This year there are substantial changes that are interesting for active taxpayers. We describe some of them.
VAT on imports of goods
From 1 July 2020 new rules on VAT clearing for imports of goods have entered into force. They are intended to expand the range of VAT taxable persons who will be able to import goods in Polish ports on more favourable terms.
Active VAT payers will now be able to settle VAT on imports of goods in the tax return for the period during which the tax obligation for imports of those goods was established (until now this had to be done within the time limit 10 days after customs clearance or from the date of the customs decision.) In order to benefit from this facilitation, the taxable person must submit to the competent head of customs and tax office issued not earlier than 6 months before import:
a certificate of absence of arrears in the payment of social security contributions due and in the payment of individual taxes constituting the revenue of the State budget, exceeding separately for each title, including separately for each tax, respectively; 3% the amounts of contributions due and tax liabilities due in individual taxes; the proportion of arrears in the amount of premiums or taxes due shall be determined in relation to the amount of payments due for the settlement period to which the arrears relate;
confirmation of the registration of the taxable person as an active VAT taxable person.
In addition, customs declarations must be made by a direct or indirect representative.
A new solution that came into force on the day 1 July 2020, is the value of the WIS for the taxable person who applied for it
The consequence of such VAT settlement in imports is the need to submit monthly declarations. Once again, quarterly declarations may be submitted no earlier than after the expiry of the 12 the months following the last month of the quarter in which the imports were made.
Binding rate information
From 1 November 2019 The VAT Act provides for the possibility of referring to the Director of National Tax Information in order to issue binding rate information. The purpose of the VIS is to give the taxpayer greater certainty as to whether he has applied an appropriate tax rate.
As indicated in the explanatory memorandum to the law amending the VAT Act in this respect, ‘The VIS will also be able to be used by taxable persons for purposes other than determining the rate applicable to the goods or services in question.
In the case of certain regulations (solutions, mechanisms) laid down in the VAT rules, their application is determined by the appropriate classification of goods according to the CN or the Polish Classification of Building Facilities or Services according to the PKWIU.’ For example, the reverse charge – reverse charge.
A new solution that came into force on the day 1 July 2020, is the security value of the WIS for the taxable person who applied for it. This regulation acts on a similar principle as the protective value of an individual interpretation. The WIS will be binding on the tax authority to which it was issued.
It is also important that the VIS is published in the Public Information Bulletin, so that other entities can benefit from the protection it provides.
Chain transactions
Inserted from 1 July 2020 The amendment aims to harmonise the rules on chain transactions within the EU. The basic principle was only slightly corrected.
Namely according to Article 22(2) VAT Act where the same goods are subject to successive deliveries and are dispatched or transported directly from first suppliers to the last buyer, dispatch or transport shall be assigned only one delivery. Major changes shall appear in the following paragraphs Article 22, i.e. 2a-2d.
In the case of goods which are dispatched or transported from the territory one the Member State in the territory of another Member State, the dispatch or transport of those goods shall be attributed only to the supply made to the intermediary.
Where the intermediate operator transmits to the supplier an identification number issued to him by the Member State from which the goods are dispatched or transported, the dispatch or transport shall be attributed only to the delivery made by that operator.
The intermediary is an entity other than first in the order in which the supplier of the goods which sends or transports the goods himself or through a person third acting on his behalf.
Call-off stock magazine
The amendment to the VAT Act introduced a new model of facilitation in intra-Community transactions, which will replace the existing rules relating to the Consignment Warehouse.
The regulations relating to call-off stock warehouse are significantly different from those related to the Consignment Magazine, namely: the purchaser must be known to the consignor on the date of commencement of dispatch or transport, the goods must be stored and recorded in detail, the storage period is the maximum 12 months (so far it has been 24 months), it is required to show movements in this procedure in the summary information.
An important novelty is the ability of the entity to maintain the warehouse third and that there are no longer restrictions on the destination of the goods (so far only for production or service activities, excluding commercial activities).
New WDT rules
From 1 July 2020 the conditions for applying the rate have changed 0% on the intra-Community supply of goods. It will be necessary for the purchaser to provide a valid identification number for intra-Community transactions, given by the Member State competent for the buyer, containing a two-letter code applicable to value added tax.
In addition, proper summary information will be required. Without this, you will not be able to benefit from the rate 0%. In the event of deficiencies in the summary information, the provisions allow the head of the tax office to submit written explanations. These explanations must be ‘appropriate’.
Unfortunately, the provision does not specify how these due explanations are to be made, so the interpretation of this provision will be shaped by the practice of tax authorities, which could pose many problems for taxpayers.
Author: Mikołaj Stanisławski
From 2017 Associated with Russell Bedford Poland. In 2007 graduated from the Faculty of Law and Administration of the University of Warsaw. In years 2008-2011 he made an attorney's application. From 2011 entered on the list of lawyers at the District Bar Council in Warsaw. In 2016 He graduated from the Postgraduate Tax Studies and Tax Law of the University of Warsaw. Specializes in tax and tax matters.