The whole story began five years ago. “Since 2004, we have classified our products as characteristic Bolesławiec ceramics, artistic ceramics,” says Paweł Zwierz, co-owner of the “Manufaktura” Stoneware Vessel Factory. Ceramic products are subject to a 22% VAT rate; the exception is ordinary artistic ceramics, subject to only 7%. The company applied the lower rate, but tax officials decided that it should apply the higher one.
As Paweł Zwierz emphasizes, the case is not only about money. “If the rate were maintained at 22 percent, our products would prove impossible to sell in Poland—they would simply be too expensive,” says the co-owner of Manufaktura. “And that would lead to the elimination of many jobs. If the officials had their way, the three largest plants in Bolesławiec would have to significantly reduce their production. A centuries-old tradition, inseparably connected with our town, could disappear, just as the famous Polish faience from Włocławek did.”
What surprises Paweł Zwierz above all is that tax officials tried to question the nature of the company’s products, even though Manufaktura has all the required documents. Among other things, the company has a certificate from the National Artistic and Ethnographic Commission and an opinion from Prof. Jerzy Lis, head of the Department of Ceramic Technology at the AGH University of Science and Technology in Kraków.
According to researchers from AGH in Kraków, ordinary ceramics are “a type of ceramic product for everyday use [podkreślenie pochodzi od naukowca z AGH – przyp. red.]. They may be made from various types of materials. They are characterized mainly by a large amount of manual work (craftsmanship), considerable thickness (thick-walled products), low repeatability of shape (large dimensional tolerance), [...] and hand decoration (often distinctive and unique).” “Bolesławiec ceramics now reach tables around the world. Their craftsmanship and artistry satisfy the tastes of even the most demanding customers,” says Zwierz. “I have no doubt that this is precisely the kind of ceramics Manufaktura produces.”
The case ended up in court. Two years ago, the Voivodeship Administrative Court in Wrocław issued its ruling. This year, the Supreme Administrative Court did so. In both cases, the judges ruled in Manufaktura’s favor. “This case should never have reached the courtroom at all,” the entrepreneur comments. “All these proceedings only hold back the company’s development.”
We asked the tax officials on what grounds they had claimed that the company should charge 22 percent VAT. “The office never acts blindly,” says Janusz Kozłowski, spokesperson for the Tax Audit Office in Wrocław. “An expert appraiser was appointed in this case. There are regulations that taxpayers may dislike, but we are a state office and must enforce them,” he adds.
In a conversation with us, Kozłowski assured us that there had been no malice in the office’s actions. He also emphasized that he “does not rule out the possibility that someone may have made a mistake.”
Iwona Sługocka, spokesperson for the Tax Chamber in Wrocław, does not want to discuss the details of the case for reasons of taxpayer security. She notes that officials are waiting for the justification of the Supreme Administrative Court’s ruling. “We certainly will not dispute the Supreme Administrative Court’s ruling,” she adds.
(information ii)