Consent of the European Commission to mandatory National e-Invoice System
On 30 March 2022 the European Commission issued its consent for implementation by Poland of a mandatory e-invoicing system, currently known as KSeF (Krajowy System e-faktur – the National E-Invoice System). The Commission’s preliminary decision granting derogation must now be approved by the Council of the European Union. This will probably take place in a few weeks, but the changes to be faced by majority of Polish VAT payers should be taken into account already now.
National e-Invoice System – the current situation
Three types of invoices have been in use in Poland since 1 January 2022: paper invoices, electronic invoices and the so-called structured invoices. Taxpayers may choose whether they want to continue using their hitherto method of invoicing, or start using structured invoices. They are of xml. format, consistent with the logical structure published by the Ministry of Finance, and may be issued using tools offered free by the Ministry of Finance, as well as commercial software. Structured invoices, once issued, should be sent via an interface (API) to the central database of the Ministry of Finance – KSeF, where, after acceptance, they will be available for downloading or viewing by the counterparty.
KSeF in future
With the Commission’s decision, the above process will become obligatory for VAT taxpayers established in Poland in 2023. According to the wording of the decision, this will take place on 1 April 2023 at the earliest. Thus, taxpayers have about a year to get ready for the new obligation.
The decision granting derogation indicates that the National e-Invoice System will be mandatory only for those Polish VAT payers who are established in Poland and who operate a business which requires invoicing. Therefore, neither taxable persons established in other countries nor those who are not obliged to register for VAT in Poland to make cross-border transactions will be required to issue structured invoices.
Interestingly, the decision also indicates that taxable persons subject to mandatory KSeF will be obliged to disclose certain information in the KSeF on intra-Community acquisition of goods and import of services which, in principle, is not documented with invoices issued according to the Polish VAT Act.
Taxpayers will also have the possibility to issue structured invoices using programmes offered by the Ministry of Finance, such as “e-mikrofirma” (which will, however, be useful for small taxpayers only, issuing a limited number of invoices) or their own finance and accounting systems. Documents issued using internal software will be transmitted to KSeF through an interface, after their authentication with publicly available means. It is also planned that in case of KSeF failure, the website will display the relevant message and it will also be possible for entrepreneurs to issue invoices using their own systems.
The above characteristics of the mandatory KSeF is just a plan, and the detailed solutions proposed by the Ministry will probably be known only after the decision granting derogation is approved by the EU Council. We will keep you informed about developments in this respect. In the near future we plan to deliver a seminar during which we will present details of the National e-Invoice System and an IT tool for generation and sending structured invoices. We will inform you about the event.
Should you have any questions or doubts regarding the issues discussed here, we are ready to help you. Feel free to contact us.
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