How to make accounting for tax more secure

Why you should use tools that make accounting for tax more secure

Tax laws are complicated. Their interpretation is not always uniform, either; that is, different tax authorities may interpret the same provisions differently. Meanwhile, an entrepreneur who misinterprets the tax laws or fails to meet their tax obligations may face negative consequences, such as:

• payment of interest on tax arrears
• determination by tax authorities of additional tax liability
• incurring liability for the obligations of a third party
• omission for tax purposes of the performed activities.

Therefore, the entrepreneur should keep in mind the available instruments of the tax law which are protective by definition; they help the entrepreneur protect themselves against possible violations of the tax laws.

The most important instruments of this type are:

• general tax rulings and tax explanations
• individual tax rulings
• cooperation agreement and tax agreements
• protective opinions
• certificates
• Binding Rate Information (VAT).

General tax rulings and tax explanations

From the perspective of the entrepreneurs, a correct definition of tax obligations and burdens is crucial to the security of their business. Any discrepancy in the interpretation of tax laws means that companies run a real risk of failing to meet their obligations or a risk of underpayment of taxes due.

To eliminate the risk arising from different tax rulings, the Minister of Finance is authorised to issue:

• general tax rulings – ex officio or upon request
• tax explanations on the application of the indicated regulations – ex officio.

The Minister of Finance issues general tax rulings and tax explanations to ensure uniform application of tax laws.

General rulings

Tax rulings are intended as a tool to ensure uniform application of tax law by tax authorities.

Please note! In the case of a general ruling, the taxpayer must show that there are different interpretations of a given provision and request that the Minister should issue a unified position on the matter.

A general ruling may be issued by the Minister of Finance at the request of any interested taxpayer or ex officio by the Minister of Finance themselves when they perceive a discrepancy in the uniform application of tax laws.

A request for a general ruling is submitted to the Minister of Finance. This is how it should be done:

• submit it on an official form
• pay the fee for the request to issue a general ruling
• identify the provisions of tax law requiring the issuance of a general ruling
• indicate inconsistent application of tax law provisions in certain decisions, orders and individual rulings issued by tax authorities in the same factual states of affairs or future events and in the same legal states of affairs.

Important! A general ruling may be issued when no tax proceedings, tax audit, customs and fiscal audit are pending against the person submitting the request, or no appeal has been filed against the decision or order at the time of submitting the request.

In the issued general ruling the Minister of Finance indicates:

• a description of the matter for which the tax ruling is being issued
• an explanation of the scope and application of the interpreted provisions of the tax law to the described matter, along with the legal reasoning.

A general ruling is a letter from the Minister of Finance interpreting the provisions of tax law against the background of the discrepancies that have arisen as a result of the application of these provisions by subordinate tax authorities.

A general ruling does not constitute a source of law, but the tax authorities who are the addressees of the ruling feel bound by it when applying the provisions of the tax law in individual cases.

From the taxpayer’s perspective, adherence to a general ruling plays a significant protective role; it results in the taxpayer being covered by legal protection simply because they trusted the position expressed in the official tax ruling.

• If you adhere to a general ruling that is subsequently changed, you will not be prosecuted for fiscal crimes or offences, and proceedings initiated in these cases will be discontinued, and no interest for late payment will be charged.
• If you adhere to a general ruling that is subsequently changed or expires or is not included in the resolution of a tax case, you will be relieved of the obligation to pay tax to the extent arising from the event that is the subject of the general ruling, provided that:
• the obligation was not properly met as a result of adherence to the general ruling that changed or a ruling that was not considered in the resolution of a tax case, and
• the tax consequences related to the event to which the facts that are the subject of the general ruling correspond occurred after the publication of the general ruling.

Important! If the tax consequences related to the event to which the facts that are the subject of the general ruling correspond occurred before the publication of the ruling, adherence to the ruling does not relieve the tax liability.

Tax explanations

The Minister of Finance is authorised to issue tax explanations. Tax explanations are another form, besides general rulings, of ensuring uniform application of tax laws.

The essence of tax explanations is to link the content of a provision with its practical application to examples of situations that may affect taxpayers.

However, the scope of the explanations is determined by the Minister of Finance, not the taxpayers. This means that not all the taxpayer’s doubts will be resolved by the tax explanations.

From the taxpayer’s perspective, however, what matters is that the tax explanations provide legal protection for the taxpayer if the content is adhered to.

