VAT refund in Poland for foreign companies: what you need to know
A VAT refund in Poland is an important issue for many foreign companies that incur business expenses in Poland and want to recover input VAT charged on Polish invoices. In practice, however, the mere fact that VAT was paid is not enough. The success of the whole process depends above all on correctly assessing whether the company is actually eligible for this procedure, meeting the filing deadline, and submitting a complete and accurate set of documents.
Official guidance from the Polish Ministry of Finance confirms that an application for a VAT refund for foreign entities must be submitted electronically, in Polish, via the tax administration of the country where the applicant is established. On the Polish side, the competent authority is the Head of the Second Tax Office Warsaw-Śródmieście.
For foreign entrepreneurs, the key point is that mistakes in this procedure rarely concern technical issues alone. A common problem starts much earlier, with the incorrect assumption that every foreign company can automatically apply for a VAT refund in Poland. In reality, the first step is to verify whether the company’s activities in Poland create an obligation to register for VAT in Poland and account for Polish VAT on an ongoing basis instead of using the VAT-REF procedure.
In this article:
Who can apply for a VAT refund in Poland
According to information published by the Polish Ministry of Finance, entities entitled to apply for a VAT refund include eligible businesses from European Union member states, including individuals, legal persons, and organisational units without legal personality, provided that they have their place of business within the European Union.
At the same time, during the period covered by the application, they must not have had in Poland:
- a registered place of business,
- a fixed establishment from which business transactions were carried out,
- a permanent place of residence, or
- a habitual place of stay.
In addition, they must be registered as value added tax taxpayers in their country of establishment.
This condition must be assessed together with another equally important requirement. During the period for which the company applies for a refund, it should, as a rule, not have carried out in Poland any sales involving taxable supplies of goods, taxable supplies of services, exports of goods, or intra-Community supplies of goods, except for specific situations indicated by the tax administration.
This is often the stage at which the first serious practical mistake appears. A business focuses on the expenses incurred in Poland, but fails to examine whether its operating model excludes the VAT-REF procedure from the outset.
How to submit a VAT refund application
A VAT refund application must be submitted electronically and in Polish through the tax administration of the EU member state where the taxpayer is established. On the Polish side, the application is processed by the Head of the Second Tax Office Warsaw-Śródmieście, and the authority confirms receipt electronically.
A copy of the invoice or customs document must be attached where the taxable amount shown on that invoice or customs document is equal to or higher than the equivalent of EUR 1,000. In the case of invoices documenting fuel purchases, the threshold is the equivalent of EUR 250.
The conversion into PLN should be made using the average EUR exchange rate published by the National Bank of Poland (NBP) on the last working day preceding the date of issue of the invoice or customs document.
This is one of the areas where formal mistakes often arise. Even if the expense was genuinely incurred, failure to attach the required copy, an incorrect currency conversion, or inconsistencies between invoice data and the information entered in the application may extend the procedure and trigger additional correspondence with the Polish tax authority.
VAT refund in Poland: key deadlines
The most important deadline for the taxpayer concerns the submission of the application itself. A VAT refund application must be filed no later than 30 September of the year following the tax year to which the claim relates. Missing this deadline will generally close the possibility of recovering VAT under this procedure.
The refund period also matters. A VAT refund may be claimed for:
- a period of at least 3 months and no more than one tax year, or
- a period shorter than the final 3 months of a given year.
Minimum claim thresholds also apply. The amount claimed may not be lower than the equivalent of:
- EUR 400 if the application concerns a period shorter than one year but not shorter than 3 months, or
- EUR 50 if the application concerns the full tax year or a period shorter than the last 3 months of that year.
On the authority’s side, the standard deadline for issuing a decision is 4 months from the date of receipt of the application together with all required documents. If the tax office does not have all the information needed to decide the case, it may request additional information. In that situation, the deadline may be extended to 6 months, and where further additional information is requested, even up to 8 months from the date the application was received.
The approved refund amount should be paid no later than 10 working days from the date of the decision.
Special attention should also be paid to requests for additional information. Any requested information must be submitted in Polish within 1 month from the date the request is received. In practice, this is often one of the most difficult moments in the entire procedure for foreign companies, because it requires quick document preparation and a precise response aligned with the expectations of the Polish tax authority.
The most common mistakes in VAT refund applications
Filing the application after the deadline
This is one of the simplest and, at the same time, most costly mistakes. Businesses often postpone preparation until the end of September, assuming it is enough to collect the invoices and pass them on for filing. In reality, a properly prepared application requires earlier verification of eligibility, document completeness, and data accuracy. If the company starts too late, the risk of missing the 30 September deadline increases significantly.
