On 27 July 2026, Renew Europe MEP Michał Kobosko submitted a parliamentary question to the European Commission, asking whether EU law precludes national tax authorities from recovering VAT years after businesses provided accommodation and food to Ukrainian refugees under a publicly organised aid scheme. The question, addressed to the Commission, highlights the case of Polish businesses that, between 2022 and 2024, participated in a state-run assistance programme with conditions and remuneration set by the authorities, only to face retrospective VAT assessments later. Kobosko's initiative seeks to protect these operators from what he frames as a breach of legal certainty, legitimate expectations, and proportionality under the VAT Directive (2006/112/EC) and general principles of EU law.
The question is a formal parliamentary instrument, allowing the MEP to press the Commission on its interpretation of EU tax law in a concrete, cross-border context. It contains three specific asks: first, whether the Commission considers retroactive VAT recovery incompatible with the VAT Directive and EU principles; second, whether such practice aligns with the predictability of tax law, particularly given that a Polish provincial administrative court in Wrocław (case ref. I SA/Wr 1/26) has referred questions to the Court of Justice of the European Union for a preliminary ruling; and third, whether the Commission plans to issue guidelines on VAT treatment of services provided under publicly organised humanitarian aid schemes to ensure uniform application of EU law and protect good-faith operators.
Kobosko's question reflects a broader tension between fiscal enforcement and the protection of businesses that acted in good faith during an emergency. On one hand, national tax authorities have a legitimate interest in ensuring correct VAT accounting and preventing revenue losses; on the other, businesses that followed state-defined rules face unexpected financial burdens years later, potentially undermining trust in public institutions and discouraging future participation in humanitarian schemes. The MEP's framing suggests that the Commission should clarify the law to prevent divergent national practices, which could create uneven treatment of businesses across the EU.
The Commission is expected to respond within approximately six weeks, as is standard for parliamentary questions. Its answer will signal whether it views the Polish practice as a breach of EU law, whether it will issue interpretative guidance, or whether it will defer to the CJEU's pending ruling. The outcome could have significant implications for businesses involved in state-organised aid, national tax administrations, and the broader principle of legal certainty in EU tax law. The question also touches on the balance between member state fiscal sovereignty and the uniform application of EU law, a recurring cleavage in EU tax policy.