector in a dispute concerning VAT settlements for complex projects, which allowed the arrears identified in the audit to be significantly reduced. In another case, she contributed to the authority’s withdrawal from enforcement against the client’s assets, initiated on the basis of an unfavourable interpretation of Article 89 of the Act on Enforcement Proceedings in Administration concerning the attachment of future monetary receivables. Thanks to effective explanations, the authority accepted the company’s arguments as correct and discontinued further actions.

Aleksandra Bulaszewska is also a co-author of the MDDP and Lewiatan Confederation report “Entrepreneurs under the tax authorities’ scrutiny. Difficult relations between taxpayers and tax authorities”, which analyses control activities of tax authorities in 2019–2024. She conducts training sessions in tax law, participates in reviewing legislative changes, and publishes articles and press comments on tax disputes.

MDDP awarded three times in the category of disputes before courts

Win in the VAT category for case C-213/24, Grzera

The CJEU issued a precedent-setting ruling in a case handled by MDDP experts. The case concerned who should be treated as the taxpayer in the sale of plots of land under statutory marital joint ownership – each spouse separately or the married couple. Contrary to the position of Poland and the European Commission, the CJEU agreed with MDDP’s position that, in such a situation, the taxpayer is the married couple. The married couple should be recognised as the taxpayer in relation to these transactions, registered for VAT, and bear all related consequences.

The ruling is precedent-setting across the entire EU and, in Poland, breaks with the practice of tax authorities that forced the sale to be taxed half by each spouse. Previous decisions issued in line with the earlier practice may and should be withdrawn from legal circulation and replaced by a decision concerning the married couple.

The married couple should also be registered as a taxpayer and deduct the input tax paid on services acquired in connection with the transaction in order to reduce the amount of their liability. The attorney representing the taxpayer before the CJEU was Tomasz Michalik. The second attorney was Mirosława Zachar, and Marek Przybylski and Dominika Woroszyło from MDDP also participated in the case.

Win in the real estate tax category for case C-453/23, Prezydent Miasta Mielca

MDDP represented a client in a case in which the CJEU issued a precedent-setting judgment concerning property tax and the future of tax reliefs. The Court held that the exemption concerning private railway sidings was generally not selective. In particular, this was because its beneficiaries were entities from various sectors, such as railway, mining, refining, and manufacturing, meaning that the group of recipients did not constitute a coherent category, which ruled out selectivity. At the same time, the Court indicated that the exemption forms part of the “normal tax” and is not an exception to it, which follows from the nature of property tax in Poland.

Taxpayers with open or suspended proceedings may expect favourable rulings. For those who have already effectively used the exemption, this means their position is secured and the risk of having to return state aid with interest disappears. Taxpayers who have not yet used the exemption may still submit applications for confirmation of overpayments for 2020–2021. The ruling also confirms the autonomy of states in the area of non-harmonised taxes and their freedom to shape systems of tax preferences. The judgment was delivered on 29 April 2025. The client was represented in Luxembourg by Rafał Kran and Monika Dziedzic.

Win in the substantive and procedural law category for case II FSK 895/25

The Supreme Administrative Court issued the first final ruling in Poland concerning irregularities in delivering letters to attorneys via the e-Tax Office. The case concerned whether a tax authority may effectively deliver a decision to an attorney’s e-Tax Office account despite a different delivery address being indicated in the power of attorney. In its ruling of 8 October 2025, ref. II FSK 895/25, the Supreme Administrative Court agreed with the arguments of MDDP’s attorneys and found such practice to be incorrect.

The Supreme Administrative Court confirmed that tax authorities do not have complete freedom in choosing the communication channel with an attorney. If a specific delivery address is indicated in the power of attorney, such as e-Delivery or ePUAP, the authority is bound by it and should direct correspondence to that address. The court therefore challenged the previous practice of authorities, which had assumed that provisions concerning the e-Tax Office allowed them to deliver letters regardless of the address indicated by the attorney.

The ruling has significant practical importance, as it may open the way to challenging the effectiveness of deliveries made via the e-Tax Office contrary to the content of a power of attorney. In some cases, this may mean that decisions did not effectively enter legal circulation and that their re-delivery will no longer be possible due to the expiry of the limitation period. The attorneys in this case were Jakub Warnieło, Marta Klepacz, and Aleksandra Bulaszewska.

MDDP named leader in the category of involvement in creating good tax law

MDDP was distinguished for its consistent commitment to the development and improvement of the quality of tax law in Poland.

The distinction reflects the broad activity of MDDP experts on many levels – from participation in work on systemic solutions, through reviewing legislative drafts, to handling cases of significant importance for tax practice. Particular recognition was given to MDDP’s involvement in the work of the VAT Expert Group, which supports the European Commission in the area of VAT, including in analysing new legislative initiatives and practical aspects of applying the regulations.

Precedent-setting cases handled by MDDP experts before EU courts were also of major importance. These included, among others, case C-213/24 Grzera, concerning VAT taxation of the sale of plots of land by spouses; case C-453/23, concerning property tax on railway sidings; and case T-689/24, concerning the right to deduct VAT and the challenge to national regulations making the exercise of that right dependent on receiving an invoice.

The Chapter also noted MDDP’s active participation in the legislative debate and in shaping tax practice in Poland. Experts submitted requests to the Ministry of Finance, including on discrepancies regarding the determination of the date of filing documents via the e-Delivery system, and prepared comments on draft amendments to the Tax Ordinance and the CIT Act, including in relation to the taxation of family foundations.

In 2025, MDDP attorneys represented clients in 85 proceedings before administrative courts, including 30 before the Supreme Administrative Court and 55 before Voivodeship Administrative Courts. The vast majority of cases ended with favourable rulings, confirming MDDP’s effectiveness and the firm’s real impact on the development of tax practice.

MDDP among leading firms advising listed companies

In the latest ranking by Rzeczpospolita and Parkiet in the category of advisory firms serving the largest number of listed companies, MDDP once again ranked 6th.

“The Polish tax system is characterised by instability, which is a challenge for all entrepreneurs. For listed companies, fulfilling their reporting obligations is crucial – it is a priority for them. For this reason, we make every effort not only to guarantee maximum certainty as to the correctness of their tax settlements, but also to go beyond the standard and provide the highest possible quality,” – says Tomasz Michalik, tax adviser and partner at MDDP.

“Listed companies are also increasingly engaging in investments outside Poland. They are usually accustomed to and prepared for proper planning of such investments in order to avoid potential negative consequences. Foreign activities require proper care in determining tax consequences both in the home country and in the country where the investment is made.

We are also seeing a steadily growing interest among listed companies in new technologies. This usually involves entering entirely new areas and modifying the rules of operation in the field of taxation. We understand this well, which is why we focus on cooperation with highly specialised tax advisers,” – adds Tomasz Michalik.