Poland turns to VAT deregistration to prevent fraud

These changes are part of an anti-VAT fraud initiative that is expected to continue in the coming months. Due to VAT act reform, in force from the beginning of the year, the catalogue of situations in which the business can be deregistered from the VAT register is broader and includes such motives as:

• the taxpayer nonexistence
• it is impossible to contact with the taxpayer nor his representative
• the data included in the registry form turns out to be false
• the taxpayer does not respond to tax authorities´ requirements

The VAT deregistration has some serious consequences not only for the deregistered company itself but the businesses making any transaction with it, as well. The lack of correct VIES number on the invoice prevents the business to use the reverse charge mechanism.

How to avoid VAT deregistration

If you are VAT registered in Poland, we recommend checking your VAT registration to make sure that you are still actively registered in the authorities’ database. This is important for all businesses often submitting nil VAT returns.

This initiative from the tax authorities has also triggered new best practices on VAT compliance. In Marosa, we have started submitting nil ESL returns even if there are no transactions to be reported. Nil ESL returns are normally not required in Poland, but it is recommended to submit them to avoid automatic VAT deregistration.

Update 19/12/2017

As important polish news outlet, Rzeczpospolita informs, the numer of businesses crossed out from the VAT registry in 2017 alone is higher than 105,000 (data includes the deregistrations made from january to november).