2024 Poland (2024 eInvoicing Country Sheet)

Legislation

The Act of 9 November 2018 on electronic invoicing in public procurement, concessions for construction works or services and public-private partnerships (Dz.U. 2018 poz. 2191) transposed the eInvoicing Directive (2014/55/EU)  in November 2018. The obligation for public contracting authorities to receive structured electronic invoices (eInvoices) compliant with the European eInvoicing standard (EN16931) entered into force in two stages. Since 18 April 2019 it was mandatory for contracts equal or exceeding 30 000 EUR in value [1]. From 1 August 2019, it was mandatory to receive eInvoices for all contracting authorities, including for sub-central contracting authorities. The Act also establishes the national eInvoicing platform PEF which operates within the OpenPeppol network [2].

In 2022, Poland requested the European Commission for a derogation from Directive 2006/112/EC on the common system of value added tax (VAT Directive) with the aim of introducing mandatory eInvoicing for Business-to-Business transactions (B2B). The Council Implementing Decision EU 2022/1003 of 17 June 2022 authorised Poland to apply a special measure derogating from Articles 218 and 232 of the VAT Directive, which outline the format of invoices. Hereafter, the Polish Sejm introduced the Act of 16 June 2023 amending the Act on Tax on Goods and Services and Certain Other Acts (Dz.U. 2023 poz. 1598). The Act had foreseen to impose mandatory eInvoicing for all commercial transactions and establish a free of charge National eInvoicing system KSeF from 1 July 2024.

Due to issues with KSeF implementation, the Polish Sejm adopted the Act of 9 May 2024 which postpones the deadline of KSeF roll-out to 2026. In accordance with the new Act, eInvoicing will become obligatory for enterprises whose annual revenue exceeds 200 million PLN (approximately 46 million EUR) from 1 February 2026. Starting from 1 April 2026, B2B eInvoicing will become obligatory for all enterprises [3].

eInvoicing platform and eInvoicing management solutions

The current system for B2G eInvoicing is implemented through the National eInvoicing Platform (PEF). Starting from 2026, the KSeF system, which will be available for both B2G and B2B, will be integrated with the PEF platform. This means that whilst enterprises will be obliged to use KSeF platform to handle B2B eInvoices, they will be free to choose which platform (PEF or KSeF) to use for handling B2G eInvoices.

PEF

Under the current legislation, issuing eInvoices by suppliers in public procurement (B2G) is on a voluntary basis, whilst their acceptance and processing by all public buyers is obligatory. This is in line with the requirements outlined in the 2014 eInvoicing Directive. All the public authorities must register their accounts on the National eInvoicing platform PEF. Accordingly, since the launch of the PEF platform in April 2019, all eInvoices for public procurement may be transmitted through PEF – depending on the will of the submitting part. In Poland there is no difference in the requirements for central and sub-central purchasing public authorities.

The PEF platform operates within the OpenPeppol network. The PEF platform is administered by the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology which performs the duties of a Peppol Authority in Poland. Poland uses the European eInvoicing standard (EN 16931) and Peppol BIS Billing 3.0. Therefore, provided that eInvoices are compliant with EN 16931 or Peppol BIS Billing 3.0, all Polish public administrations should be able to receive and process eInvoices from other Peppol connected entities. The PEF platform is devised to support the entire post-award phase in public procurement. In addition to eInvoicing, it provides support with the order, delivery advice, correction of invoice and credit note.

PEF services are provided by the ‘brokers’ which is private enterprise selected under public procurement. Using the services of the ‘broker’ is entirely free of charge [4]. Currently, PEF services are provided by the PEFexpert Consortium.

Currently, eInvoicing in B2B is voluntary. Companies using eInvoicing in B2B can use the KSeF platform which is free of charge. Until an obligation is introduced under the KSeF system, companies are free to use other market solutions, i.a. these operating within the OpenPeppol network. No electronic signature is required for eInvoices.

KSeF

The Ministry of Finance is currently working on the implementation of mandatory eInvoicing for all commercial transactions (B2G and B2B) eInvoicing from 1 February 2026.

The Polish Ministry of Finance will mandate the National eInvoicing System KSeF, which will be a central government platform for the issuance and reception of electronic invoices. Companies must send all electronic invoices to the KSeF, where a digital time stamp will be applied. The goal of this system is to enable the exchange of electronic invoices in the B2B relationship and fit into the CTC monitoring model. In October 2021, a test period began when service providers could participate in system testing with KSeF.  In January 2022, a voluntary phase started, where companies could begin issuing ‘structured’ invoices to KSeF and benefit from fiscal incentives. The Ministry of Finance has conducted extensive public consultations and an external audit to ensure full functionality [5].

The external audit revealed several irregularities relating to the IT infrastructure of the KSeF system. As a result of the external audit, Act of 9 May 2024 postponed KSeF implementation to 2026. In the meantime, the Ministry of Finance is committed to providing free training, educational activities, and individual consultations for entrepreneurs. The training activities will also be supported by a wide information campaign. In January 2025, the National Tax Information hotline will be launched specifically for matters related to the KSeF.

