Business Review Poland – July 2026
For businesses that depend on accounting and bookkeeping services in Poland, tax advisory in Poland, VAT compliance, and HR and payroll Poland outsourcing, July 2026 was a demanding month — with changes reaching tax-scheme reporting, e-invoicing in the National e-Invoicing System (KSeF), the split payment mechanism, company-car VAT, labour-law enforcement and the first binding transparency rules for artificial intelligence. Whether you run a Polish limited company, operate a branch of a foreign parent, or coordinate corporate compliance and financial reporting for a group doing business in Poland, tracking these developments closely matters, because each one comes with firm deadlines and rising penalties that feed straight into day-to-day bookkeeping, payroll administration and tax settlements.
In this monthly business review, we present the most important developments from the past month that affect the conditions for doing business in Poland.
In this article:
AI Act transparency obligations from 2 August 2026: what must companies in Poland implement?
From 2 August 2026, the transparency obligations in Article 50 of the AI Act — Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 — become directly applicable, covering four areas: human interaction with AI, technical marking of synthetic content, emotion-recognition and biometric-categorisation systems, and the publication of deepfakes and certain texts on matters of public interest. Providers of tools that generate text, images, audio or video will, as a rule, have to mark outputs in a machine-readable format, while systems already placed on the market before 2 August benefit from a limited transition until 2 December 2026. Companies deploying such tools remain responsible for the visible labelling of published deepfakes and qualifying AI-generated texts. Not every AI-assisted image or paragraph needs a label — what counts is whether the material could be mistaken for something authentic, and whether it informs the public on matters of public interest. A voluntary EU Code of Practice was published on 10 June 2026, and on 8 July 2026 the European Commission recognised that it adequately covers Article 50(2), (4) and (5), though signing up is not conclusive proof of compliance. On the national side, the President signed the Polish Act on artificial intelligence systems on 24 July 2026, establishing a Commission for the Development and Safety of Artificial Intelligence as the supervisory body. Breaching the transparency duties can attract an administrative fine of up to EUR 15 million or 3% of total worldwide annual turnover, whichever is higher, with a lower cap for SMEs. In practice, this means that before 2 August every business should map where it uses AI, decide which outputs require disclosure, and name the person who approves and documents that control.
Read the article for more details: AI Act transparency obligations in Poland from 2 August 2026
National Labour Inspectorate (PIP) inspections in Poland: the rules changed on 8 July
One of the most significant labour-law reforms in years took effect on 8 July 2026, reshaping how the State Labour Inspectorate (PIP) operates. Public attention focused on the Inspectorate's power to challenge sham civil-law contracts and B2B arrangements — so-called reclassification — but the reform runs much wider than that single issue. Inspectors gain the ability to run remote checks using electronic documents and online transmission, to select targets analytically through algorithms and data drawn from other authorities, and to exchange information far more freely with the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) and the National Revenue Administration (KAS). Two new instruments stand out: an order to remedy violations, which lets an inspector ask the parties to bring a relationship into line before any formal decision, and an individual interpretation issued by the Chief Labour Inspector — a post now held by Janusz Krasoń. Financial penalties have risen sharply: the standard fine range for offences against employee rights moves from PLN 1,000–30,000 to PLN 2,000–60,000, reaching up to PLN 90,000 for a repeat offence committed within two years. Inspectors may also notify prosecutors of suspected offences under Articles 218 §1a and 219 of the Penal Code, so a routine check can escalate into a multi-agency process spanning ZUS and tax settlements. In practice, this means the safest posture is not preparing for a specific inspection but running an organisation that is audit-ready every day, with documentation that matches how work is actually performed.
Read the article for more details: PIP inspections in Poland: new rules from 8 July 2026
Split payment mechanism and KSeF invoices in Poland – what changes for businesses?