Please note! Adherence to the tax explanations from before they were changed cannot harm the one who adhered to them; even if the tax explanations are not considered in the resolution of the tax case.

In the case of adherence to the tax explanations that were changed, no proceedings for fiscal crimes or offences will be initiated, and proceedings initiated in such cases will be discontinued, and no interest for late payment will be charged.

Adherence to the tax explanations that were subsequently changed results in the exemption from the obligation to pay tax to the extent arising from the event that is the subject of the tax explanations if:

• the liability was not properly performed as a result of adherence to tax explanations that have been changed, and
• tax consequences related to the event to which the facts covered by the tax explanations correspond occurred after the publication of the explanations.

Read the tax explanations issued by the Minister of Finance.

Individual tax rulings

Due to the complexity of the tax law, taxpayers are entitled to request that the tax authorities issue individual tax rulings.

A request for an individual tax ruling must be submitted to the Director of the National Revenue Information, and with regard to local taxes – to the commune mayor, mayor of the town/city, starosta or marshal of the voivodeship.

In the request for an individual ruling, the taxpayer presents their own interpretation of specific tax provisions in relation to their individual situation; the taxpayer describes their case and indicates how they understand the regulations in this context, and the tax authority evaluates this position: whether it is correct or not.

Please note! If two or more interested parties are involved in the same factual state or future event, a joint request for an individual tax ruling may be filed. In such a case, a single individual ruling is issued for all parties involved. It is very common to request a joint tax ruling in assessing the VAT consequences of selling real property. Then a joint request is made by the seller and the buyer to avoid the risk of divergent rulings on the same facts related to VAT.

The purpose of an individual tax ruling is to mitigate the risks associated with the performance by a taxpayer or a tax remitter of the rights and obligations arising from the application of tax law.

An individual tax ruling is issued by the Director of the National Revenue Information at the request of the interested party. In order to obtain an individual tax ruling, a request must be submitted on the official ORD-IN form.

See how to apply for an individual tax ruling.

The following may be covered by a request for an individual tax ruling:

• the existing facts, that is the circumstances that have already occurred, and the assessment of their tax consequences is expected
• a future event, that is the circumstances that the interested party expects to occur (for example, in connection with planned activities).

This means that the tax authority assesses the consequences under the tax law with respect to the state of the facts or a future event indicated by the party submitting the request.

Important! The following regulations may not be covered by a request for an individual tax ruling:

• regulating the competence, powers and responsibilities of tax authorities
• aimed at preventing tax evasion, relating to the abuse of tax laws, the conduct of actual business activity, or taking actions artificially or without economic justification.

The Director of the National Revenue Information issues an individual tax ruling within 3 months of the date of receipt of the interested party’s request.

In the individual tax ruling, the Director of National Revenue Information indicates:

• a comprehensive description of the facts or a future event presented in the request
• an assessment of the requesting party’s position including the legal grounds for this assessment. The Director of the National Revenue Information may waive the legal grounds if the requesting party’s position is correct in full.

The individual tax ruling may not harm the requesting party.

A taxpayer’s adherence to an individual tax ruling provides the taxpayer with protection until the ruling is changed or the tax authority receives a copy of a final and non-appealable decision of an administrative court setting aside the individual ruling even if it has not been considered in the resolution of the tax case.

If a taxpayer adheres to a ruling that subsequently changes, expires or is not considered in the resolution of a tax case, no proceedings for fiscal crimes or offences will be initiated against the taxpayer, and proceedings initiated in such cases will be discontinued, and no interest for late payment will be charged.

Important! If the tax consequences related to the event to which the facts covered by the ruling correspond occurred before the ruling was delivered, adherence to the ruling does not relieve the tax liability.

Adherence to an individual ruling, which was subsequently changed, whose expiration was declared or which was not considered in the resolution of the tax case, exempts the taxpayer from the obligation to pay tax to the extent arising from the event covered by the ruling if:

• the obligation was not properly met as a result of adherence to a ruling that was subject to change or a ruling that was not considered in the resolution of a tax case, and
• the tax consequences associated with the event to which the facts covered by the ruling correspond occurred after the delivery of the individual interpretation.

Important! You will not enjoy the protection of an individual tax ruling if the facts or the future event are treated as an event to which the anti-avoidance rule applies. In such a case, the protection provided by an individual tax ruling for the entity that obtained it is excluded.

Cooperation agreement and tax agreements

The Polish tax law system offers a new solution: a cooperation agreement which is designed to ensure cooperation between the taxpayer and the Head of the National Revenue Administration in tax settlements.

