Case Note Approving the Judgment of the Voivodeship Administrative Court in Warsaw of 26 February 2026, Case No. III SA/Wa 1692/25

This commentary provides an approving analysis of the judgment of the Voivodeship Administrative Court in Warsaw of 26 February 2026 (III SA/Wa 1692/25), concerning the application of the General Anti-Avoidance Rule (GAAR) to transport vehicle tax. The author supports the Court’s finding that the prerequisites for applying Article 119a of the Polish Tax Ordinance Act were met where a taxpayer established a branch in a municipality applying lower tax rates and allocated its fleet of vehicles to that branch despite the absence of any genuine business activity carried out there. At the same time, the Court correctly challenged the method used by the tax authority to calculate the tax benefit. The commentary emphasises the importance of properly reconstructing the counterfactual scenario and taking into account all actual public-law burdens borne by the taxpayer when determining the tax benefit and the additional tax liability. Particular attention is devoted to the systemic significance of the judgment as the first known case involving the application of GAAR to local taxes and its implications for future anti-avoidance practice.