VAT Registration – How to register for VAT in Poland?

A company may be obliged to pay VAT in several cases e.g.: on the basis of turnover in a given period, on the basis of specific services or products offered by the company, or if it stores goods in a warehouse in Poland.

If a company or entrepreneur falls into one of the above mentioned categories, it must register with the Polish tax office for VAT registration in Poland in order to obtain an identification number. For foreign companies there is only one tax office which serves them - Second Mazovian Tax Office in Warsaw (Śródmieście).

1. Completing business registration documents.
2. Preparation of documents: they may vary depending on e.g. whether the company is registered in Poland and its legal form. Foreign companies are requested to submit, among others, the articles of association of the foreign company.
3. Payment of fees: VAT registration in Poland is in theory free of charge, but investors need a confirmation of registration for which they have to pay 170 PLN. Failure to pay the fee results in the lack of confirmation of assigning the VAT number.
4. Registration as a VAT taxpayer: a VAT-R application should be submitted to the municipality office either electronically or in paper form.
5. Meet the requirements: once registered, the taxpayer must meet the mandatory requirements to create and maintain accurate VAT records.

If you need to register your company for VAT in Poland, getsix® will help you with all the necessary steps and ensure that the registration is carried out thoroughly and that all documents are correct.
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• A copy of the articles of association of a limited liability company translated into Polish by a Polish sworn translator - a certified translation should be provided in the original;
• Copy of original and current excerpt from the commercial register in your country confirming the existence of the company, translated into Polish by a Polish sworn translator - certified translation should be included in the original;
• Copy of confirmation of registration for VAT purposes in the country of residence or certificate of registration for VAT purposes in the country of residence, the details e.g. address of the company included on the confirmation of registration / certificate should be consistent with the details given on the extract from the commercial register;
• Agreement with a bank in Poland confirming that the company has an open bank account - The agreement with the bank will be obligatory if the company will apply for input VAT refunds; however, opening a bank account in Poland will be possible at the earliest after registration for VAT in Poland;
• Agreement with an accounting office in Poland - The agreement is not required to be submitted but the accounting office keeping the books of the company should be declared on the registration form;
• Contracts with Polish customers and/or description of business activity in Poland - Depending on the type of business activity the tax office may ask for contracts with Polish customers or for renting a warehouse etc;
• Power of attorney issued on our behalf by an authorised person listed in the court registers; - Power of attorney on an official UPL-1 form signed by a person authorised to represent the entity in accordance with the representation rules indicated in the court registry;
• Stamp duty of PLN 170 - optional. There is no fee for issuing the NIP number - when the tax office assigns the NIP number, it is possible to verify on the basis of this number in official government systems whether a given entity is also registered for VAT - while issuing a certificate is payable and in many cases necessary;
• The form VAT-R - Declaration for EU VAT - is filled out by getsix® Customer Service;
• The NIP-2 or NIP-7 form, depending on the legal form of your company, will be filled out by getsix® Customer Service;
• Keep in mind that the registration process takes a few weeks after receipt of all above documents. Sometimes the authorities require additional clarifications.

If you decide to register your company in Poland with getsix® our Customer Service Consultant will guide you through the entire process. Feel free to contact us and ask any questions.
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Our team of specialist at getsix® Accounting; who specialize in company formation in Poland can provide you with needed clarifications if you wish to determine the need for registration.

As mentioned before The most common examples when a company is obligated to register for Polish sales Tax number, regardless of the value of the sales are:

1. Buying and selling goods in Poland.
2. Importing goods into Poland from outside the European Union.
3. Acquiring goods in Poland from another EU country (Intra-community acquisitions).
4. Selling goods from Poland which are delivered to customers outside of Poland (private customers or business).
5. E-commerce sales of goods to consumers, subject to Distance Selling VAT registration thresholds.
6. Holding inventory in Poland for sale, distribution or consignment.
7. Organizing events in Poland where delegates or attendees must pay admission.

Please keep in mind that the examples mentioned above should be used as a general guideline and it is highly recommended to consult with one of our getsix® specialists after you open or plan to open a company in Poland in 2021 in order to determine if the business activities make it mandatory to register for VAT purposes.

If you are wondering if you need to register for VAT purposes in Poland, please contact our getsix® Tax Team and we will happily advise you.