The Legal 500

Slawomir Boruc leads Baker & McKenzie Gruszczynski & Partners Attorneys at Law LP’s tax group. IVG Immobilien was assisted with the tax aspects to the headline sale of the Horizon Plaza Office complex. Jerzy Martini handles the indirect taxes practice group and Piotr Wysocki specialises in income taxes and international tax law issues, with particular focus on M&A, capital market and financial transactions.

Headed by Dorota Szubielska, Chadbourne & Parke LLP’s tax team is known for tax litigation in Poland. The Polish Wind Energy Association was represented before the Supreme Administrative Court in a precedent real property tax case. Adam Wesolowski is recommended.

DLA Piper Wiater sp.k.’s seven-strong team assist with operational advisory services, the optimisation of transactions and capital groups structures, as well as representing clients in their contacts with public authorities and courts. The practice has an excellent excise duty practice.

Dewey & LeBoeuf Grzesiak SP.K. advised Penta Investments on the tax aspects of its acquisition of Drumet, marking the first acquisition involving a distressed company by a private equity fund. Tomasz Kacymirow and Marek Kozaczuk are key contacts.

White & Case – W. Danilowicz, W. Jurcewicz i Wspólnicy Kancelaria Prawna sp.K’s Janusz Fiszer focuses on international taxation, including tax planning with respect to international double taxation. The practice is also strong in transactional matters and tax litigation. Recently, Commerzbank was advised on Polish tax matters related to its merger with Dresdner Bank.

Led by Arkadiusz Michaliszyn, CMS Cameron McKenna Dariusz Greszta Spólka Komandytowa’s team provide tailor-made tax advice on fiscal issues, develop tax-efficient structures for corporate and finance transactions, and act in tax litigation. The practice advised Bank Millennium on the tax structuring of a major real estate transaction.

Clifford Chance’s Wojciech Dmoch and Tomasz Szymura are noted for specialist transactional tax advice, including tax structuring asisstance. The team advised Ghelamco Poland on the tax aspects of an acquisition of a majority stake in Bellona, a well-known Polish publishing house specialising in historical and military literature.

FKA Furtek Komosa Aleksandrowicz advises on the tax aspects of M&A, energy sector and capital markets transactions, project financing, real estate deals and structured finance. The practice also handles tax litigation, transfer pricing, VAT and general international tax planning. Polkomtel was assisted with the tax side to a new five-year programme for several private issues of PLN-denominated short and midterm bonds. Mariusz Aleksandrowicz is well respected.

Gide Loyrette Nouel advised SITA Koscierzyna on tax issues related to the acquisition of another business.

Hogan Lovells (Warszawa) LLP recently advised AB Foods on tax optimisation matters and PLL LOT was assisted with the tax structuring of a finance lease transaction concerning two aircraft. Andrzej Debiec is ‘excellent’.

Linklaters’ Mikolaj Bieniasz is recommended. The team advised Allied Irish Banks on the tax aspects of the sale of its majority stake in BZ WBK, Poland’s fourth-largest bank.

Salans’ experience includes transactional support, day-to-day tax issues, transfer pricing, tax structuring and advice on the tax incentives available to investors in Poland. The team represented Bioton before the Provincial Administrative Court in a VAT case. Karina Furga-Dabrowska is recommended.

Soltysinski Kawecki & Szlezak’s Jaroslaw Bieronski provided tax law assistance to General Electric Capital Corporation in connection with the merger of GE Money Bank with local Bank BPH, and Slawomir Luczak represented Jeronimo Martins Dystrybucja in tax inspection proceedings.

Led by Dariusz Wasylkowski, Wardynski & Partners advised a Polish subsidiary of a large TMT sector client on the tax side of restructuring issues and successfully defended a management board member charged with committing a fiscal crime.

Weil, Gotshal & Manges continued to advise WalPark in connection with a tax dispute regarding overpaid VAT. Bank Millennium was assisted with the tax aspects of its €260m rights issue. Robert Krasnodebski is ‘a talented lawyer’.

Allen & Overy, A. Pedzich sp. k. advised private equity-owned biscuit manufacturer Poult on the tax structuring issues concerning an acquisition and acted for DWS Polska in proceedings regarding the corporate income tax treatment of compensation payments made by the company. Jaroslaw Iwanicki and Jacek Michalski are recommended.

Within the space of one year, Brzezinska, Narolski, Marianski’s Adam Marianski acted in over 250 disputes before the tax authorities and administrative courts. Dariusz Strzelec won a headline dispute in relation to undisclosed sources of income.

Domanski Zakrzewski Palinka’s Joanna Wierzejska joined from PricewaterhouseCoopers, where she was director of the M&A tax team. Artur Nowak also recently joined from Kancelaria Radcy Prawnego Artur Nowak and focuses primarily on tax and customs law litigation. The team advised Eurovia on the tax aspects of a share sale structure. Grzegorz Sprawka is a key figure.

Led by Andrzej Ladzinski, Grynhoff Wozny Wspólnicy acted for Telekomunikacja Polska in tax-planning matters concerning the sale of buildings. The team also assisted Netia in proceedings regarding corporate income tax.

K&L Gates LLP’s recently arrived team from Hogan & Hartson Jamka sp.k. acts in tax planning matters and in the tax side to acquisitions, divestitures, and disposals of companies. The team is particularly focused on international taxation, including double taxation issues for corporations and high net worth individuals. Piotr Augustyniak is recommended.

Magnusson – Kancelaria Prawnicza advises Apollo Rida on international tax planning matters. Agnieszka Pytlas-Skwierczynska is a key contact.

Squire Sanders Swieçicki Krzesniak sp. k.’s Tomasz Hatylak is appreciated for the ‘accuracy and quality of his work in complex matters involving legal and tax structuring’. The practice represented Autostrada Wielkopolska II on the tax structuring of the concession agreement connected with the €1.6bn A2 motorway project.

WKB Wiercinski, Kwiecinski, Baehr’s Anna Lukaszewicz-Obierska is recommended for tax law. The team represented one of the leaders in recycling and environmental services in the Nordic region in three control proceedings regarding the right to deduct VAT tax.