Poland Will Make B2B Electronic Invoicing Mandatory

The European Commission has agreed that Poland's project concerning the introduction of mandatory business-to-business e-invoicing will be delayed from April 2023 to January 2024, at which point mandatory massification will begin.

However, companies that wish to do so can use the national KSeF platform, which remains available for voluntary use from January 1, 2022.

Poland advances its B2B electronic invoicing project. The characteristics of the new electronic invoicing system are detailed in the bill published in February by the Ministry and have been approved this October. From January 1, 2022, Polish entrepreneurs can use the KSeF platform on a voluntary basis.

The government wants to advance the digitalization of the tax system and reap the rewards that other countries in the European Union are already experiencing through the implementation of an electronic invoicing system. An example of this is Italy, where the B2B electronic invoice has been mandatory since 2019.

All invoices issued will have to be declared through a central platform called the National Electronic Invoice System - KSeF. To encourage the use of the new platform, the government has announced, as a tax incentive, the reduction of the VAT refund time by one third, (40 days instead of 60). In addition, taxpayers may be exempted from filing the JPK_FA file.

Below we detail the most relevant characteristics about the new Polish electronic invoicing system.

National Electronic Invoicing System -KSeF

The KSeF is a central government platform for the issuance and reception of electronic invoices. Companise must send all electronic invoices to the KSeF, where a digital time stamp will be applied. The platform will also issue a series of notifications that will inform users of a number assigned through the time stamp, invoice rejection, or the inability to issue invoices because the KSeF platform is down.

The invoices can be searched in the KSeF portal and downloaded in the original format or PDF. The Portal will also double as a storage device archiving electronic tax documents for 10 years.

KSeF Implementation Timeline

• October 2021: Beginning of test period. Service providers can participate in system testing with KSeF. 
• January 2022: Voluntary phase. Companies can begin issuing "structured" invoices to KSeF and benefit from fiscal benefits.
• January 2024: Mandatory use of B2B electronic "structured" invoice (XML).

Who is impacted by this measure?

All companies established in Poland.

Invoice Structure

A structured invoice will be understood as an XML e-invoice managed through the KSeF.  During the voluntary phase, the structured invoices will coexist with paper invoices and any other electronic invoices that already exist in the Polish market.

Benefits of the B2B electronic invoice in Poland

Companies that decide to start using e-invoices on a voluntary basis can benefit from some special measures:

• Reduction of VAT declaration from 60 to 40 days.
• Exemption from the JPK_FA file declaration.

These are some of the advantages that the government expects to see with the mass implementation of the B2B invoice.

• Improve the business environment by providing faster and easier access to documents.
• More security in and around commercial transactions thanks to the standardization of the invoice format.
• Human error reduction because of the automation of manual accounting processes.
• Optimization of tax controls.
• Increased tax collection.

EDICOM’s Compliance Service in Poland

EDICOM offers a complete solution for companies established in Poland. EDICOM’s e-invoicing and VAT compliance solutions enable the automation of all B2B and B2G invoicing and tax document declaration processes. The solution can be fully integrated with any ERP, facilitating the generation and issuance of electronic invoices to the KSeF platform, as well as the electronic invoices issued to the Polish Public administration through the PeF central government platform, in compliance with the technical and legal requisites imposed by the Ministry of Finance.

EDICOM’s is also able to automate the issuance of SAF-T files to declare accounting data. EDICOM’s all in one solution will help reduce VAT return times, reduce management costs, and guarantees maximal security and confidentiality.

EDICOM coordinates GOVEIN2019 project (Action No: 2019-EU-IA-0046)

*The contents of this publication belong solely to EDICOM GROUP and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the European Union.