A Brilliant Construction, Dangerous in Practice
The value-added tax is one of the most elegant fiscal inventions of the twentieth century. Self-enforcing, difficult to evade, neutral to the entrepreneur—in theory. In practice, VAT has become a minefield on which more companies perish than on any other stretch of tax law.
It is VAT regulations that are violated most frequently and on the largest scale. It is VAT that generates the most inspections by the National Revenue Administration. It is VAT that carries—beyond the back tax itself—a punitive surcharge under Article 108 of the statute and exposure to fiscal-criminal liability.
Beautiful theory collides with brutal practice.
Complexity as a Feature of the System
VAT appears simple: you buy, you pay tax; you sell, you charge tax; you settle the difference with the authorities. But this simplicity is an illusion.
Where is the place of supply for goods that never physically cross the Polish border? Where is the place of performance for a service rendered remotely to a client in three different countries? When does an intra-Community acquisition become an import? When does the VAT exemption on a real-estate sale cease to apply?
Each of these questions has an answer—but the answer depends on dozens of variables, on interpretations that may shift, on case law that evolves. The regulations are in constant motion: amendments, implementing rules, EU directives, Court of Justice rulings. What was correct last year may be an error this year.
The entrepreneur who attempts to navigate this labyrinth alone does not make mistakes out of stupidity. He makes mistakes because the labyrinth is designed to induce wandering.
Cross-Border Transactions: Where Risk Multiplies
International trade is an economic given. Companies buy where it is cheaper, sell where demand exists. But every border—even within the European Union—adds a new layer of VAT complication.
Intra-Community supply and acquisition of goods. Export and import. Triangular transactions, in which goods travel from Country A to Country C while the invoice passes through Country B. Chain transactions, in which five entities trade the same goods before they reach the final recipient. Each of these structures has its own documentation rules, its own deadlines, its own traps.
INCOTERMS rules specify who bears the risk of transport—but they do not specify who bears responsibility for VAT. A fiscal representative is required in some situations but not all. VAT OSS and VAT IOSS simplify the settlement of distance sales—but only for those who know how to use them.
An error in a cross-border transaction is not an error in one country. It is an error that may materialize in two or three jurisdictions simultaneously.
Due Diligence: A Standard No One Has Defined
You have the right to deduct input VAT. This is not a privilege—it is a structural element of the tax. Without the right to deduction, VAT would be a cascading tax, compounding at every stage of commerce.
But this right can be lost. Not because you committed fraud—because someone in the supply chain committed fraud. Because your counterparty turned out to be unreliable. Because you failed to exercise due diligence.
What is due diligence? The statute does not define it. Case law offers guidance but no certainty. In practice, the standard is set by the inspector—after the fact, retrospectively, already knowing that something went wrong.
Did you verify your counterparty in the VAT register? Did you check his address? Did you analyze the supply chain? Was the price suspiciously low? Every “no” is an argument against you. Every “yes” may prove insufficient.
Joint and several liability of the buyer, guarantee deposits, refund denial—these are the tools at the tax authority’s disposal. The entrepreneur has at his disposal documentation, procedures, and prayer.
VAT Refunds: A Right That Must Be Won
An excess of input tax over output tax is your money. The state is obligated to return it. The statutory deadline: sixty days.
The practice: months, sometimes years.
Verification of the refund’s legitimacy has become standard procedure. Extension of the deadline has become routine. Cross-audits of counterparties have become a pretext for indefinite postponement. The entrepreneur awaiting a refund is extending credit to the state—without interest, without consent.
And when the refund finally arrives—or when the denial arrives—it turns out the battle is only beginning.
How We Can Help
We analyze transactions before they occur—so that the VAT consequences are understood before they become accomplished facts.
We review settlements—to find errors before the inspection finds them.
We prepare documentation—invoices, records, summary statements, returns. So that the paper trail protects rather than incriminates.
We represent clients in inspections and proceedings—because the presence of a professional changes the dynamics of the relationship with the authority.
We fight for VAT refunds—because your money is yours, even when the state pretends otherwise.
We defend against penalties and criminal charges—because an error in VAT need not mean the end of a company or the end of liberty.
Skarbiec Law Firm
Since 2006, we have advised entrepreneurs on VAT matters—from simple questions about rates, through complex international transactions, to defense in fiscal-criminal proceedings. We know that VAT is not a tax one can ignore and hope for luck.
The regulations will change. Interpretations will evolve. The practices of the authorities will fluctuate. The only constant is the need for knowledge, experience, and vigilance.
VAT was meant to be a tax neutral to the entrepreneur. It has become the tax at which the entrepreneur must be most vigilant. Our task is to ensure that vigilance proves sufficient.