A taxpayer who chooses to enter into a cooperation agreement with the Head of the National Revenue Administration enjoys the tax authority’s individualized approach, which consists, among others, in a good knowledge of the taxpayer’s situation that facilitates proper consideration of the nature of the taxpayer’s business.

The cooperation is based on the tax administration supporting the taxpayer’s compliance with the law, thus guaranteeing certainty in the application of the law in exchange for the taxpayer’s transparency in respect of the tax administration, as the taxpayer establishes a close relationship with the administration.

Important! This form of cooperation is reserved for entities that operate on a larger scale – corporate income tax payers with turnover in excess of EUR 50 million in the previous year may apply for a cooperation agreement. The indicated threshold is converted at the EUR exchange rate on the last day of the year preceding the submission of the request for a cooperation agreement.

The Head of the National Revenue Administration may enter into a cooperation agreement with a taxpayer at the taxpayer’s request. The mere submission of the request does not automatically mean that a cooperation agreement will be entered into by the Head of the National Revenue Administration. Entering into the cooperation agreement is subject to a positive opinion on the preliminary audit. The preliminary audit is carried out by the Head of the National Revenue Administration and covers the two years preceding the period before the request for cooperation.

During the term of the cooperation agreement, the taxpayer’s responsibilities include:

• voluntary and proper performance of obligations under the tax law
• having an effective and relevant set of identified and described processes and procedures for managing and ensuring the proper performance of tax obligations (framework for internal tax oversight)
• reporting to the Head of the National Revenue Administration, without being requested to do so, significant tax issues that may become a source of dispute between the taxpayer and the tax authority
• promptly providing the Head of the National Revenue Administration with relevant information that may affect the taxpayer’s tax benefit.

The Head of the National Revenue Administration will take only the necessary oversight measures in respect of the taxpayer with whom a cooperation agreement has been entered into, and will oversee and coordinate their application by other tax authorities. In addition, the Head of the National Revenue Administration will be the only entity authorised to conduct customs and tax audits, and will give their consent for the competent tax authority to perform verification activities or cross-checks.

Important! The cooperation agreement can be terminated by both the taxpayer and the Head of the National Revenue Administration.

Taxpayers who enter into a cooperation agreement with the Head of the National Revenue Administration will be authorised to enter into tax agreements, thus arrangements on doubtful issues that may be the subject of a tax dispute in the future. The subject of tax agreements may be:

• tax rulings
• transfer pricing
• determining the lack of legitimate application of the anti-avoidance rule
• the amount of corporate income tax liability projected for the next fiscal year
• other issues necessary to ensure proper implementation of the cooperation agreement.

Read for more information on the cooperation agreement.

Protective opinions

Due to the increasingly common aggressive optimisation in the legal transactions in Poland, the anti-avoidance rule was introduced into the Polish tax law system.

The rule allows the Head of the National Revenue Administration to disregard the tax benefit achieved by the taxpayer if, in the opinion of the Head, this benefit is contrary to the object or purpose of the tax act or its provisions, and the achievement of the tax benefit was the main or one of the main purposes of the taxpayer’s performance of the activities (the taxpayer’s mode of action can be considered artificial).

As a result of the application of the general anti-avoidance rule, the activities performed by the taxpayer will be disregarded for tax purposes. At the same time, the tax authority will assume that an appropriate activity has been performed, i.e. one that the taxpayer would have performed if the taxpayer had acted reasonably and pursued lawful objectives, and the manner of action would not have been artificial. In simple terms, this means that the Head of the National Revenue Administration will disregard the activities performed by the taxpayer and classify them as other activities that may give rise to an obligation to pay tax with respect to the activities performed.

Thus, the anti-avoidance rule creates a significant risk on the part of the taxpayer that the activities that the taxpayer has performed will be challenged and that the Head of the National Revenue Administration will assume that the taxpayer has performed other activities that may lead to the payment of tax.

To avoid such a situation, the taxpayer can request a protective opinion from the Head of the National Revenue Administration. Such an opinion will protect the taxpayer from being challenged by the anti-avoidance rule for the performed or planned activities.

