VAT in the digital age – revolution and challenges

In 2025, taxpayers will face a further transformation of the tax reporting process. JPK_CIT​ (SAF-T for CIT) came into force on 1 January. Only one year later, enterprises will become subject to the mandatory National e-Invoicing System (KSeF). 

The process of implementing e-invoices will be carried out in stages and will start as early as 1 February 2026. Initially, e-invoices will be mandatory for taxpayers whose sales (including tax) exceed 200 million zloty in 2025. Other taxpayers will be covered the system in the next stage.  

At the same time, the Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/1003 of 17 June 2022 authorising the Republic of Poland to implement a mandatory National e-Invoicing System, will expire at the end of 2026. Therefore, Poland will have to apply for a new decision. 

Its scope remains disputable with regard to foreign enterprises which do not have a registered office in Poland, but only a fixed establishment. Pursuant to the latest draft legislation on KSeF, the system will be mandatory for such entities if their fixed establishment is involved in the supply of goods or services for which an invoice is issued. 

Unfortunately, such a change does not comply with the decision of the Council. The decision directly imposes the obligation to issue e-invoices on entities that have a registered office rather than a fixed establishment in Poland. This position was confirmed in a recent judgment of the Provincial Administrative Court in Gliwice of 17 October 2024, in which the court held that the literal wording of the implementing decision should be considered when assessing the facts and circumstances. Since a fixed establishment is not the same as a registered office, foreign enterprises do not have to issue invoices using KSeF. 

The implementation of KSeF is not the only challenge enterprises will have to face in the long term. The European Union has recently reached an agreement on a comprehensive reform of the Value-Added Tax (VAT) system across the EU, the so-called ViDA (VAT in Digital Age) package. According to it, from 2030 invoices for Intra-community supplies will have to be issued electronically. Local systems, such as the Polish KSeF, will be able to operate until 2035. This means that Polish enterprises will most likely face a double implementation of the e-invoicing system – first the Polish one and then the EU one. In this context, the issue of differences between the Polish structured invoice format and the EU format will be crucial. 

For the past few years, we have seen a dynamic development of technology in the area of tax administration. VAT is most affected by the transformation, which poses many challenges for taxpayers and enterprises. 

At Rödl & Partner, clients can count on comprehensive VAT support, not only with regard to accounting issues, but also individual Polish and foreign transactions. Our experts keep up to date with current VAT legislation and know how to apply it correctly. 

If you are interested in further information or support in preparing for the implementation of KSeF – please contact our experts.​