The tax office can check how entrepreneurs use cars. There are severe penalties

The Krakow tax office discovered that the taxpayer also drives a company car on days about which he did not inform the tax office. The tax office sent a letter requesting explanations. “Dziennik Gazeta Prawna” writes about the case.

The tax office has been using ANPRS for years

In the above-mentioned letter, the tax office informs that it has evidence of unreported car journeys. The data was obtained from ANPRS – Automatic Registration Number Recognition System.

The system works in real time, analyzing the image from the cameras and transforming it into a text record of the number. It can simultaneously analyze images from up to 50 cameras. It takes into account what “sees” city surveillance cameras, police cameras or ANPRS cameras. Its originators are the tax administrations of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. In Poland, ANPRS has been used by the tax office since the end of 2017.

The National Tax Administration (KAS) may identify the vehicle’s registration number at the checkpoint and use the information obtained in any inspection or verification activities. Already in May 2018, KAS confirmed to “Dziennik Gazeta Prawna” that ANPRS is used to “obtain evidence for the purposes of customs and tax proceedings and investigative activities.”

– Car journeys that are not known to the tax office may cost the entrepreneur the equivalent of half of the VAT. The rule is to deduct only 50%. VAT charged on invoices documenting expenses related to the purchase, operation and use of a passenger car. To deduct the entire VAT, the entrepreneur must keep records of the vehicle’s mileage, develop detailed regulations for the use of the car and register the vehicle at the tax office on form VAT-26. The records must include, among others: details of each trip, including a description of the route and the number of kilometers traveled – writes the daily.

Meanwhile, the above-mentioned letter from the Krakow tax office shows that the records kept by the entrepreneur may turn out to be unreliable. The ANPRS system recorded car journeys on days that the entrepreneur did not include in the records. If the tax office’s suspicions are confirmed, the entrepreneur will have to pay back half of the deducted VAT.

As the newspaper writes, the letter does not indicate that it was a single, unrecorded trip. The list of such cases is included in a separate annex. The tax office most likely provided a list of dates, times and locations of readings. He called on the entrepreneur to provide explanations within 7 days.

The office’s letter was published on social media and sparked a wave of discussion. Some Internet users believe that we are dealing with surveillance. Others point out that the tax office cannot trust taxpayers only on their word and must have some control tools.