VAT registration in Poland

VAT registration (rejestracja na VAT) is the filing of form VAT-R with the head of the tax office before the day of the first taxable transaction. After verification the head registers the applicant as an active VAT payer or an exempt one (Article 96 of the Act of 11 March 2004 on Value Added Tax, the VAT Act).

Two things are worth separating from the outset. A taxable person is anyone who independently carries on economic activity within the meaning of the Act (Article 15). That status does not depend on registration. The duty to register as an active payer arises only where no exemption applies: the small business exemption, up to sales of PLN 240,000 a year (Article 113(1), since 1 January 2026; previously PLN 200,000), or an exemption for specified transactions (Article 43).

Registration does not create the right to deduct input tax, but it allows that right to be exercised. It brings with it returns, SAF-T files, invoicing in KSeF and the risk of deregistration. Since 2017 the office has verified filings before entry, may refuse registration and may remove a taxpayer from the register ex officio. An attorney who filed the VAT-R is jointly liable for the new taxpayer’s arrears from the first 6 months up to PLN 500,000.

Key points

• When mandatory. Before the first taxable transaction, if the taxpayer does not benefit from the small business exemption because sales exceeded PLN 240,000 in the previous year or will exceed that limit, pro rata to the period of activity, in the year of commencement. Registration is also mandatory where the taxpayer performs transactions excluded from the exemption under Article 113(13), for example legal, advisory (other than agricultural advice) or jewellery services, supplies of building land or of new means of transport. The catalogue has statutory qualifications, so not every supply of real estate and not every excise product removes the exemption.
• An exempt taxpayer may waive the exemption from the beginning of any month, notifying the head before its start (Article 113(4)). A return to the exemption is possible no earlier than after one year counted from the end of the year in which the taxpayer lost the right to the exemption or waived it (Article 113(11)). A waiver in 2026 therefore allows a return at the earliest from 1 January 2028. Registration as an exempt payer (Article 96(3)) is as a rule voluntary, but becomes mandatory before using the SME scheme in another Member State (Article 96(3c)).
• VAT-R is filed with the office competent for the seat or place of residence, also through CEIDG or the e-Tax Office. Registration for intra-Community transactions (VAT-UE) is part of the same form. The statute sets no deadline for registration; in the firm’s experience it takes from a few days to a few weeks, longer where explanations are requested. Confirmation of registration is issued on request for a stamp duty of PLN 170.
• Refusal and removal. The head does not register an entity where the data in the filing are untrue, the entity does not exist, cannot be contacted, does not respond to summonses, is banned from doing business or there is a fear of use for tax fraud (Article 96(4a)). The Supreme Administrative Court held that refusal of registration requires the form of a decision (judgment of 14 April 2023, I FSK 517/20). Removal from the register, by contrast, is a material and technical act without a decision (resolution of 7 judges of 23 October 2023, I FPS 3/23), which may be challenged before the administrative court.
• Effects of registration. Exercise of the right to deduct, also from invoices received before registration if the purchases served taxable activity. The duty to keep records and file JPK_V7 by the 25th of the month, to invoice in the National e-Invoicing System within the scope and dates set for the taxpayer’s group, and to use a cash register for sales to consumers unless an exemption applies. The settlement account enters the register of taxpayers (Article 96b); without it counterparties lose the cost deduction on payments for transactions above PLN 15,000.
• An attorney who filed the VAT-R is jointly liable with the taxpayer up to PLN 500,000 for arrears arising from transactions carried out within 6 months of registration as an active payer. The liability does not arise where the arrears were unrelated to the taxpayer’s participation in dishonest VAT accounting for financial gain (Article 96(4b) and (4c)).

Who must, and who may, register

The value of sales for the limit is counted net of tax. Ancillary real estate and financial transactions, supplies of fixed assets and exempt transactions are excluded, with the exceptions listed in Article 113(2). The increase of the limit to PLN 240,000 from 1 January 2026 also covered taxpayers whose 2025 sales fell between PLN 200,000 and PLN 240,000; they could return to the exemption from 2026 without the one-year waiting period. The rules of the SME scheme are described by the Ministry of Finance. Which entity in Poland is a taxable person and whether a foreign business has a fixed establishment is discussed in our article on the fixed establishment for VAT purposes.

Verification of the filing and refusal of registration

Since 2017 the head of the tax office no longer registers automatically. The head verifies the data in the filing. It may summon the applicant to give explanations, demand the lease of the seat, documents on sources of financing and a description of the planned activity, and may even carry out an inspection. Companies in organisation and entities with a virtual office are selected for verification more often. A complete set of documents prepared before the VAT-R is filed shortens the procedure.

