Poland: Proposal of amendments to VAT Act intended to fight fiscal frauds

International Tax Review is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 4 Bouverie Street, London, EC4Y 8AX

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2025

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

Poland: Proposal of amendments to VAT Act intended to fight fiscal frauds

spychalski.jpg

Michal Spychalski

The Polish Ministry of Finance has announced proposed amendments to the VAT Act. The introduction of this package – according to the Ministry of Finance – will increase the effectiveness of the fight against VAT fraud. The new rules will primarily concern the domestic reverse charge mechanism, joint and several tax liability, as well as rules of VAT deduction in case of goods and services used for mixed purposes. The Ministry of Finance is planning to implement these amendments from January 2015. The domestic VAT reverse charge mechanism will be extended and will cover new products, such as mobile phones (including smartphones), portable computers (tablets, notebooks, laptops) and video game consoles. From 2015 reverse charge will also apply to raw gold and certain steel products whose characteristics are similar to products already covered by this mechanism. The domestic reverse charge will only apply if the purchaser is registered as the VAT taxpayer, and – in case of mobile phones – only if daily net amount of sale to one purchaser exceeded 20,000 PLN ($6,000).

The proposal also introduces a new reporting obligation. The suppliers of goods and services, in case of which VAT will be accounted according to the domestic reverse charge mechanism, will be required to submit to the tax office a statement listing such transactions.

The list of goods subject to joint and several tax liability mechanism will also be amended. According to this mechanism, which was introduced in Poland in October 2013, under certain circumstances purchasers of some goods (steel products, fuels, lubricants and raw gold) may be responsible for a supplier's VAT liabilities. The Ministry of Finance is planning to apply this mechanism also to raw silver and platinum. On the other hand, raw gold will be excluded as it will be covered by the domestic reverse charge mechanism.

The next part of the proposed amendments refers to rules of VAT deduction in case of goods and services used for mixed purposes; that is, goods and services used for purposes of activities subject to VAT and other activities. In particular, it will be possible to receive from the tax authorities binding confirmation that the method of calculating the VAT pro-rata applied by taxpayer is correct. Additionally, the Ministry of Finance will issue implementing regulations specifying possible methods of calculating VAT pro-rata.

This is still only the general draft of the proposal and a package of specific regulations will be announced later this year.

Michal Spychalski (Michal.spychalski@mddp.pl)

MDDP

Tel: +48 22 322 68 88

Website: www.mddp.pl

more across site & shared bottom lb ros

More from across our site

Kingsley Napley’s claimants are arguing that taxing the provision of education breaches the European Convention on Human Rights
While pillar two can progress without the US, it won’t reach the same heights without American involvement, argues Renáta Bláhová, founding partner of BMB Partners Taxand
There are unanswered questions as to how foreign investors could reclaim money via tax credits, advisers suggested
Amid an ever-changing tax environment, India’s advisory market is bustling with competition ahead of the 2025 World Tax rankings and ITR Awards
The deal comes after PwC had accused Paul McNab of using confidential information; in other news, McDermott hired a new London tax head from a US rival
Looking at transfer pricing simplification is “obviously helpful”, but it should be done in line with current standards, a senior government figure reportedly said
The UK Government’s plans to close the tax gap via increased HM Revenue and Customs investment have failed to impress local tax advisers
Under the merged scheme for R&D tax relief introduced last year, rules on contracted out R&D have changed. James Dudbridge argues for a proactive approach when reviewing companies’ commercial arrangements
Cultural nuances could account for tax advisers’ perceived poor cost management, a local partner told ITR
Updated rules represent a significant shift in the Luxembourg TP landscape and emphasise the need for robust arm’s-length calculations, says Vanessa Ramos Ferrin of TransFair Pricing Solutions
Gift this article