Poland to expand joint and several VAT liability from 2027 — RMF24
In Poland, amendments to the Value Added Tax Act will take effect on January 1, 2027, extending joint and several liability for unpaid VAT to buyers of certain intangible services. This may affect companies ordering advertising, accounting, IT services or consulting, RMF24 reports.
Under the new rules, a buyer may be held liable for tax not paid by its contractor. However, such liability will not be automatic: it will arise if, at the time the service was provided, the buyer knew or had reasonable grounds to assume that VAT would not be transferred to the tax authority.
Which services will be covered by the changes
New Appendix No. 16 to Poland’s VAT Act will cover, among other things, bookkeeping and accounting services, advertising, services in the field of software and hosting, business consulting, as well as employment-related services. The decisive factor will be whether a specific service is assigned to the relevant PKWiU classification code, so not every consulting or IT service will fall under the new rules.
Unusual terms of cooperation may be a sign of risk, particularly a price that differs significantly from the market rate without proper justification. At the same time, a promotional price or a discount due to ongoing cooperation will not in itself indicate a tax risk if the company has documented explanations for such terms.
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Threshold amounts and split payment
Liability will not apply to purchases confirmed by an invoice for less than 15,000 zlotys gross. However, this exemption will cease to apply if the total value of services covered by the new rules and purchased from one supplier during a month exceeds 50,000 zlotys net.
The split payment mechanism may protect the buyer. Following Senate amendments, payment through this mechanism will exclude joint and several liability also for services from the new Appendix No. 16. At the same time, split payment does not grant the right to deduct VAT on an invoice for a service that was not actually provided.
The package of changes also provides for the abolition of a separate inventory notification when closing a business, simplification of the procedure for purchasing a car in the EU, and a voluntary VAT warehouse procedure for specified goods, which will make it possible to defer tax settlement.
