Studia Administracyjne

The commentary is devoted to the analysis of the judgment of the Voivodeship Administrative Court in Kielce of January 16, 2025, ref. no. I SA/Ke 493/2, concerning the classification of a free-standing power generator as a construction machinery and its inclusion in the scope of property tax. This issue is particularly significant due to the fact that the ruling departs from the established case law of the Supreme Administrative Court, which had consistently held that similar technical devices were not subject to property taxation. The commented judgment is also relevant for tax law practice, as it illustrates the risk of excessively expanding the material scope of taxation in violation of the principle of legal certainty in tax law and the in dubio pro tributario principle. The authors of the commentary conduct a detailed analysis of the criteria for recognizing an object as a construction machinery under the provisions of the Construction Law, and the application of these criteria in the context of the Local Taxes and Fees Act. Particular emphasis is placed on the functional assessment of the generator’s role as an emergency power source, which is not essential for the everyday use of the building in accordance with its intended purpose. The commentary includes a critique of the position adopted by the Voivodeship Administrative Court, pointing out its disregard for fundamental constitutional principles of tax law and the lack of reference to the well-established jurisprudence of the Supreme Administrative Court. The authors emphasize that this case highlights a broader issue: the incompatibility of tax law provisions with a dynamically changing reality. In light of the growing importance of technical devices, traditional legal and tax classifications based on decades-old legislation are losing their effectiveness. Accordingly, the authors call for the unification of judicial interpretation and for clarification of the relevant provisions – an objective that is partially addressed by the amendment to the Local Taxes and Fees Act, which came into force on January 1, 2025.