The protective opinion is issued by the Head of the National Revenue Administration at the request of the interested party. A request for a protective opinion may relate to a planned activity, an accomplished activity or an initiated activity. As part of the request for a protective opinion, the requesting party indicates:

• the details identifying the requesting party
• the entities performing the activities
• a comprehensive description of the activities with an indication of the links between the entities
• the MDR Tax Scheme Number or provides an explanation of the factual or legal reasons why there was no registration for the Tax Scheme Number
• the objectives that the implementation of the activities is intended to serve
• economic or business grounds for the activities
• tax consequences, including tax benefits, resulting from the activities covered by the request for a protective opinion
• other tax benefits, the achievement of which is at least indirectly dependent on the performance of the activities
• other planned, initiated or performed activities on which the achievement of tax benefits depends even indirectly
• the requesting party’s own position on the issue.

In addition, the requesting party may attach to the request for a protective opinion source documents relating to the activities described in the request for a protective opinion.

Please note! The request for a protective opinion is subject to a fee of PLN 20 thousand.

The Head of the National Revenue Administration will issue a protective opinion when they consider that the general anti-avoidance rule does not apply in the presented situation. The Head of the National Revenue Administration will do so within 6 months of receiving the request.

The protective opinion is a guarantee that the covered event will not be subject to challenge under the anti-avoidance rule.

Certificates

Another protective instrument that the taxpayers can use is certificates, that is information provided by the tax authority about factual and legal circumstances in the tax authority’s possession. Certificates are issued by the tax authorities at the request of the interested party.

You can request a certificate from the tax authority:

• when official confirmation of specific facts or legal status is required by law
• to confirm specific facts or legal status for your legal interest.

Tax authorities are required to issue the certificate within 7 days of receiving the request of the interested party.

Among the most important certificates that the interested party can obtain are:

A tax clearance certificate

Tax authorities, at the request of the interested party, may issue a certificate of no tax arrears or of the status of tax arrears on the basis of information in possession of the tax authority or other tax authorities.

As part of the tax clearance certificate, the tax authority may also indicate information as to whether the following proceedings are pending in respect of the requesting party:

• proceedings to uncover the requesting party’s tax arrears and determine their amount
• enforcement proceedings
• proceedings in cases of fiscal crimes or fiscal offences.

A tax clearance certificate is most often needed for any kind of tenders or when taxpayers conduct the sales of businesses.

See how to apply for a tax clearance certificate.

Certificate of the testator’s obligations

The tax authorities, at the request of the interested party, may issue a certificate of the testator’s obligations.

Such a certificate can be obtained by potential heirs before acquiring the inheritance to protect themselves from assuming the testator’s tax debts. On the basis of the aforementioned certificates, the heir can assess whether, as a result of accepting the inheritance, they will or will not be liable for the testator’s tax obligations.

Certificate of obligations of the seller of an enterprise

If an enterprise or its organised part are acquired, the buyer is liable for tax arrears incurred up to the date of acquisition jointly and severally with the seller with all their assets; yet, the extent of the buyer’s liability is limited to the value of the assets of the acquired enterprise.

However, the buyer of an enterprise (or its organised part) may limit its liability for tax arrears to the amount indicated in the certificate (if the buyer applies for one); in the issued certificate, the tax authority determines the amount of the seller’s tax arrears as of the date of issuance of the certificate, and the buyer gains information about the amount of tax arrears for which the buyer will be liable as part of the buyer’s financial obligations. If, after the acquisition of the enterprise, tax liabilities other than those indicated in the certificate are revealed, the buyer will not be liable for them.

Please note! The buyer may obtain the certificate only with the consent of the entity selling the enterprise or its organised part.

Certificate of residency

The tax authority, at the taxpayer’s request, may also issue a certificate of the taxpayer’s place of residence or registered office for tax purposes in the territory of the Republic of Poland, hence a certificate of residency. A request for a certificate of residency should be filed with the tax authority competent for the entrepreneur’s place of residence or registered office.

Obtaining a certificate of residency is often required by foreign business partners; it facilitates the correct application of the rules under the double taxation treaty entered into by Poland and the country in question.

Binding Rate Information (VAT)

Entrepreneurs who are VAT payers will often face the problem of choosing the VAT rate at which they will tax the supply of goods or services to their business partners. If a lower VAT rate than the correct rate is set, the taxpayer will be required to cover the difference. Hence, setting an incorrect VAT rate carries significant risks for businesses.

If an entrepreneur is in doubt as to whether they are applying the correct VAT rate, they should request Binding Rate Information (WIS).

Read how to apply for Binding Rate Information.

Binding Rate Information (WIS) is an official confirmation of the VAT rate that should be applied to a given supply of goods or services.

