The VAT list is already in place, making taxpayers very difficult to practice. You will learn from this article what is the list of what data it contains or is mandatory to use it.
The list of VAT taxable persons is a portal with free access to the electronic database of VAT taxable persons, which operates from 1 September. Includes data on active or exempt taxable persons, not registered or deleted and reinstated. The base is run by the Head of the National Tax Administration (KAS).
What is the list and how to find it?
To find the counterparty or its own data, enter one of the following data: clearing account number, NIP number, REGON number, company name or fragment thereof, and in the case of natural persons, name.
In order for account data to be included in the list, they must be indicated in the identification or update declaration, constitute a billing account within the meaning of The bank rights or the name of the account in the cooperative savings and credit box, opened in connection with the business activity and the account must be confirmed in the electronic system of the clearing house (STIR). The list does not include savings and settlement accounts (ROR).
Not every entrepreneur's bank account is reported to the tax office as some may be so-called virtual accounts. The clearing account holder may define the so-called sub-accounts within the bank account and assign them to its counterparties
If errors are detected in the data set, this should be reported to the respective tax offices or to the e-mail address
wykazpodatnikow@mf.gov.pl, to CEIDG, to update the data reported through CEIDG or to the relevant banks, to clarify the nature of the account and to confirm that the account is in the STIR IT system.
The list does not contain foreign bank account numbers as they are not clearing accounts within the meaning of banking law or registered accounts in a cooperative savings and credit box opened in connection with the business.
The problem is still with the issue of cession accounts, which are actually billing accounts created by banks in each specific credit agreement, and there is no requirement to report them to the tax. The Ministry informs that it plans legislative work to 1 January 2020 The taxpayers did not have to check the imperial accounts on the list.
It also explains the question of bank accounts and credit unions conducted by these institutions for the purposes of their own economy – after 1 January 2020 such accounts are to be listed.
The list shall be updated once a day, each working day. A request for deletion or rectification of the data may be submitted to the Head of the KAS if it is not in accordance with the real state, together with justification. This may be different from the actual date of removal from the VAT register or from the actual date of registration of the VAT taxable person. The head of the KAS has the right to refuse to implement such a request if this would result in non-compliance with the real state.
The bank accounts in the list shall be visible on the day following the update of the taxpayer’s data in the KAS database. Update notifications i.e. NIP-2 (entities that are not natural persons who are not included in the National Court Register, e.g.
civil companies), NIP-7 (natural persons not subject to registration in CEIDG), NIP-8 (entity registered in the National Court Register) or by applications CEIDG-1 are handled immediately, no later than within 3 working days from the date of their receipt to the tax office.
No fee shall be charged for submitting an application and carrying out an update.
Information on counterparties included in the list of taxable persons is available during the period 5 the years preceding the year in which the question was asked. In the absence of a particular counterparty in the list, a request should be made to the head of the tax office to confirm that the counterparty is registered as an active or exempt VAT taxable person.
What to do if the entrepreneur is not listed
An entrepreneur may be active and not listed. It is likely that it will then be expected to be registered with VAT or is exempted from the obligation to submit a notification on an individual basis, e.g. because the sales limit is not exceeded 200,000 PLN per year (Under Article 113(1) VAT Act) or in case of exemption.
In addition, such an entrepreneur, who is not included in the list, may benefit from a savings and settlement account (the so-called ROR) or may not have reported his account in the CEIDG/NIP application form. A customer should check the status of the trader as part of due diligence.
Not every entrepreneur's bank account is reported to the tax office as some may be so-called virtual accounts. The clearing account holder may define the so-called sub-accounts within the bank account and assign them to its counterparties. Any payment made on such a sub-account shall be recorded as a transaction in the basic account (accounting), but the sub-account shall allow for a clear identification of the counterparty making the payment.
Payment of the paypal exempted from verification on the list
Payments with instruments such as debit or credit card or quick online payments are not considered to be ‘transfer payments’, i.e. not covered by the VAT list. Thus, since it is not a transfer, but a payment order, i.e. a statement from the payer or the payee addressed to his supplier, which includes a payment transaction order, then paying by card or pay-by-link will not result in negative tax consequences (loss of income costs).
