New VAT penalties and SAF-T changes in Poland
The Polish tax authorities recently updated their VAT penalties and interest for late payment and late submission of VAT returns.
The changes affect sanctions applicable as a result of an audit.
VAT penalities
Where the tax authorities carry a tax inspection and the audited business agrees with the assessment of the tax authorities, the penalty will be 20% of the VAT unpaid or excessive input VAT claimed. This penalty is increased to 30% where the company disagrees with the findings of the Polish tax authorities. Penalties will increase up to 100% in cases of fictional invoices issued in the course of VAT fraud activities.
Like in most EU countries, Poland assesses VAT penalties separately for late filing and late payment. Usually, late submission of a VAT return is subject to a maximum penalty of 600€, although this sanction may be avoided if the authorities accept a ´repentance letter´ from the taxpayer. Regarding late payments in Poland, in addition to the above rules imposed in the frame of an audit, Poland charges a fixed interest as late payment of any VAT liabilities. This interest varies every year and it is fixed by the Polish Central Bank.
New SAF-T Requirements
Starting 1 January 2017, it will be required to include the VAT number of the counterparty in the SAF-T file submitted periodically to the Polish authorities.
This change will require all businesses to review their current accounting data in their ERP system to make sure that VAT numbers are also included in the reports produced to comply with Polish reporting rules. If the VAT numbers are not available in the system, Polish VAT registered companies should contact their suppliers and customers to collect these numbers in order to meet the due date of the first 2017 SAF-T return, due by 25 February 2017.
Please send us an email If you need help with the SAF-T or other VAT obligations in Poland.