On March 30, 2022, the Ministry of Finance announced that there is a consent of the European Commission for the obligatory structured invoice (e-invoice) in Poland, so-called the obligatory KSeF system.
Based on the proposal, the European Commission prepared and submitted to the EU Council a draft of the derogation decision authorizing Poland to implement a mandatory electronic invoicing system.
According to the presented draft, the derogation decision is planned to come into force on April 1, 2023, and will be valid for 3 years, with the possibility of extension. This means that the obligatory KSeF will be implemented in Poland from 2Q of 2023 at the earliest.
In the draft of the derogation decision, it is worth paying attention to the following issues:
- the obligation of electronic invoicing will cover all transactions made by taxpayers based in Poland, which currently require issuing an invoice in accordance with the Polish VAT Act;
- detailed information on transactions such as the intra-Community acquisition of goods and cross-border provision of services will be submitted to the KSeF and the provision of this information will enable the preparation of pre-filled VAT returns and EC sales/purchase list;
- the obligation to use structured invoices will not apply to foreign entities, as well as entities registered for VAT purposes in Poland but without permanent establishment. These taxpayers can continue issuing invoices based on the existing rules (in any electronic or paper form).
As of January 1, 2022, taxpayers can issue e-invoices using KseF voluntarily, which is available on an equal term with the existing forms of invoicing – in electronic and paper form.
KSeF bringing a change in the process of issuing and receiving invoices. E-invoices are prepared based on the invoice template developed by the Ministry of Finance. After issuing the invoice, the document is sent from the financial and accounting system to the central base of the Ministry of Finance (KSeF). Afterwards, the e-invoice is available in KSeF and can be downloaded and saved by the contractor.
KSeF is associated with potential benefits for entrepreneurs e.g.:
- Costs reduction – the invoices are stored and archived in the KSeF system for 10 years, there is no need to store invoices in separate IT systems of entrepreneurs.
- Streamlining business transactions – introduction of a single invoice standard: conversion of paper and electronic documents (PDF) into digital data.
- Digitalization and automation of invoices circulation between taxpayers and improvement of the accounting workflows.
- Increasing the speed of data exchange in contacts between contractors and mutual settlements – an invoice will be made available to the recipient in real-time, affecting the automation of accounting processes.
- No duplicate invoices – there is no possibility of losing or destroying the invoice.
- One fixed invoice format with data arranged in the order specified in the invoice template – reducing mistakes in manual data entry and saving time for company employees.
- Issuing e-invoices entitles the taxpayer to a VAT refund within a reduced period from 60 to 40 days.
- Simplification of the settlement of e-correcting invoices in minus: for the issuer at the moment when it’s issued, and for the purchaser, if agreed to receive electronic invoices – at the moment of its receipt at the KSeF.
- An entrepreneur issuing invoices in the KSeF does not need to send the structure of the Single Control File for Invoices (JPK_FA) at the request of the tax authorities. This data is automatically available to the tax administration in KSeF.
ASB experts have experience in creating and implementing IT tools that facilitate accounting and tax settlements for clients.
Our team of IT and tax specialists support clients by providing solutions for issuing e-invoices. More on https://einvoices.pl/
If you are interested in the topic, please contact our tax experts:
