All EU member states have a fixed format for their VAT numbers. In Poland, it includes 10 digits and the prefix PL (e.g., PL1234567890).
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The standard VAT rate in Poland is 23%, with reduced rates of 8% and 5% on certain goods and services. Some services are exempt from Polish VAT, such as financial and postal services.
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All businesses with a Polish VAT number must submit periodic VAT reports and payments.
For all companies that operate in Poland, VAT returns must be submitted monthly or quarterly, depending on the annual revenue of the business entity.
In the case of the late filing of VAT returns and payments, the Polish government prescribed the penalties as follows:
Non-registration and/or late registration are subject to fines of PLN 210 – PLN 42,000.
Non-payment and/or late payment of the VAT may lead to the following penalties:
Submission of incomplete and/or incorrect VAT returns, non-submission, and/or late submission of VAT returns is subject to fines up to PLN 20,160,000 or potential imprisonment if non-compliance leads non-payment of VAT.
Invoices must contain at least the following information:
The penalties depending on the type of non-compliance:
Issuing false invoices or using them is subject to a fine up to PLN 20,160,000 or potential imprisonment.
From 2020, all suppliers billing the Government must submit their invoices electronically. For B2B and B2C transactions, issuance of invoices electronically is permitted, but still not mandatory.
However, there are many rumors that Poland is already working on the framework based on Italian e-invoicing regulations. Those rumors claim that Poland will introduce mandatory B2C and B2B e-invoicing and real-time reporting as an additional move to reduce the VAT gap.
As of July 2020, Poland approved and introduced a Digital Service Tax. Digital Service Tax shall be calculated by applying the 1.5% rate to the taxable revenues obtained by the taxable person during the calendar year.
The Polish digital tax hits digital transactions such as audiovisual media service and audiovisual commercial communication.
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Date updated [May 12, 2021]
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