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Executive summary

Electronic invoicing in Poland is still rather uncommon practice. One has to differ the e-invoicing market into the EDI and the electronic invoices which integrity is provided with the use of secure electronic signature.

When the EDI is concerned, the biggest market for the EDI invoices are FMCG sales chains with supermarkets located on the top and being actually the originator for the electronic data interchange.

The second legally acceptable form of e-invoices, the invoices with secure electronic signatures are not very widespread. Mostly, only some large companies already use this form of e-invoicing(especially mass service providers in B2C channel), while secure electronic signature e-invoicing among SMEs is a would-be vision. To give an example, among four major mobile networks currently being active in Poland only one of them is providing its client with electronic invoices with secure electronic signatures, while 3 others use electronic invoice’s images (being actually in fraudem legis solution).

Unfortunately, the Ministry of Finance responsible for tax and invoicing issues actually doesn’t do much to popularize electronic form of invoicing among Polish entrepreneurs and citizens. A very inglorious role are playing here the Tax Offices issuing contradictory official tax regulations’ interpretations (very often within one Tax Office). Fortunately, recent interpretations are showing that the e-invoices knowledge level among Tax Offices is rising and previously unclear legal provisions are not causing much inconvenience now.

As a conclusion one can say, that the e-invoicing market in Poland for BSPs is still to start.

Legal aspects

As far as electronic invoicing in Poland is concerned one has to satisfy several legal acts regarding invoicing. The most important legal act is the Executive Regulation issued by the Minister of Finance on the 14th of July 2005 on issuing and sending of e-invoices, as well as on storing and making them available for Tax Office or Tax Inspection (Official Journal 2005 No. 133, item 1119) transposing the key provisions of the Council Directive 2001/115/EC of 20 December 2001 amending the Directive 77/388/EEC with a view to simplifying, modernising and harmonising the conditions laid down for invoicing in respect of value added tax and being now a part of the Council Directive 2006/112/EC of 28 November 2006 on the common system of value added tax. The Executive Regulation (…) on issuing and sending of e-invoices, as well as on storing and making them available for Tax Office or Tax Inspection regulates: 1. means and conditions of issuing and transmitting the invoices in electronic form,
2. rules on storing and making the invoices being transmitted in electronic form available for Tax Office or Tax Inspection.
Remaining issues concerning the issuing of invoices whether in electronic or paper based form are included in the VAT act of 11th of April 2004 (Official Journal 2004 No. 54, item 535, amended) and in the Executive Regulation issued by the Minister of Finance on the 28h of November 2008 on (…) invoices issuing and storing (…) (Official Journal 2008 No. 212, item 1337). The provisions concerning the invoices obligatory storing time periods result also from the General Tax Law of 29 August 1997 (Official Journal 2005 No. 8, item 60, amended).

The Executive Regulation issued by the Minister of Finance on the 14th of July 2005 on issuing and sending of e-invoices, as well as on storing and making them available for Tax Office or Tax Inspection regulates the key issues in relation to the e-invoices in Poland:
- the invoices issued in electronic form shall be transmitted and provided to the addressee of data using electronic equipment for processing (including digital compression) and storage, and employing wire, radio, optical or other electromagnetic means (§ 2 of the Regulation),
- the e-invoice recipient's acceptance for receiving invoices in electronic form has to be stated before issuing any e-invoice (§ 3.1 of the Regulation),
- the e-invoice recipient's acceptance shall be stated in the written form or electronic form. In the latter form the provisions of the § 4 apply (§ 3.2 of the Regulation),
- the e-invoices shall be issued and sent to the receiver no sooner than from the day following the day of the acceptance statement (§ 3.3 of the Regulation),
- in case of the acceptance withdrawal no further electronic invoices shall be issued and sent to the recipient starting from next day following the day of the issuer’s acceptance withdrawal receiving (§ 3.4 of the Regulation),
- invoices shall be sent or made available by electronic means provided that the authenticity of the origin and the integrity of their content are guaranteed by one of the following methods (§ 4 of the Regulation):
1. by means of a secure (not an advanced one – the Polish electronic signatures law defines no advanced electronic signature) electronic signature within the meaning of point (3) of Article 2 of the Electronic signatures Law of the 18th of September 1997 (Official Journal 2001 No. 130, item 1450) verified by an qualified certificate,
2. means of electronic data interchange (EDI), as defined in the Commission Recommendation 1994/820/EC of 19 October 1994 relating to the legal aspects of electronic data interchange, if the agreement relating to the exchange provides for the use of procedures guaranteeing the authenticity of the origin and integrity of the data.
- adjustment (correcting) invoices and replacement invoices issued to the e-invoices are to be issued and sent in electronic form (§ 5.1 of the Regulation),
- in case formal or technical obstacles occur making it impossible to issue or send an adjustment (correcting) invoice or adjustment (correcting) invoice or a replacement invoice these documents in paper form with an annotation that the adjustment (correcting) invoice or the replacement invoice refers to an invoice in electronic form (§ 5.2 of the Regulation),
- invoices sent or made available in electronic form are to be stored in the territory of Poland provided that the instant, full and on-line electronic access to the e-invoices is guaranteed on demand of the Tax Office and Tax Inspection Authorities and correspondingly to other applicable legal provisions. In particular the access and usage of the e-invoices by the before mentioned Authorities shall be documented, especially by the means of printing and providing the e-invoices legible, with respect to the paragraph 6.2 of the Regulation (§ 6.1 of the Regulation),
- provided the electronic invoices are to be stored outside the territory of Poland, Head of the Tax Office and Head of the Tax Inspection (responsible for the excise tax in respect of the corresponding taxpayer) shall be informed in writing about the place of the e-invoices storage - the address and provided the address does not refer to the issuer or recipient, also about the name of the entity responsible for e-invoices storing (§ 6.2 of the Regulation),
- the before mentioned notification obligation does not refer to the entities not being taxpayers (§ 6.3 of the Regulation),
- provided the electronic invoices are to be stored outside the territory of Poland and the storage place changes, Head of the Tax Office and Head of the Tax Inspection (responsible for the excise tax in respect of the corresponding taxpayer) shall be informed in writing about the place of the e-invoices storage (the address and provided the address does not refer to the issuer or recipient, also about the name of the entity responsible for e-invoices storing) not later than after 7 days after the change taking place (§ 6.4 of the Regulation),
- the invoices sent in electronic form shall be stored by the issuer and by the recipient in electronic form in original form in which they were sent in a way that the authenticity of the origin of the invoices and the integrity of their content, as well their legibility is provided (§ 6.5 of the Regulation).