National e-Invoice System (KSeF) Q&A

The obligation to issue invoices using the National e-Invoice System will occur with the entry into force of the provisions in force from 1 July 2024*. Mandatory integration with the system will apply to taxpayers based in Poland and obliged to issue VAT invoices to Polish and foreign entrepreneurs.

Taxpayers whose sales are exempt from tax (or perform exempt activities) will obligatorily join the KSeF system a little later – on 1 January 2025.

What is particularly important when adapting the processes currently in force in the organization and preparing the enterprise for changes under which sending an invoice to KSeF will become mandatory, now – in the period between 1 January 2022 and 30 June 2024 – all entities can voluntarily use the KSeF system.

* Currently the date of entry into force of the regulations has been postponed.

The mandatory KSeF will bring several benefits, which will be both financial (reducing the waiting time for refund of VAT overpayment from 60 to 40 days) and organizational (faster document circulation, no risk of document loss/destruction, exemption from the obligation to store and archive invoices up to 10 years).

In order for all structured invoices to be issued correctly, companies doing business in Poland should adapt their internal procedures related to document circulation and the invoicing process.

First of all, it is important to determine the method of delivering invoices issued in the KSeF system if the recipient of these structured invoices is a foreign contractor.

Another area requiring action is the analysis of the compliance of the accounting systems used with the KSeF requirements and their possible adaptation.

Additionally, employees who are currently involved in the invoicing process should also be trained. All people who come into contact with data, customers and contractors – not only those who have the ability to issue invoices – should be familiarized with the new Polish regulations and learn about the consequences of failure to comply with them.

The obligation to issue invoices in KSeF will apply to VAT payers with their registered office or permanent place of business in Poland.
Foreign entities that are at risk of establishing a permanent place of business, but at the same time have arguments in favor of its absence, should consider submitting an application for an individual interpretation in this respect. 

The obligation to issue invoices in KSeF will not apply to invoices issued by:

• taxpayers who have neither their registered office nor a permanent place of business in Poland*;
• taxpayers who do not have their registered office in Poland or who have a permanent place of business in Poland, but this permanent place of business does not participate in the supply of goods or the provision of services*;
• taxpayers who use the OSS and IOSS special procedures;
• taxpayers who issue invoices only to natural persons who do not run a business.

*Such taxpayers will still be able to issue invoices in the KSeF system voluntarily.

Issuing e-invoices will not be obligatory for entities that do not have a permanent place of business in Poland (within the meaning of VAT regulations).

An entity that does not have a permanent place of business in Poland is not obliged to collect purchase invoices in the KSeF system. In the case of a transaction, it informs its Polish contractors about this fact and indicates how to deliver the invoice.

In the Polish KSeF system, it is possible to download invoices without the need to log in – in anonymous access mode. The seller using this option should then inform his contractor about the invoice number, the invoice system number and the invoiced gross amount.

Ultimately, anonymous login is to be replaced by placing structured QR codes on invoices.

In the case of legal entities, it is necessary for the taxpayer to authenticate in the system. Authentication may be performed using an electronic qualified seal or by submitting a ZAW-FA notification.

Electronic structured invoices are – in simple terms – invoices issued using the National e-Invoice System.

This is a type of e-invoice that contains information specified in the regulations, has a specific form and is saved in a specific electronic format (XML). This format must meet the conditions necessary to properly read and process the data contained in the document. From 1 July 2024*, a structured invoice must include the KSeF number – simply the document identification number assigned by the system.

* Currently the date of entry into force of the regulations has been postponed.

In order to issue a structured invoice in the accounting system, it is necessary to perform the following steps:

• first, as usual, the taxpayer prepares an invoice – or invoices – in the company's accounting system;
• then the person authorized to log in and authorized by the system logs in to KSeF;
• the next step is to send an e-invoice or a package of e-invoices via API to the KSeF system;
• now the KSeF system will automatically verify the entity and the compliance of the invoice with the template;
  • after positive verification the KSeF system will assign a number identifying the structured invoice – the so-called KSeF invoice number – and the invoice will be able to be downloaded from the system by the contractor
  •  in the event of negative verification the invoice will be rejected (this may happen when the document is inconsistent with the invoice template or when the system is unavailable).

The KSeF system also allows you to skip the first of the steps mentioned here and issue a structured invoice directly there, so taxpayers do not have to use the accounting system.

Issuing e-invoices and sending them to KSeF requires adapting the accounting program in such a way that it is possible to redirect and send documents directly to this central invoice database.

An alternative way to send an invoice to KSeF is to use free tools provided by the Polish Ministry of Finance. Taxpayers can therefore use the e-Mikrofirma program or directly log in to the KSeF system and use it to prepare and send an invoice.

Sending invoices to KSeF is assigned to the person (or persons) who are authorized to perform such activities on behalf of the company. The person representing the company is therefore obliged to grant appropriate authorizations to the accountants or staff responsible for the invoicing process. The taxpayer has two alternative ways of reporting a representative:

• on the basis of a notification (submitted to the competent Head of the Tax Office) of granting authorizations, on the ZAW-FA form;
• using interface software available on the website of the Polish Ministry of Finance.

From July 2024*, a printout (or electronic image) of a structured invoice provided by the taxpayer to the buyer will have to contain a QR code with the data of the structured invoice, allowing it to be found in the system.

* Currently the date of entry into force of the regulations has been postponed.

From July 2024*, the recipient's consent to receiving structured invoices via KSeF will not be required – except for cases where the seller issues invoices to entities not obliged to use the KSeF system.

However, until the end of June 2024, the buyer has the right not to consent to receiving e-invoices in the KSeF system. In this case, such an invoice should be generated and delivered to the buyer in another way agreed with him.

* Currently the date of entry into force of the regulations has been postponed.

The key factor is not the date of creation of the invoice in the accounting system, but the moment of its appearance in the electronic database. This means that the invoice is considered issued in KSeF only on the day it is sent.

Information about the date of transmission – and therefore the date of issue – will be visible in the Official Confirmation of Receipt (UPO), and the date of invoice issuance itself will also be an element of the invoice number assigned by KSeF.

From July 2024*, if an invoice is issued in KSeF, the issuer will not be obliged to send the invoice outside the system.

If a structured invoice is issued to a buyer who is not obliged to use the KSeF system, the taxpayer must obtain consent from the contractor to receive the invoice using the National e-Invoice System. If the contractor does not agree to receive the invoice in the system, the issuer will be obliged to deliver the invoice in another way agreed with him.

* Currently the date of entry into force of the regulations has been postponed.

In the event of a failure or technical break, which will be announced on the website of the Public Information Bulletin (BIP) and communicated through the interface software, the taxpayer will issue invoices in accordance with the template.

Within 7 business days from the end of the KSeF failure the taxpayer will be obliged to send these invoices to the system. Such invoices will be marked in a specific way to indicate that they were issued during the period of failure.