The objective of Poland’s Business-to-Business (B2B) e-invoicing consultations, as initiated by the Polish Ministry of Finance, was to obtain feedback from multiple stakeholders on how the country’s national e-invoicing platform, Krajowy System e-Factur (KSeF) could be adapted to create a fit-for-purpose and efficient solution for taxpayers.

The February and March 2024 consultations have now yielded some significant outcomes, which will determine the trajectory of Poland’s upcoming e-invoicing mandate.

Some of the key findings have been summarised below:

• VAT exempt taxpayers. Under original plans, VAT exempt taxpayers were required to comply with e-invoicing obligations 6 months after most other Polish companies. The Polish Ministry of Finance is now favouring a ‘big bang’ approach, where VAT exempt taxpayers will comply with e-invoicing commitments alongside all other Polish companies.
• The establishment of a transitional period. Under such a transitional period, penalties for non-compliance will not apply. The transitional period is expected to be functional for 6 months. Its exact timeframe will be determined by the mandate inception date, which will be announced in April / May 2024. Critically, there is no requirement to include the KSeF ID, or collective identifier if applicable, on payments during the transitional period.
• Cash register invoices. Initially, cash register invoices were not expected to fall under the category of a valid invoice from 2025. This has now been postponed.
• Business-to-Consumer (B2C invoices). B2C invoices can optionally be issued via KSeF.
• The ‘offline mode’, where invoices are issued outside KSeF with a QR code, will be available for all taxpayers within the transitional period.
• Paper invoices. Paper invoices can be issued for ‘digitally-excluded’ taxpayers who issue invoices for small amounts (450 PL per invoice and 10,000 monthly) during the transitional period.
• Attachments. Attachments will be permitted for specific industries (utilities and telecommunication services), with the introduction of a new schema to this effect.

The Polish Ministry of Finance is expected to provide an amended draft Act in April 2024 incorporating the modifications, with a public consultation to follow.

Poland’s e-invoicing mandate infrastructure still has significant outstanding issues that require further consideration- namely:

• The self-invoicing process involving EU entities
• The buyer certificate
• Quick Response (QR) codes
• Technical considerations around the correction procedure.

The Polish Ministry of Finance will present 4 draft proposals to this effect in April 2024, with a view to reaching consensus on these issues.

Tungsten Automation is cognizant that the coming months are expected to churn significant information which will dictate Poland’s final e-invoicing solution. We are monitoring the progress of the draft Act, including its publication and subsequent draft consultation. With the legislative process expected to conclude in the summer of 2025, we hope to be in a position to communicate Poland’s definitive strategy for an e-invoicing solution to our Product, R&D and wider teams at this stage.