 Starting from 2026, all entities with a registered office in Poland and foreign entities with a fixed establishment in Poland will be obliged to document B2B transactions using eInvoices through the National eInvoicing system KSeF being developed by the Ministry of Finance. However, suppliers in public procurement will be permitted to continue using the existing PEF platform. Business-to-consumer transactions (B2C) are excluded from the KSeF eInvoicing obligation, nevertheless, it is foreseen that companies will have the possibility of issuing consumer invoices in the KSeF system on a voluntary basis. In addition, the Ministry of Finance is exploring the possibility of QR codes for B2C invoicing.

Foreign entities, not subject to VAT in Poland, are exempt from the B2B eInvoicing obligation. Nevertheless, the EU VAT in the Digital Age legislative proposal foresees eInvoicing to become mandatory for Intra-Community transactions from July 2030 (transactions from one Member State to another).  The Ministry of Finance is currently in dialogue on how to implement this obligation and ensure full interoperability with the KSeF system.

The KSeF system will be entirely free of charge. It will be supported several technical solutions to meet the needs of various types of enterprises.

• KSeF Taxpayer application: full features and connection to the tax authorities.
• e-Microfirma application: limited features and connection to the tax authorities.
• KSeF mobile application: enables convenient and quick issuance, receipt and management of e-invoices in real time from a mobile device.

Status on the implementation of the European eInvoicing standard (EN)                                    

According to the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology, the 2014 eInvoicing Directive and the introduction of the European eInvoicing standard (EN 16931) have moderately contributed to increasing the adoption of eInvoicing.

The European Standard on eInvoicing in Poland was implemented using Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 as the basic specification of eInvoices in public procurement. A guide to implementing this specification in Polish conditions has been developed. Similar implementation guides were prepared for the remaining post-award documents such as order, correcting invoices and accounting notes.

Peppol CIUS – BIS Billing 3.0 is used as national CIUS (no substantial difference against Peppol, but specification complemented by Polish business terms definitions and interpretations). Poland uses an extension to the European standard on eInvoicing (regarding correcting invoices - specific for the Polish tax system). The communication concerning the CIUS goes through a website dedicated to eInvoicing in Poland. It is a knowledge base for all domestic stakeholders of the process, including information about CIUS used. In addition, during 2016-2019, a series of meetings, webinars and workshops were conducted to raise awareness of how the PEF platform works. Some of the promotional actions, webinars and training are continued according to needs and available resources.

In addition, from May 2022 it is possible to send ‘specialised’ eInvoices for mass services, such as gas, telecommunications, or electricity sales. This standard extension dedicated to mass-service providers in Poland was developed in accordance with the Extensions methodology and approved by OpenPeppol [6].

eInvoicing implementation in sub-central level contracting authorities 

Poland has a centralised platform in place used by more than 16 000 registered contracting authorities. Every registered public entity can receive eInvoices from other network users, as long as eInvoice is EN 16931 and Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 compliant. Therefore, there is no difference between central and sub-central contracting authorities.

Monitoring mechanism

There is monitoring mechanism in place for both the central and sub-central levels. The number of suppliers using PEF and the total number of eInvoices submitted via PEF platform are monitored via the administrator’s panel. The new KSeF system is also foreseen to have a monitoring functionality.

The data from 2023 showcases that over 19 000 entities were registered on the PEF platform, including over 16 000 from the public sector. In total, 360 000 eInvoices were exchanged via the PEF platform in 2023. In total, since the beginning of PEF's operation, over 1 000 000 invoices have been processed.

Use of Core Invoicing Usage Specifications (CIUS) at national level

Poland did not create its own CIUS but has been using the Peppol BIS. Polish specifications are covered by the Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 specification (and other Peppol BIS specifications). Therefore, due to the specific requirements of Polish law regarding correcting invoice, its specification was developed and published in compliance with the Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 semantic model and its syntax.

One of the main challenges was to prepare additional extensions for specific sectoral requirements. This way Poland intended to involve large companies, especially in the utility sector, in the eInvoicing process, as the core invoice model of EN 16931 is not sufficient for them. From May 2022 it is possible to send ‘specialised’ eInvoices for mass services, such as, gas, telecommunications, or electricity sales. This standard extension dedicated to mass-service providers in Poland was developed in accordance with the Extensions methodology and approved by OpenPeppol [7].

Digital reporting requirements

Currently, VAT returns in Poland can be submitted either electronically or on paper. With the implementation of the KSeF system in 2026, VAT reporting will be based on eInvoicing.

[1] (Platforma Elektronicznego Fakturowania, 2024), [2] (Platforma Elektronicznego Fakturowania, 2024), [3] (Krajowa Informacja Skarbowa, 2024), [4] (Platforma Elektronicznego Fakturowania, 2024),  [5] (Zmiany w projekcie Krajowego Systemu e-Faktur (KSeF) po uwagach biznesu, 2023), [6] (Peppol, Poland), [7] (Peppol, Poland)

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Last updated:  Jun 28, 2024 18:14