Where a payment for a transaction is ordered to an account not specified in the list and the counterparty pays VAT resulting from the invoice documenting the transaction in question, the trader shall not be held jointly and severally liable for the counterparty's tax arrears as regards the amount of VAT resulting from the transaction in question
Payment to an account outside the list will not be considered as a cost
After New Year's payment by transfer for the transaction for the amount above 15,000 PLN a counterparty must be accounted for as indicated in the list of VAT taxable persons. Then the proper care is fulfilled.
However, if such a charge is paid to a different account than the one indicated in the list, it will not be included as revenue costs or there will be an obligation to reduce costs (or increase of its revenue in the absence of a cost reduction possibility), where the cost resulting from the transaction has already been included before the order for the transfer of the payment, in the part where the payment has not been transferred to the payment account (e.g.
payment of the cash amount above) 15,000 PLN or the payment has been transferred to a different account than that included (on the day of the transfer order) in the list.
In addition, there will be solidarity with the seller, who is an active VAT taxable person, for his tax arrears in that part of the VAT which falls on payment for the transaction, confirmed by an invoice made by transfer to an account other than that included on the day of commissioning the transfer on the VAT taxable person's list.
Where payment for a transaction is ordered to an account not specified in the list and the counterparty pays VAT resulting from the invoice documenting the transaction, the trader will not be held jointly and severally liable for the counterparty's tax arrears as regards the amount of VAT resulting from the transaction in question. Unfortunately, he will not be able to classify expenditure as revenue costs.
It will be important whether the account was listed on the day of the transfer order. This determines the day of the transfer order, not the charge of the buyer's account or the recognition of the seller's account.
Payment of the split payment scheme relieves solidarity
An entrepreneur may avoid the adverse effects of non-payment to the account indicated in the list if he submits a notification of the account number to which the transfer has been ordered (referred to) under Article 117ba(3) Tax Ordinance.
Notification must be made within the time limit 3 days from the date of the transfer order, to the U.S.
Warden responsible for the invoice issuer In this way, it will retain the right to credit the expenditure for the costs of obtaining revenue and it will not be subject to joint and several liability, even though the payment will go to a different account than indicated in the VAT list.
Payment of the split payment system also relieves joint liability. When implementing payments in several tranches so that one of which it will be paid to the account listed and other payments to other accounts, only those remaining payments will not be counted as revenue costs.
Similarly, joint and several liability will only have to do so.
How to find information on the list
For the purpose of collecting information from the list, the search engine for the list of VAT taxable persons may be used 1 . Choose there one from the parameters: NIP, REGON, bank account number or part of the name, then mark the date on which the information about the taxpayer is to be displayed, then we will receive information from the list. This can be saved in the form of a pdf file, which will have a unique identifier confirming the verification.
You can also use the programming interface (API) 2 , which gives you the choice of two methods: a full search method that makes available the entire range of data in the list of taxable persons who are interested in us and a unique identifier – an electronic key that confirms the execution of a query containing the identifier of the verified taxable person, the date on which the information was displayed and the date of the query; and a simplified check method indicating whether the account is/is not assigned to the entity number, including the above-mentioned electronic key.
Unfortunately, the use of APIs will be limited. The ‘search’ method will allow submission 10 requests for maximum 30 entities simultaneously, the check method will allow to request 1 the entity. Once this limit is exhausted, access to the API will be blocked by midnight.
Below are important links to the list of VAT taxable persons and the instructions for using the API:
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- https://www.podatki.gov.pl/wykaz-podatnikow-vat-wyszukiwarka
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- https://www.gov.pl/web/kas/api-wykazu-podatnikow-vat
Keep customer verification information
In order to prove the verification of the counterparty, a pdf file should be generated containing information on checking the list on a specific day on the selected day (the date and time of the verification of the entity will be visible in the list) and kept in electronic form (e.g. take a screenshot) or printed.
The negative verification of the entity in the VAT list should also be retained for evidence purposes. It may also be requested to confirm to the head of the tax office whether the entity is an active or exempt VAT taxable person. It is also recommended to keep the printout of the payment order to the account not disclosed on the list at the date of the order.
Penalties for non-compliance
The financial consequences for failure to fulfil the obligations related to joint responsibility will apply from 1 January 2020 For the period from 1 September 2019 to 31 December 2019 entrepreneurs will not be subject to fines for payment for an account other than those indicated in the VAT list.
The warden who receives a notice of commissioning a transfer to an account which is not included in the list of VAT taxable persons and will not be competent for the issuer of the invoice shall forward such notice to the competent head of the tax office.