Do invoices for services supplied abroad have to be issued through Poland’s KSeF?
In many cases, Polish businesses must report invoices for services supplied abroad through the National e-Invoicing System (KSeF), even when the services are taxable in another country. The obligation depends primarily on whether Polish invoicing rules apply, who is required to account for VAT and whether a statutory exclusion from mandatory KSeF is available.
In this article:
Must invoices for services supplied abroad be issued through KSeF?
Yes. A service being taxable outside Poland does not automatically mean that the related invoice falls outside KSeF.
This was confirmed in an individual tax ruling issued by the Director of the National Tax Information Service (KIS) on 22 June 2026, reference no. 0112-KDIL1-3.4012.251.2026.2.ŁW. The ruling concerned design services connected with properties located in Germany. The tax authority concluded that although the services were not subject to VAT in Poland, the Polish company was still required to issue the relevant invoices through KSeF. The foreign place of supply did not prevent Polish invoicing rules from applying.
The assessment therefore requires an examination of three key issues: which country’s invoicing rules govern the transaction, which party accounts for VAT in the country of taxation and whether the invoice qualifies for a statutory KSeF exclusion.
Where an invoice is subject to mandatory KSeF and is issued in standard online mode, it must first be submitted to the system. The supplier should then provide the foreign customer with an agreed visualisation, such as a PDF or printed copy containing the appropriate QR code. Under the relevant offline procedures, the document may be provided to the customer before a KSeF identification number has been assigned, subject to the rules applicable to the specific offline mode.
What determines whether an invoice must be issued through KSeF?
Determining whether an invoice for services supplied to a foreign customer must be issued through KSeF requires an analysis of several elements of the transaction.
It is not sufficient to identify the country in which the service is subject to VAT. In practice, a business should answer three questions in the following order:
- Where is the place of supply for VAT purposes?
- Do Polish invoicing rules apply to the invoice?
- Is the supplier subject to mandatory KSeF and not covered by a statutory exclusion?
Correctly determining the place of supply is essential. It does not always correspond to the location where the work is physically performed. For most B2B services, the place of supply is determined by the customer’s place of establishment or the relevant fixed establishment receiving the service. Special rules apply to certain categories of supplies, including services sufficiently and directly connected with a specific property.
Why can a service that is not subject to VAT in Poland still fall within KSeF?
A common mistake is to assume:
The service is not taxable in Poland, so Polish invoicing rules do not apply and the invoice does not need to be issued through KSeF.
This approach overlooks Article 106a of the Polish VAT Act.
Polish invoicing provisions also apply to certain services supplied by a taxable person established in Poland or operating through a Polish fixed establishment involved in the transaction, even where the place of supply is outside Poland. For services taxable in another European Union Member State, Polish invoicing rules may apply where:
- the service is supplied by a Polish taxable person,
- the place of supply is in another EU Member State,
- VAT is accounted for by the customer, and
- the invoice is not issued by the foreign customer under a self-billing arrangement.
Where the place of supply is in a non-EU country, Polish invoicing provisions generally apply if the supplier is established in Poland or provides the service through a fixed establishment located in Poland. In a B2B transaction, this may result in an obligation to issue the invoice through KSeF, unless a specific statutory exclusion applies.
What did the KIS ruling of 22 June 2026 establish?
The issue was considered in the individual tax ruling issued by the Director of the National Tax Information Service on 22 June 2026, reference no. 0112-KDIL1-3.4012.251.2026.2.ŁW.
A company established in Poland prepared structural designs relating to specific properties located in Germany. The services were treated as directly connected with those properties. Consequently, under Article 28e of the Polish VAT Act, their place of supply was Germany. The company issued invoices to German customers marked “reverse charge” and reported the transactions in Poland as supplies of services outside the territory of the country. However, it argued that the invoices should not be issued through KSeF. The Director of KIS disagreed. The authority noted that:
- the supplier was a taxable person established in Poland,
- the place of supply was in another EU Member State,
- the German customer was responsible for accounting for VAT, and
- the Polish supplier issued the invoice itself.
Article 106a(2)(a) of the Polish VAT Act therefore applied. The invoice had to be issued in accordance with Polish invoicing rules, including the requirement to use KSeF.
What is the key takeaway from the ruling?
A service not being subject to VAT in Poland does not mean that the related invoice is automatically outside KSeF. However, the ruling does not establish that all invoices for services supplied abroad must automatically be issued through KSeF. The authority based its conclusion on the specific facts described in the application, particularly the fact that the German customer accounted for VAT under the reverse charge mechanism. The Director of KIS also did not independently examine whether the supplies were correctly classified as services connected with immovable property. This classification was accepted as part of the facts presented by the applicant.
