Poland: FM’s guidance on VAT e-commerce legislation

On 1 September 2021 the Finance Ministry (FM) issued the guidance document in relation to VAT e-commerce package in force as of 1 July 2021.

Currently, the place of supply for an intra-Community distance sale of goods (CDSG) is determined on the basis of a single EU-wide threshold of EUR 10,000 (or PLN 42,000). The threshold refers to the total CDSG sales and sales of telecommunications, broadcasting and electronic services to consumers in all the EU Member States together.

The new guidance explains that:

• A taxable person may elect the country of taxation for his CDSG before he exceeds the place of supply threshold of EUR 10,000 but his election will apply to his B2C supplies to all EU Member States (until 30 June 2021 businesses could make this election on a country-by-country basis).
• As regards record keeping and invoicing:
  • if the OSS (One Stop Shop) system is used, invoicing is governed by the rules applicable in the Member State of identification;
  • if Poland is the MS of identification, the supplier does not have to issue invoices;
  • if taxed in Poland, transactions reported via OSS do not need to be recorded using VAT cash register (temporary exemption applicable until 31 Dec 2021);
  • CDSG transactions reported via OSS are not to be included on Polish VAT return JPK_V7M.

The WSTO_EE designation is used solely for CDSG transactions if the goods were in the territory of Poland when their dispatch or transport started and the OSS simplification does not apply.

The same rules that apply in relation to OSS apply also in the case of IOSS.

• The OSS return does not allow for recovery of input tax. Input tax may be deducted if the person files VAT-REF request or, where he is registered in the given country, if he uses his local VAT return for the purpose.
• If a taxable person elects to report his CDSG transactions via OSS, he will be required to use the OSS process for all those transactions.
• An electronic interface does not “facilitate” supplies if all of the following is true:
  • it does not control, whether directly or indirectly, any terms and conditions of the supplies;
  • it is not directly or indirectly involved in authorising the charge to the customers in respect of the payment for the supplies; and
  • it is not directly or indirectly involved in the ordering or delivery of the goods.

The guidance is quite voluminous and deals with plenty of controversial or unclear matters that have arisen following the introduction of the e-commerce package. Above we mention only some of them. For full details (in Polish), you may wish to follow this link:

https://www.gov.pl/web/finanse/objasnienia-podatkowe-z-dnia-1-wrzesnia-2021-r-w-zakresie-tzw-pakietu-vat-e-commerce-wprowadzonego-ustawa-z-dnia-20-maja-2021-r-o-zmianie-ustawy-o-podatku-od-towarow-i-uslug-oraz-niektorych-innych-ustaw-dz-u-poz-1163

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