The split payment mechanism (MPP) is nothing new, but from 1 January 2027 the way a paid invoice is identified within an MPP transfer will change for structured invoices issued in the National e-Invoicing System (KSeF). For a single invoice, the KSeF number — a technical identifier assigned by the system and distinct from the seller's own invoice number — becomes the key reference; for a batch settlement, a collective identifier generated by KSeF replaces the list of individual invoice numbers. The underlying logic of MPP stays intact: it is mandatory where three conditions are met together — a transaction between taxable persons, a total invoice amount above PLN 15,000 (or the equivalent), and goods or services listed in Annex No. 15 to the VAT Act. A collective payment may cover several invoices from one supplier issued within a period of no less than one day and no more than one month, and with KSeF the buyer can choose which of those invoices to settle in a single transfer rather than being forced to include them all. It is worth remembering that the buyer — not merely the seller's labelling — must assess whether a transaction falls under mandatory MPP, and that the mechanism has been extended through to 2028. Companies that receive many invoices from the same counterparties, run recurring payments or use finance systems integrated with electronic banking will feel this shift most acutely. In practice, this means finance teams should check now that their accounting systems, approval workflows and payment processes can capture and pass on the KSeF number and the collective identifier without error.
Read the article for more details: Split payment mechanism and KSeF invoices in Poland
MDR changes in Poland 2026: what companies must do before 1 October
A reform introduced by the Act of 29 May 2026 amending the Tax Ordinance (promulgated on 25 June 2026) reshapes Poland's tax-scheme reporting regime, with the core MDR changes taking effect on 1 October 2026. From that date, Mandatory Disclosure Rules will, as a rule, apply only to cross-border arrangements: domestic schemes fall out of scope, VAT and excise are excluded, the separate "supporter" role disappears, and the statutory obligation to maintain an internal MDR procedure is repealed. The MDR-2 form is abolished, while MDR-3 will generally be filed once a year — by the end of the fourth month after the tax or calendar year-end — and may now be signed by a proxy. Individual interpretations on MDR are expressly ruled out, so businesses will have to rely on the statute, the DAC6 directive and their own documented reasoning. Transitional rules matter here: some obligations falling due up to 30 October 2026 must still be completed under the old regime, and a beneficiary generally has 30 days to report where no promoter is involved. Penalties remain steep — the amended Article 80f of the Fiscal Penal Code allows a fine of up to 720 daily rates, which at the 2026 minimum wage of PLN 4,806 gives a theoretical ceiling of PLN 46,137,600, though that is a statutory maximum rather than a standard charge. In practice, this means the right move is not to dismantle your MDR process but to refocus it on cross-border arrangements, re-map open matters and re-assess who now qualifies as a promoter following the removal of the supporter role.
Read the article for more details: MDR changes in Poland 2026: what companies must do
VAT deduction for company cars in Poland: when mileage records may no longer protect your business
Full (100%) VAT deduction on a company car is safe only where the vehicle is genuinely used exclusively for VAT-taxed business activity and the company can prove it with documents; the default for passenger cars is 50%. Three elements underpin the higher deduction: a timely VAT-26 filing, a reliable mileage log, and rules of use that exclude private journeys. The VAT-26 form must be submitted by the 25th day of the month following the month in which the first vehicle-related expense was incurred, and no later than the day the VAT records are sent — miss that deadline and the vehicle counts as exclusively business-use only from the first day of the month in which the form is actually filed. What has raised the stakes is data analytics: the authorities can now cross-check a taxpayer's records against automatic number plate recognition systems (ANPRS), so a mileage log that looks correct on paper will not hold up if it does not match where the car really went. Where the routes diverge, the office can challenge the 100% deduction, demand the difference against the 50% rate together with late-payment interest, and in serious cases consider fiscal-penal liability. Even a single private trip can undermine the exclusive-use condition, which is why a mixed model with 50% deduction is often the more defensible choice for cars parked at an employee's or board member's home. In practice, this means firms claiming full recovery should run a short audit now — confirming the VAT-26 was filed correctly, the log is complete and current, and the internal rules are enforced rather than merely written down.
Read the article for more details: VAT deduction for company cars in Poland
July 2026 points in a single, consistent direction: Polish authorities are tightening transparency and enforcement across tax, labour and technology, leaning on data analytics, cross-agency cooperation and firmer penalties. For businesses, the common thread is that formal compliance on paper is no longer enough — processes now have to reflect what actually happens day to day, from how AI content is approved to how a company car is really used.
At getsix®, we support businesses by providing a full range of services in accounting, tax, HR and payroll, as well as company registration, administrative support, reporting, and international advisory both in Poland and abroad.
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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