The planned amendment of regulations concerning the application of the 0% VAT rate in the export of goods may significantly change the practice of VAT settlements for businesses. Instead of a strict reliance on a specific type of document, greater importance is expected to be attached to the actual occurrence of the export transaction and the possibility of demonstrating it using various reliable forms of evidence.
Export of goods – what is the current situation?
Under the Polish VAT Act, the export of goods refers to a situation where a sale transaction is accompanied by the actual removal of goods from Poland to a destination outside the territory of the European Union. Therefore, not only the transactional aspect itself (i.e. the transfer of the right to dispose of goods as an owner) is relevant, but also the physical movement of the goods to a third country.
In order for a given transaction to qualify as an export, several conditions must be met. First, a supply of goods must take place. Subsequently, the goods must be dispatched or transported outside the territory of the European Union – whereby the transport may be carried out either by the seller (direct export) or by the foreign purchaser or an entity acting on its behalf (indirect export).
A specific feature of the Polish definition is that, in addition to the factual aspect, it also includes a formal element. The regulations indicate directly in the definition of export itself (Article 2 point 8 of the VAT Act) that the removal of goods should be confirmed by the competent customs authority. In practice, this means that the taxpayer must possess a document confirming that the goods have left the customs territory of the European Union. This is the so-called CC599C message (formerly IE599).
It should be noted that this approach is relatively formalistic, meaning that under domestic regulations significant importance is attached not only to whether the goods have actually left the EU, but also to whether this fact has been properly documented.
Polish proposal versus European Union regulations
The approach resulting from the Polish VAT Act is relatively restrictive and differs from the EU regulations.
The VAT Directive does not contain a single closed definition of export; instead, it focuses on the conditions for applying the preferential VAT rate. It primarily concentrates on the actual removal of goods outside the EU and does not make the right to apply the 0% VAT rate dependent on possessing a specific type of customs document.
Open or closed catalogue?
Article 41(6a) of the VAT Act provides that a document confirming export may, in particular, be the CC599C message (formerly IE599). Despite the legislator’s use of the wording “in particular”, which indicates an open catalogue of documents, Polish tax authorities have taken the position that only confirmation issued by a customs authority may be considered evidence entitling a taxpayer to apply the 0% VAT rate. Consequently, this has resulted in numerous disputes between taxpayers and tax authorities.
Case law – possibility of using other forms of evidence
According to numerous judgments issued by both Polish administrative courts and the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), the CC599C customs message cannot be the only document confirming the removal of goods outside the EU territory. Such an approach would constitute excessive formalism infringing the principle of VAT neutrality.
Therefore, the form of the document itself is irrelevant. The most important factor is whether the taxpayer is able to prove that the goods subject to the export procedure actually left the territory of the EU.
The fulfilment of substantive conditions plays a superior role compared to meeting the formal requirement of possessing a specific document.
The evidence held by the taxpayer must clearly and unambiguously demonstrate both the removal of the goods and the identification of the goods that were actually exported.
Important: Based on the submitted documents, the tax authority must be able to determine beyond any doubt that the export actually took place and identify the goods that left the EU territory. The reliability of the submitted documents is also a prerequisite.
The practice concerning tax interpretations indicated that, in order to prove that goods have left the EU territory, taxpayers should collect:
- transport documents,
- statements from the contractor/carrier,
- documents from the country of import.
Therefore, refusal to apply the 0% VAT rate may occur only where the taxpayer does not possess evidence confirming the export or participated in fraud.
Examples of judgments:
- judgment of the Voivodship Administrative Court in Łódź of 18 June 2025, case no. I SA/Łd 223/25,
- judgment of the Voivodship Administrative Court in Kraków of 13 February 2025, case no. I SA/Kr 972/24,
- judgment of the Voivodship Administrative Court in Opole of 15 January 2025, case no. I SA/Op 1008/24,
- judgment of the Voivodship Administrative Court in Gliwice of 27 August 2024, case no. I SA/Gl 1720/23,
- judgment of the Voivodship Administrative Court in Wrocław of 23 April 2024, case no. I SA/Wr 751/23,
- CJEU judgment C-275/18,
- CJEU judgment C-602/24.
What will change?
In order to make the obligations related to documenting the export of goods for the purposes of applying the 0% VAT rate under the VAT Act more flexible and, consequently, to minimise disputes between taxpayers and tax authorities, the following amendments to the VAT Act are proposed:
1. Change to the definition of export, he proposed amendment provides for the removal, from Article 2 point 8 of the VAT Act, of the requirement to possess a document confirming the removal of goods outside the EU territory, issued by the competent customs authority specified in customs regulations.
2. Indication of alternative evidence confirming the export, the removal of goods will be possible to confirm, in particular, through:
- transport documents received from the carrier (freight forwarder),
- documents generated from the electronic system of the carrier or postal operator,
- relevant documents issued by customs administrations of non-EU countries confirming the importation and customs clearance of goods in that country, together with a written statement from the purchaser of the goods confirming that the goods have been delivered to their destination outside the EU territory.
Important: The documents must clearly demonstrate that the goods have left the territory of the European Union.
3. Advance payments in export transactions
The draft amendment also provides for an additional safeguard and changes to the rules for applying the 0% VAT rate to advance payments received before the export takes place.
The proposed change consists in introducing a requirement that the exporter must have been registered as an active VAT taxpayer for at least 12 months. According to the draft’s authors, this requirement is intended to reduce the potential risk of irregularities arising from allowing other forms of evidence confirming the removal of goods outside the EU, instead of documents where the export has been confirmed by the competent customs authority.
Despite this additional safeguard, the proposed changes should be assessed positively. They represent a beneficial solution, particularly for entities that experience difficulties or delays in obtaining standard customs documentation (often caused by customs agencies or global courier companies carrying out consolidated customs clearances), while at the same time being able to prove, through other means, that the goods have actually reached the recipient in a third country.
However, it should be remembered that tax authorities will still require the submitted evidence not to raise doubts regarding either its authenticity or its clarity. Therefore, in order to limit risks, it is recommended that taxpayers – whenever possible – continue to seek to obtain the electronic customs export confirmation, and in higher-risk situations also collect alternative documentation confirming the export in parallel.
The introduction of the above-described changes is initially planned for January 2027.
Naturally, these are only preliminary assumptions at this stage. The draft legislation has not yet been published. Nevertheless, the Council of Ministers is expected to adopt the draft already in the second quarter of 2026, at which point further details will become available, including the final effective date of the amended regulations.
KR Group support
It is worth assessing already now whether your current export documentation model and the application of the 0% VAT rate will be aligned with the planned changes.
If you would like to discuss the impact of the new regulations on your business, review your current export documentation practices, or prepare your organisation for the upcoming changes, please do not hesitate to contact us.
