VAT Registration

Check if you are required to register for VAT

VAT registration - for whom?

Natural and legal persons; organizational units with no legal personality, which independently conduct business activity as producers, traders, service providers, including entities acquiring natural resources, or farmers; are all subject to VAT registration.

Taxpayers are required to submit a registration notice to the Head of the Tax Office prior to performing the first activity specified in Article 5 of the VAT Law, i.e. before a:

Paid supply of goods and paid provision of services within the territory of the country.
Export of goods.
Import of goods on national territory.
Intra-Community acquisition of goods for consideration within the territory of the country.
Intra-Community supply of goods.

When do you need?

Registration for intra-Community transactions is mandatory for:

Active VAT taxpayers planning to make intra-Community sales or purchases, provision or supply of services for which the taxpayer is a customer from the European Union.
Legal entities that are not taxpayers and other taxpayers making:
- intra-Community acquisitions of goods, if the value of these transactions exceeds PLN 50,000 during a tax year.
- importing services from taxpayers from European Union countries
- providing services to taxpayers from European Union countries, for which the tax is settled by the EU purchaser.

VAT registration step by step

The fundamental document is the VAT-R application form (available in two languages: Polish and English). This form is also used to register for intra-Community transactions.

Apart from the registration application, the registration process also includes an identification application on the NIP-2 form.
The VAT-R registration application and the NIP-2 update application may both be submitted in electronic form (a qualified signature is required) and paper form.

The taxpayer is required to submit the following documents:

Current extract from the commercial register of the country of residence.
A copy of the partnership agreement.

The aforementioned documents must clearly portray the entity’s form of representation. Any doubts as to representation may prolong the registration process.

Confirmation of taxpayer status in the country of residence.
Document confirming the legal title to property / premises (lease agreement) - if the taxpayer has a permanent place of business (FE).
Agreement concluded with a tax representative - if the entity does not have a registered office or permanent place of business in EU territory nor in the territory of the Kingdom of Norway or the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Statement of bank accounts or lack thereof.
Statement on planned activity - an optional document enabling the verification of the scope of activity and the necessity to register for VAT purposes in Poland by the Tax Office. This statement often helps in avoiding additional questions from the public office which has a direct impact on the registration process.

If the taxpayer intends to commission another entity to perform activities related to the handling of their VAT settlements, in addition to the aforementioned documents, it is also worth submitting appropriate powers of attorney which enable acting on a taxpayer’s behalf in front of tax offices in Poland, e.g.:

UPL-1 - power of attorney to sign tax returns.
PPO- general power of attorney, which authorizes to act in all tax matters and in other matters falling within the jurisdiction of tax authorities.

All necessary documents must be submitted to the relevant office. As a rule, the registration process takes around one month. During this time the authorities check whether the submitted documents are complete, etc.

If there are no doubts concerning the documents, registration for VAT can take around 7 days.

Our support

Analysis of the factual situation including the Client's situation from the perspective of Polish VAT.
Cooperation with the competent authorities and offices. Possible cooperation in VAT settlements during the registration process.
Preparation of documents and their submission to the competent office.
Additional support in the field of VAT - hotline.

Contact

Gerard Goliasz

Senior TAX Specialist

g.goliasz@krgroup.pl

(+48) 22 511 56 21

FAQ

When can registration renewal take place?

The tax authority not only verifies data provided in the registration application, but also checks whether it is dealing with an existing entity. Verification is done by contacting the taxpayer. If the entity cannot be contacted, despite documented attempts, or if the entity does not appear when summoned, the authorities refuse to register the entity as a VAT taxpayer.

Important: There is no obligation to notify the entity of this fact. An identical situation may arise when indicating incorrect data in the registration application, or by the authority's certainty that the entity which submitted the registration application does not exist.

Is VAT registration always necessary?

VAT registration is not always necessary. Once relevant conditions are met, the burden of settling VAT is assumed by the purchaser of the goods or services.

How long does the registration process take?

The registration process takes about one month. However, in case the submitted documents are complete and the authorities have no doubts the registration process may take about one week.