VAT Compliance in Poland: An Overview for Businesses

The standard procedure for VAT returns in Poland includes monthly filing. Taxpayers deemed as ‘small’, however, can file VAT returns quarterly if they meet specific requirements. VAT returns can be submitted by the official portal or through approved software.

VAT returns need to be filed by the 25th of the month following the accounting period. This is of utmost importance as taxpayers can be financially penalised for failing to meet the deadline, as well as the potential to accrue statutory interest and potentially face legal proceedings.

Since October 2020, there has been a Uniform Control File (JPK_VAT) that is made up of a record section and a declaration section. This consolidates data that was included in VAT returns prior to the file’s introduction.

There is a host of required information that must be included on invoices, including (but not limited to):

• Date of issuance
• Customer’s VAT ID number
• Full name and address of both the supplier and customer
• Description of quantity and type of goods supplied, or type and extent of services rendered
• Date of transaction (or payment)
• VAT rate applied and VAT amount payable

With the implementation of mandatory e-invoice, additional data points are required to comply with the invoice schema.

Unit price of goods or services

The standard VAT rate in Poland is 23%, though certain goods and supplies have reduced rates of 8% and 5% and some services are exempt from VAT altogether.

The VAT registration threshold for companies established in Poland is PLN 200,000.

There is no threshold on the VAT registration for foreign companies not established in Poland; they are required to register for VAT prior to making their first VAT-relevant supply in the country.

VAT applies to the supply of goods and rendering of services in Poland for consideration. VAT liability is money owed to the tax authority and is calculated by subtracting credits from the total amount of VAT a taxpayer has collected at the moment the VAT becomes chargeable.

The deadline for making the relevant VAT payment is the same as for submitting the VAT return part of the SAF-T, i.e., by the 25th day of the month following the month in which the tax point arises. VAT liabilities must be paid by bank transfer and in Polish zloty.

The Polish Tax Authorities require businesses established outside of the EU and having a VAT registration in Poland to appoint a fiscal representative in Poland. The fiscal representative can be an individual or a company, such as Sovos. The fiscal representative is jointly and severally liable with the taxpayer for the tax liability, which the fiscal representative settles on behalf of and for the benefit of that taxpayer in Poland.

It is worth noting that, since 23 February 2021, taxpayers established in Norway or Great Britain have not been obliged to appoint a fiscal representative when operating in Poland. The companies established in both Norway and Great Britain can register directly for VAT purposes in Poland. This entails that the legal representative of the company can sign the registration form without any involvement from the Polish established Company or an individual acting in the capacity of a fiscal representative.

An EU business is not required to appoint a fiscal representative to register for VAT in Poland, but it may choose to do so.

VAT applies to the following transactions in Poland:

• The supply of goods and services within Poland for consideration
• The export of goods outside of the EU
• The import of goods from non-EU Member States
• Receipt of reverse-charge services by a taxable person in Poland
• Intra-Community supply of goods
• Intra-Community acquisitions of goods from another EU Member State by a taxable person

The following activities are outside the scope of Polish VAT:

• Transactions that cannot be subject to legal agreements (illegal transactions)

• Sales of businesses (transfers of going concerns or part thereof)

The threshold for VAT registration for Polish-established businesses is PLN 200,000 (about EUR 46,000).

The VAT registration limit may apply either:

• Retrospectively: The value of supplies of goods or services exceeded PLN 200,000 in the preceding tax year
• Prospectively: At the start of business, the value of supplies of goods or services is expected to exceed PLN 200,000

Businesses operating in Poland may additionally opt to register for VAT regardless of reaching the threshold or if their operations comprise only VAT-exempt activities.

Non-established businesses – foreign businesses without a place of business in Poland – must register for VAT in Poland when making taxable supplies of goods or services in Poland. They are exempt from registration when they exclusively supply the following services:

• Services and goods where the Polish purchaser pays tax under the reverse charge mechanism
• Certain services that are subject to a zero rate (e.g., services supplied within Polish seaports, connected with international transport, services of air traffic control rendered for foreign providers of air transportation)