The rule of exclusivity of the Polish fiscal criminal code in the area of standardisation of a prohibited act as a ‘fiscal offence’ or a ‘fiscal petty crime’

Abstract

The rule of exclusivity of fiscal criminal legislation in the area of standardisation of a prohibited act as a ‘fiscal offence’ or ‘fiscal petty crime’ has been a traditional normative regulation of fiscal criminal law since 1926. It is one of the specifics of that law. Despite the fact that the above rule is in force and binding, there occur problems related to the location of this category of prohibited acts in legislative practice. Whether a certain prohibited act is classified as a fiscal offence or a fiscal petty crime is decided by the legislator who locates a given act in the Detailed Part of the Fiscal Penal Code. Acts that have been included in that part of the Fiscal Penal Code are either fiscal offences or fiscal petty crimes while all other acts, not included in that part, are either common offences or common petty crimes. In practice this means that Articles 1-53 of the Fiscal Penal Code apply only to fiscal offences and fiscal petty crimes referred to in the Detailed Part of the Fiscal Penal Code. A further analysis leads to a conclusion that the provisions of the Fiscal Penal Code cannot be divided and transferred to the Criminal Code regulations and the Code of Petty Crimes. The rule of exclusivity of fiscal criminal legislation in the area of standardisation of a prohibited act as a ‘fiscal offence’ or ‘fiscal petty crime’ is a well-founded and indispensable regulation of fiscal criminal law.