The Director of National Tax Information Office (KIS), in an individual interpretation of 22 August 2025 (ref. 0111-KDIB3-2.4018.8.2024.10.MGO), confirmed that a branch of a foreign company may use the tax identification number (NIP) assigned to the parent company. This position was issued following the ruling of the Supreme Administrative Court of 8 May 2025 (ref. III FSK 172/25), which ruled that the NIP Act does not impose an obligation on a branch to have a separate identification number.
Background to the case
The case concerned a foreign company that started operating in Poland in 2013 and obtained its own NIP number at that time. Two years later, it registered a branch in Poland, which was assigned a second NIP number under the so-called ‘one-stop shop’ procedure. The company used its parent number for VAT and CIT settlements, while the branch used its number only for PIT and social security and health insurance contributions.
In practice, this solution caused many difficulties. Contractors, when verifying data in the National Court Register, used the branch’s NIP number, which led to errors on invoices and problems in verifying VAT status. The company indicated that the situation would become even more burdensome after the full implementation of the National e-Invoice System, where the different numbers would prevent the correct circulation of documents.
Content of the question and the company’s position
The applicant asked whether it could use the tax identification number (NIP) assigned to the parent company for all tax obligations in Poland, including personal income tax (PIT). In the company’s opinion, since the branch is not a separate entity in legal and tax terms, it should not have its own NIP number.
Assessment of tax authorities and courts
Initially, the Director of the National Tax Information Office considered the company’s position to be incorrect. After the interpretation was appealed, the Provincial Administrative Court in Poznań, in its judgment of 3 December 2024 (I SA/Po 532/24), overturned the interpretation, finding that the Act on the Rules for the Registration and Identification of Taxpayers and Payers (the so-called NIP Act) does not provide for the obligation to assign two identification numbers to the same entity.
The Supreme Administrative Court in Poland, in its judgment of 8 May 2025 (III FSK 172/25), confirmed this assessment, pointing out that Article 5(1) of the NIP Act establishes the principle of a single identification registration, and that this provision applies accordingly to payers of taxes and contributions. The Supreme Administrative Court emphasised that the activities performed by the branch are the activities of the company itself, and the employment of employees does not create a separate registration obligation.
In compliance with the court’s ruling, the Director of the National Tax Information Office re-examined the case and found the applicant’s position to be correct.
Justification for the interpretation
In the interpretation of 22 August 2025, the Director of the National Tax Information Office referred to the following provisions:
- the Act on the rules of participation of foreign entrepreneurs – according to which a branch is only an organisationally separate part of an entrepreneur, and not an independent entity;
- the Act on Tax Identification Numbers (NIP) – in particular Articles 2 and 5, indicating that identification registration is made once, regardless of the number of activities conducted or functions performed as a payer;
- the Tax Ordinance – defining the taxpayer and payer;
- and the case law of administrative courts, which consistently rejected the thesis of the ‘tax separateness’ of a branch.
The Director of the National Tax Information Office emphasised that the parent company – as a VAT and CIT taxpayer – had already fulfilled its registration obligation and obtained a NIP number. The establishment of a branch and the employment of staff does not create a new entity and therefore does not justify the re-assignment of an identification number. As a result, the branch may use the NIP number assigned to the parent company also when fulfilling its PIT payer obligations.
Significance for entrepreneurs in terms of the NIP number
The interpretation of 22 August 2025 represents a significant simplification for foreign companies operating in Poland through branches. It confirms that if a branch does not have independent legal personality and acts on behalf of its parent company, it is not required to obtain a separate NIP number.
This ruling eliminates previous interpretative doubts and reduces the risk of errors in settlements and electronic systems such as National E-Invoicing System (KSeF) in Poland.
If a branch of a foreign company has its own NIP number and its actual situation is similar to that described in the interpretation, the entrepreneur may, after consulting the relevant tax office, consider standardising tax identification.
Following the ruling of the Supreme Administrative Court of 8 May 2025 and the interpretation of the Director of the National Tax Information Office of 22 August 2025, it was confirmed that a branch of a foreign company may use the same NIP number as its parent company, also in relation to its obligations as a PIT payer. This decision ends several years of interpretative dispute and introduces a uniform practice in the field of taxpayer and payer records.
If you have any further questions regarding tax regulations or other legal aspects of doing business in Poland, please contact the getsix® team.
Legal basis:
- Act of 13 October 1995 on the rules for recording and identifying taxpayers and payers (Journal of Laws of 2024, item 1625)
- Judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court of 8 May 2025, ref. no. III FSK 172/25
- Individual interpretation of the Director of National Tax Information Office (KIS) of 22 August 2025, ref. no. 0111-KDIB3-2.4018.8.2024.10.MGO
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