On October 1, the Polish Parliament adopted an amendment to the VAT Act and certain other acts (hereinafter: "VAT amendment"), implementing as of January 1, 2022 the National System of e-Invoices, the so-called KSeF and also including a new type of invoice - a structured invoice.
KSeF will enable taxpayers to issue structured invoices as one of the acceptable forms of documenting transactions with invoices, in addition to paper and electronic invoices.
Structured invoices are the third type of invoice, this time issued by taxpayers through the KSeF, marked with an assigned number identifying the invoice in this system. These invoices will be made available and received using the interface software in the so-called “Real-Time Reporting”.
The advantage of structured invoices is to issue them according to one template based on the logical structure presented by the Ministry of Finance. Taxpayers will be able to issue a structured invoice in the accounting system and send it to the KSeF via API.
According to the wording of the VAT amendment adopted by the Parliament, also receiving structured invoices will be carried out using the KSeF and will require the acceptance of the recipient of such an invoice. Generally, consent should be given on the same terms as for electronic invoices. The system will not support the purchaser's approval process as to how to receive structured invoices. In a situation where the recipient of a structured invoice does not consent to its receipt using the KSeF, the issuer will retain the right to issue a structured invoice in the system, and the invoice issued in this way will require to be provided the recipient in another way agreed with him, e.g. by e-mail in electronic or paper form. Such an invoice will retain the value of a structured invoice because it will have its statutory features (identification number in the KSeF system).
It is also worth mentioning that the invoice correcting a structured invoice is issued in the form of a structured invoice.
Taxpayers, entities indicated by the taxpayer, and natural persons indicated in the notification on granting the authorization to use the KSeF, certified in the manner specified in the soon-to-be-issued executive regulation of the Minister of Finance, will be entitled to use the KSeF.
Advantages of the introduced solutions:
- facilitating the flow control of issued and received invoices, guarantee of delivery of the invoice to the contractor;
- facilitating settlements between taxpayers and ensuring the security of settlements;
- strengthening the control of the VAT settlements correctness;
- a structured invoice will not be damaged or lost,
- the same template of a structured invoice for all taxpayers placed on the electronic platform,
- a supplier who issues an invoice correction "in minus" through the KSeF to a structured invoice will have the right to reduce the tax base and the tax due during the period when the correction is issued - an exception to the general rule,
- if the purchaser receives from the supplier a correction of a structured invoice "in minus", he will be able to reduce the amount of the tax base and input tax in the period in which the invoice will be received - an exception to the general rule,
- a shortened from 60 to 40-days VAT refund period after meeting certain conditions,
- no obligation for the taxpayer to maintain JPK_FA structures and send it at the request of tax authorities,
- no obligation to store and archive invoices pursuant to art. 112 and 112a of the Polish VAT Act, because the KSeF system will store invoices issued in it for a period of 10 years.
The described solution will enter into force as of January 1, 2022, and at the beginning, its use will be voluntary. However, the use of structured invoices, in the final intention of the Ministry of Finance, is to be obligatory, likely from January 1, 2023 (unofficial information from the Ministry of Finance).
In our opinion, taxpayers should already show interest in the subject, because the scope of the required elements of a structured invoice and its published scheme is much larger than currently required by accounting systems.
If taxpayers want to start invoicing based on the KSeF solutions at the beginning of 2022, in our view, should start preparing for the new regulations now, which requires both a substantive analysis and the implementation of a number of technical requirements.
If you have any questions about the issue above or any other VAT doubts, please contact our tax experts:
