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On 17 July 2026, the Sejm passed an act amending the VAT Act and the Act on the registration and identification of taxpayers and withholding agents. The amendment combines deregulation with measures tightening the system. What does it provide for, and when will it take effect?
The VAT Act amendment: why was it prepared and what does it provide for? The government adopted significant VAT changes, already passed by the Sejm
The government’s bill amending the VAT Act and the Act on the registration and identification of taxpayers and withholding agents responded to signals from the market and tax authorities.
The changes proposed in the bill and already passed by the Sejm have a deregulatory character. In particular, they abolish certain VAT reporting obligations and introduce simplifying and clarifying solutions.
On the other hand, the amendment is also intended to tighten Poland’s VAT system and protect the state against tax avoidance.
What does the act cover in particular, when should it take effect and what stage has the legislative process reached? Read on.
Abolishing certain obligations imposed on taxpayers
The explanatory memorandum to the bill first listed changes intended to abolish certain obligations imposed on VAT taxpayers. We will also begin with those.
The VAT changes package therefore provides for abolishing the following obligations:
- Submitting separate information on every physical stocktake, because this duplicates information shown in the JPK_VAT file.
- Showing the VAT taxable amount in taxpayer returns when purchasing goods and services exempt from VAT.
- Paying VAT within 14 days of an intra-Community acquisition of a means of transport.
Other conveniences for businesses under the new rules
The above changes are undoubtedly intended to make life easier for VAT taxpayers. Other measures with a similar character include:
- Unifying when VAT becomes chargeable for supplies of goods and services carried out by order of a public authority or by operation of law in exchange for compensation.
- Introducing VAT warehouses into domestic law as a basis for simplified VAT settlements and collection for entities trading goods internationally.
- Making it possible to check a taxpayer’s status in the VAT taxpayer register five years back, rather than only as at the date of the check, as currently.
- Introducing provisions allowing electronic clearance at TAX FREE terminals for VAT refunds. According to the explanatory memorandum, this clearance is to be introduced gradually at individual border crossings. The first stage is planned for Poland’s largest airports: Warsaw, Kraków, Gdańsk, Poznań, Wrocław and Katowice.
- Clarifying numerous provisions, especially those concerning the place of electricity supply, imports of goods, bad debt relief and how taxpayer turnover is calculated for the VAT exemption based on turnover.
- Limiting interest collection on imports of goods and introducing a VAT solution similar to the one operating in customs regulations.
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Changes tightening the system: will they mean new obligations for businesses?
The penultimate category of changes discussed today in the act amending the VAT Act and the Act on the registration and identification of taxpayers and withholding agents appears least welcome for taxpayers. These changes tighten the entire domestic VAT system to reduce tax avoidance and settlement irregularities.
They include in particular:
- Extending the buyer’s joint and several liability for the seller’s tax arrears, including certain cases involving transactions covered by split payment and certain intangible services.
- Tightening the rules on registering VAT taxpayers.
- Tightening cash register rules, including introducing an obligation to apply for deregistration and penalties for failing to deregister an unused register.
- Changing the classification of goods listed in Annex 15 to the VAT Act from the Polish Classification of Goods and Services to the Combined Nomenclature.
Further changes arising from CJEU case law
The final category consists of changes arising from the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union.
In this area, particular attention should be paid to:
- Allowing individuals jointly operating an agricultural, forestry or fishing holding to be treated as separate VAT taxpayers.
- Extending the possibility of applying the 0% rate to certain services connected with imports of goods.
- Adjusting VAT deduction rules.
When will the described changes to the VAT Act take effect?
The changes described in this article were passed by the Sejm on 17 July 2026. According to the latest text of the act, much of the amendment is to take effect on 1 January 2027.
Some changes are to apply later. Examples include the ban on replacing fiscal memory in cash registers with electronic copies, which is to apply from 1 July 2027, and TAX FREE electronic clearance, which will be available no earlier than 1 July 2028.
The final commencement dates of the individual changes described in this article are not certain, however, because the legislative process has not yet ended. On the contrary, the Senate has just proposed amendments to the text.
These include a proposal to exclude the buyer’s joint and several liability for the seller’s tax arrears in the situation specified in the act where goods or services are purchased using split payment.
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Summary
The package combines fewer reporting duties and simplified procedures with tighter registration, cash register and liability rules. The article also describes changes linked to CJEU judgments. Its proposed implementation dates differ between measures, and the legislative process described in the source was still ongoing.
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