Binding Rate Information is issued in the form of a decision containing:

• description of the goods or services that are the subject of WIS
• classification of the goods according to the chapter, heading, subheading or code of the Combined Nomenclature (CN) or according to the section, chapter, group or class of the Polish Classification of Types of Constructions (PKOB), or of the service according to the section, division, group, class, category, subcategory or heading of the Polish Classification of Goods and Services (PKWiU) – necessary to determine the tax rate applicable to the goods or services
• the tax rate applicable to the goods or services.

Binding Rate Information is issued immediately, but no later than 3 months from the date of receipt of the request.

Binding Rate Information binds tax authorities with respect to the information contained therein. If the Binding Rate Information is changed, the taxpayer’s adherence to it prior to the change does not result in negative tax consequences.

Voluntary disclosure (czynny żal)

Taxpayers who fail to meet their tax obligations face negative consequences, including the payment of interest for late payment or the determination of an additional tax liability by the tax authorities.

In addition to the financial consequences, the taxpayer may also face penal fiscal liability. To avoid it, the taxpayer who has violated their tax obligations can benefit from voluntary disclosure.

What are the benefits of voluntary disclosure

The purpose of voluntary disclosure is to exclude penal fiscal liability for a fiscal crime or offence. A person who has committed a fiscal crime or offence and who successfully uses voluntary disclosure is not subject to punishment for the crime or offence. In addition, criminal proceedings will not be initiated against this person, and the initiated proceedings will be discontinued.

Thus, if the bodies in charge of pre-trial proceedings or the court find that there is a circumstance that results in the offender not being subject to punishment, then they should discontinue these proceedings, and the perpetrator of a fiscal crime (offence) is in principle indemnified and held harmless.

In order to make effective use of voluntary disclosure, a person who has committed a fiscal crime (offence) must:

• notify the tax authority of committing the fiscal crime (offence)
• disclose the relevant circumstances of the committed fiscal crime (offence)
• also disclose all persons complicit in prohibited conduct.

Read how to make voluntary disclosure (czynny żal).

Where committing a fiscal crime (offence) involves the unlawful reduction in public-law liability to be paid, in order to successfully make voluntary disclosure, you must pay the unlawfully reduced liability within the deadline set by the tax authority.

In addition, the tax authority is required to order the forfeiture of items, and the offender making voluntary disclosure should deposit the items. The forfeiture will apply to:

• an object derived directly from a fiscal crime
• a tool or another object constituting movable property that was used or intended to be used to commit a fiscal crime
• the package and the object connected with the object of the fiscal crime in such a way that they cannot be disconnected without damaging any of these objects
• an object whose manufacture, possession, marketing, storage, transportation, transfer or shipment is prohibited.

If the offender cannot deposit the items, the offender must pay the amount equivalent to their value. The tax authority will also impose an obligation on the offender to pay the monetary equivalent if the items subject to forfeiture and deposited by the offender are likely to be quickly destroyed or spoiled, their storage would involve disproportionate costs or undue difficulties, or would cause a significant reduction in their value.

Please note! When the forfeiture relates to items whose manufacture, possession, marketing, transportation, transfer or shipment is prohibited, no monetary equivalent is required.

When voluntary disclosure cannot be made

Voluntary disclosure cannot be made to avoid liability if:

• the notification was filed at a time when the law enforcement agency already had clearly documented knowledge of the fiscal crime or offence having been committed
• the notification was filed after the law enforcement agency initiated an official action, in particular a search, pre-investigative operations or inspection aimed at disclosing a fiscal crime or offence, unless the action failed to provide grounds for the initiation of the proceedings in respect of this prohibited conduct.

Who cannot make voluntary disclosure

Voluntary disclosure cannot be made by:

• persons who directed the engagement in the disclosed prohibited conduct
• persons who, taking advantage of another person’s dependence on them, instructed them to engage in the disclosed prohibited conduct
• persons who organised a group or association with the purpose of committing a fiscal crime, or led such a group or association, unless they made a notification together with all members of the group or association
• persons who induced other persons to commit a fiscal crime or offence.

Making voluntary disclosure by these persons does not exclude their punishability – despite making voluntary disclosure, they will incur penal fiscal liability.

Split payment mechanism

The split payment mechanism can only be used for settlements between businesses. The split payment mechanism means that the entrepreneur pays the received VAT invoices to two accounts, transferring:

• the net amount to the business partner’s main account
• the amount of VAT resulting from the received invoice to the business partner’s VAT account.