When must invoices for services supplied abroad be issued through KSeF?
| Situation | Requirement to issue the invoice through KSeF |
|---|---|
| A Polish company supplies B2B services to a taxable person in another EU Member State and the customer accounts for VAT | Generally yes, provided that Polish invoicing rules apply |
| A Polish business supplies services connected with property located in Germany and the German customer accounts for VAT | Yes, according to the KIS position presented in the ruling of 22 June 2026 |
| A Polish business supplies B2B services to a customer outside the EU | Generally yes, if the supplier is established in Poland or supplies the service through a Polish fixed establishment and no statutory exclusion applies |
| A foreign customer without a Polish tax identification number issues an invoice on behalf of the Polish supplier under a self-billing arrangement | Mandatory KSeF does not apply. The invoice is issued outside the system in paper or electronic form |
| An invoice is issued to a foreign consumer | Mandatory KSeF does not apply. A consumer invoice may be issued through KSeF voluntarily |
| A foreign company is registered for VAT in Poland but has no establishment or fixed establishment in Poland, or its Polish fixed establishment does not participate in the transaction | The foreign company is not required to use KSeF. It may use the system voluntarily |
| The total gross value of sales documented in a month by invoices otherwise covered by mandatory KSeF does not exceed PLN 10,000 | Until the end of 2026, the invoices may be issued outside KSeF. The invoice that causes the limit to be exceeded, and all subsequent invoices, must be issued through KSeF |
Until 31 December 2026, a transitional deferral applies where the total gross value of sales documented by invoices otherwise subject to mandatory KSeF does not exceed PLN 10,000 in a given month. Once the threshold is exceeded, the invoice that causes the threshold to be exceeded and all subsequent invoices must be issued through KSeF. The taxable person cannot return to the simplified treatment in a later month, even if the value of invoices falls below PLN 10,000.
Must every reverse charge invoice be issued through KSeF?
No automatic rule applies. A reverse charge annotation indicates that VAT is accounted for by the customer. However, the KSeF requirement also depends on the supplier’s status, the type of customer, the place of supply and the invoicing rules governing the transaction.
Before applying the reverse charge mechanism, the supplier should examine the rules of the country in which the service is taxable.
KSeF does not determine whether the Polish supplier must:
- register for VAT in another country,
- charge foreign VAT,
- apply the reverse charge mechanism, or
- include additional information required under local law.
In the case considered by KIS, it was assumed that the German customer was responsible for accounting for VAT. This conclusion should not be applied without further analysis to every service connected with property located abroad.
The place of supply, foreign VAT registration requirements and invoicing method can be reviewed as part of our VAT advisory services in Poland and Europe.
How does a foreign customer receive an invoice issued through KSeF?
Issuing an invoice through KSeF does not mean that a foreign customer will automatically retrieve it from the Polish system. Where an invoice is issued in standard online mode to a foreign entity, the supplier should:
- issue the structured invoice through KSeF,
- wait until the KSeF identification number has been assigned,
- generate a visualisation of the invoice, for example as a PDF,
- add the required QR code, and
- provide the invoice to the customer in the agreed manner, such as by email or through a customer portal.
The Polish Ministry of Finance confirms that a document provided to a foreign customer outside KSeF, for example as a PDF containing the relevant QR code, constitutes the customer’s invoice.
Businesses therefore need two connected processes:
- the technical issuance of the structured invoice through KSeF, and
- the commercial delivery of a readable document to the foreign customer.
Can a KSeF invoice be issued in English?
Yes. Information entered in the text fields of a structured invoice, such as the description of a service, may be provided in English. However, the headings appearing in visualisations generated by the KSeF Taxpayer Application remain in Polish. Commercial software integrated with KSeF may generate English or bilingual invoice visualisations. The document provided to the customer must remain substantively consistent with the data contained in the XML file submitted to KSeF. For transactions in which VAT is accounted for by the customer, the invoice should clearly contain the annotation: “odwrotne obciążenie / reverse charge“. A separate second invoice should not be created solely for the foreign customer. The PDF provided to the customer should be a visualisation of the invoice previously issued through KSeF.
How should businesses prepare their cross-border invoicing process?
The finance team should assign each category of cross-border services to the appropriate VAT and KSeF scenario. The analysis should cover:
- the customer’s country and tax status,
- the type of service supplied,
- the place of supply for VAT purposes,
- the party responsible for accounting for VAT,
- any foreign VAT registration requirement,
- the application of Polish invoicing provisions,
- the required invoice details and annotations, and
- the method used to deliver the document to the foreign customer.
Construction, design, architectural, installation and other services relating to specific properties require particular attention. Businesses must also distinguish between general advisory services and supplies that have a sufficiently direct connection with a specific property.
Invoices for services supplied abroad are not automatically excluded from KSeF. A Polish taxable person may be required to issue a structured invoice even where the service is taxable in Germany, another EU Member State or a non-EU country. The KIS ruling of 22 June 2026 indicates that, in the future event described in the application, invoices for design services connected with properties located in Germany had to be issued through KSeF. The supplier was established in Poland, the German customer was responsible for accounting for VAT and the invoices were not issued by the customer under a self-billing arrangement.
Nevertheless, businesses should separately verify the place of supply, the application of the reverse charge mechanism, possible foreign VAT registration requirements and the method of providing the invoice to the customer. Where international services are supplied regularly, a permanent VAT and KSeF decision matrix should be prepared for the sales and accounting teams.
getsix® can support businesses in analysing cross-border transactions, determining the applicable VAT treatment and designing a process for issuing and delivering invoices in compliance with KSeF. Contact us.
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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