Incorrect assessment of whether the company qualifies at all
Not every foreign company that incurs expenses in Poland can use the VAT-REF procedure. If the business carried out activities in Poland that exclude this mechanism, the correct solution may be VAT registration in Poland and ongoing VAT compliance under Polish rules, rather than a VAT refund application. Filing in the wrong procedure usually means lost time, additional explanations, and a risk of refusal.
Incorrect determination of the refund period
The application must cover the correct period. The error may involve selecting too short a period or failing to observe the specific rules for the final part of the year. In practice, businesses often follow their internal document flow rather than the procedural rules. Yet the correct period also affects whether the minimum value thresholds are met.
Failure to meet the minimum thresholds
If the amount claimed does not reach the required minimum, the application does not meet the formal conditions of the procedure. For a period shorter than one year but not shorter than 3 months, the minimum threshold is the equivalent of EUR 400. For a full tax year, or a period shorter than the final 3 months of the year, the threshold is EUR 50. In practice, the mistake may involve not only filing for too small an amount, but also converting PLN values incorrectly.
Incomplete documentation
It is not enough simply to hold the invoices. In some cases, copies must be attached, and the documents must be fully consistent with the data stated in the application.
Common issues include missing invoice pages, unreadable scans, inconsistencies in document numbers, or incorrect calculations in relation to the EUR 1,000 and EUR 250 thresholds. These oversights often lead to additional questions from the authority and lengthen the entire procedure.
Failure to take account of the deductible proportion
The Polish Ministry of Finance also indicates that the taxpayer must apply a deduction proportion where acquired goods or services are used only partly for activities giving the right to deduct VAT. If this proportion later changes, the VAT amount claimed should be adjusted accordingly in the next application, or the existing application should be corrected.
This is an area that is often overlooked in practice, especially where a business treats a VAT refund as a simple reimbursement of the entire VAT amount shown on invoices.
Failure to respond to a request from the tax office
If the authority requests additional information, the response must be submitted in Polish and within 1 month. A late reply, incomplete documentation, or an inappropriate form of explanation may extend the procedure and affect the amount ultimately recognised for refund. For foreign companies, this is usually one of the most demanding stages of the process.
Errors in identification data and bank account details
Although this may seem technical, the consequences can be very practical. Incorrect identification data, errors in the bank account number, or discrepancies between the documents and the application may result in additional clarifications and longer processing times. In a procedure based on electronic exchange of information, data precision is essential.
How to prepare a VAT refund application safely
The safest approach is to start work on the application well in advance. The company should first confirm that it actually meets the conditions of the procedure for foreign entities, and only then gather the documents and finalise the application. It is also good practice to verify beforehand whether any transactions carried out in Poland during the relevant period could exclude the use of VAT-REF.
In practice, it is worth preparing an internal checklist covering:
- VAT taxpayer status in the country of establishment,
- absence of transactions excluding the procedure,
- correct refund period,
- compliance with minimum thresholds,
- completeness of documents,
- accuracy of identification data, and
- readiness to respond quickly to any request from the authority.
A structured approach of this kind reduces the risk of formal errors and helps the whole procedure run more smoothly.
When VAT registration in Poland may be required instead of a VAT refund
Not every foreign company should apply for a VAT refund under the procedure designed for foreign entities. If the business model includes activities carried out in Poland that exclude VAT-REF or create an obligation to account for VAT in Poland, the appropriate solution may be VAT registration in Poland together with ongoing tax compliance and settlements.
In such cases, a broader analysis is needed than simply reviewing individual purchase invoices. It may also be worth considering professional tax advisory in Poland to determine the correct route from both a compliance and business-risk perspective.
A VAT refund in Poland can be an effective way to recover tax paid on Polish business expenses, but it requires careful preparation. The biggest risks usually do not concern the existence of the refund right itself, but rather the incorrect assessment of whether the company may use the procedure, missing the 30 September deadline, incomplete documentation, incorrect data, or a delayed response to a request from the tax office. The official rules published by the Polish Ministry of Finance clearly show that this is a formalised procedure that requires both technical accuracy and good internal organisation on the taxpayer’s side.
For foreign companies operating in the Polish market, the most important issue is to determine in advance whether the right path is a VAT refund application or rather VAT registration in Poland with ongoing VAT settlements. This distinction is fundamental for tax security and the efficiency of the entire process.
If you have any questions regarding this topic or if you are in need for any additional information – please do not hesitate to contact us:
CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS DEPARTMENT
ELŻBIETA
NARON-GROCHALSKA
Head of Customer Relationships
Department / Senior Manager
getsix® Group
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