This means that the entrepreneur’s payment for a VAT invoice is split between two accounts belonging to the business partner: the main account and the VAT account.

Read what split payment is and how to make it.

Please note! The split payment mechanism comes in two variants:

• voluntary, when the entrepreneur is not required to pay VAT invoices using the split payment mechanism
• mandatory, when the entrepreneur is required to pay VAT invoices using the split payment mechanism.

The use of the split payment mechanism plays a protective role for the entrepreneur. In the case of mandatory split payment, the entrepreneur’s failure to use it will have negative implications.

Advantages of using the split payment mechanism

• Reducing the risk of the tax authority determining an additional tax liability

In case an invoice is paid using the split payment mechanism, as a rule, the tax authorities are not entitled to establish an additional liability up to the amount of tax corresponding to the amount of tax arising from the received invoice, paid using the split payment mechanism. This means that for VAT invoices settled using split payment, you exclude the risk of an additional tax liability being charged by the tax authority.

Important! The risk will not be excluded despite the application of the split payment mechanism in the event that the paid invoice is issued by a non-existent entity; it states activities that have not been performed; it states amounts that are not true; it confirms an absolutely invalid and bogus activity.
In such a case, the tax authority will be able to determine the additional tax liability.

• Exclusion of the application of the increased interest rate for late payment

Tax authorities may apply to VAT arrears an increased interest rate for late payment of 150% of the standard rate.

However, if in a given accounting period you settle at least 95% of the input tax using the split payment mechanism, the tax authorities will not be entitled to apply the increased rate of interest on the tax arrears incurred during this period and will charge interest at the standard rate only.

In addition, you will not enjoy the protection if the tax arrears exceed twice the input tax.

• Accelerated refund of excess input VAT

The standard VAT refund period is 60 days. However, if the taxpayer uses the split payment mechanism and applies for a refund of the excess to a bank account designated for the payment of output VAT, the period will be reduced to 25 days.

Risks in the case of mandatory split payment mechanism

If you fail to apply the split payment mechanism where it is mandatory, the tax authorities may charge you an additional liability of 30% of the amount of VAT arising from a VAT invoice paid without the indicated mechanism.

The obligation to use the split payment mechanism applies to VAT invoices that document the purchase of goods or services listed in Annex 15 to the VAT Act, in a single transaction exceeding PLN 15,000.

However, the tax authorities will not establish an additional liability if the business partner whose invoice you paid bypassing the split payment mechanism settles all the VAT arising from the invoice that you settled in a defective manner.

Read more about the sanctions for failing to use mandatory split payment.

List of VAT payers – White List

The White List of VAT payers is a list of entities maintained by the Head of the National Revenue Administration:

• in respect of which the head of the tax office has not made a registration or which have been removed from the register as VAT payers
• registered as VAT payers, including entities whose registration as VAT payers has been reinstated.

The White List of VAT payers provides a base via which the taxpayer can verify the entities with which the taxpayer is or will be closing business transactions. In this way, you will obtain the following information:

• whether your business partner is an active taxpayer for VAT purposes or whether they are an exempt taxpayer
• whether your business partner is listed in the VAT register
• the address details of the business partner and any registration numbers (NIP, REGON, PESEL or KRS)
• the number of a bank account or an account in a cooperative savings and credit union used for business purposes.

The list of VAT payers is a tool designed to facilitate the vetting of business partners and thus to promote due diligence in their selection. It is protective in nature for the entrepreneur, as the vetting of a business partner’s details makes it possible to avoid negative implications.

Vet your business partner in the List of VAT payers.

From an entrepreneur’s perspective, one of the most important pieces of information that the White List provides is the information about the business partner’s accounts: a bank account or an account in a cooperative savings and credit union, opened in connection with the business. Before paying their business partners, entrepreneurs are required to check whether they are making a payment to the account shown in the White List.

Entrepreneurs are required to make payments to the account indicated in the List of VAT payers because:

• it has been decided that any payments above the amount of PLN 15 thousand made to an account other than the account indicated in the List cannot be accounted for as tax-deductible costs
• the rule of joint and several liability for VAT of the buyer of goods and services who has paid for goods and services to an account other than the one indicated in the White List has been adopted if the business partner fails to pay the VAT due. In this case, the buyer who has made a transfer to a bank account that is not in the White List will be jointly and severally liable with the seller.

Important! You can avoid joint and several liability and the sanction of not being able to account for an expense as a tax-deductible cost, transferred to an account other than the one indicated in the White List, if you notify the head of the tax office