The grounds for refusal are listed in Article 96(4a). The provision says that the head does not register “without the need to notify the entity”. For years the authorities treated refusal as a technical act. The Supreme Administrative Court held in its judgment of 14 April 2023 (I FSK 517/20) that refusal of registration is an authoritative interference with the freedom to do business and requires a decision with reasons of fact and law and instructions on remedies. A taxpayer refused registration without a decision may demand one and challenge it in the ordinary course. The form of the authority’s action and the appropriate remedy are assessed separately for refusal, removal and refusal of reinstatement. Registration of foreign businesses and representation in refund disputes are discussed on our page on VAT refund disputes in Poland.

Removal from the register and reinstatement

The head removes a taxpayer from the register ex officio where the taxpayer does not exist, cannot be contacted, the data in the filing are untrue, it does not respond to summonses or is banned from doing business (Article 96(9)). The head also removes a taxpayer that suspended activity for at least 6 months, failed to file returns for 3 consecutive months or a quarter, filed returns without sales or purchases for 6 months, issued invoices documenting transactions that did not take place, or knew or had reasonable grounds to suspect that its suppliers or customers participated in dishonest tax accounting (Article 96(9a)).

Removal is a material and technical act. So held the resolution of 7 judges of the Supreme Administrative Court of 23 October 2023 (I FPS 3/23): the authority issues no decision and need not notify the taxpayer. The taxpayer may, however, challenge the removal before the provincial administrative court as an act of public administration (Article 3 § 2(4) of the Law on Proceedings before Administrative Courts). The case law is available in the database of administrative court judgments.

Reinstatement has several separate routes. After a suspension of activity the taxpayer is reinstated on the day of resumption (Article 96(9g)). A taxpayer removed for failure to file or for nil returns may apply within 2 months of removal, if it proves that it carries on activity and files the outstanding returns (Article 96(9h) and (9ha)). A taxpayer removed for fictitious invoices is reinstated where it shows that they were issued by mistake or without its knowledge (Article 96(9i)). A taxpayer removed for knowledge of its counterparties’ fraud is reinstated where it shows that it did not act with that intention or did not know of the counterparties’ dishonesty (Article 96(9j)). The 2-month deadline does not apply to all of these situations.

Removal does not deprive the entity of taxable person status under Article 15. Tax on invoices issued remains due. A counterparty of a removed taxpayer does not lose the right to deduct merely because the supplier is absent from the register; the authority must show that the transaction did not take place or that the customer knew or should have known of the fraud. The consequences for counterparties are discussed in our articles on fictitious transactions in Polish tax law and VAT carousel allegations. Removal from VAT-UE follows the filing, for 3 consecutive months or a quarter, of returns showing none of the intra-Community transactions specified in Article 97(15), or 3 months of failure to file recapitulative statements despite an obligation to do so (Article 97(15a)).

Effects of registration: deduction, duties, the white list

A registered active taxpayer deducts input tax on purchase invoices, including invoices received before registration if the purchases served taxable activity. Registration is a condition of exercising the right to deduct, not of its arising. So held the Court of Justice in Paper Consult, C-101/16, and so the Polish courts hold. Earlier invoices are included in the return for the period in which the right to deduct arose or by correction under the rules of Article 86. The general rules are described in the entry on VAT deduction.

The duties after registration are records and a return in the JPK_V7 file: in monthly settlement (JPK_V7M) both parts every month, in quarterly settlement (JPK_V7K) the records part every month and the return part once a quarter, always by the 25th of the month after the period. Invoicing in the National e-Invoicing System is added: from 1 February 2026 for taxpayers with 2024 sales above PLN 200,000,000, from 1 April 2026 for the rest, and from 1 January 2027 for the smallest, whose invoiced sales do not exceed PLN 10,000 gross a month. The scope of KSeF has its own exclusions. Cash registers for sales to consumers apply subject to the exemptions in the regulation. VAT-UE recapitulative statements complete the picture.

The settlement account reported on NIP-8 or in CEIDG enters the register of VAT taxpayers kept by the Head of the National Revenue Administration (Article 96b). The register covers active, exempt, unregistered and removed taxpayers, so appearing in it does not settle the status; what counts is the status on a given day and the disclosed account. A counterparty’s payment for a transaction with a single value above PLN 15,000 to an account outside the register disallows its cost and creates joint liability, unless it files a ZAW-NR notification within 7 days or pays under the split payment mechanism. The account is checked on the day the transfer is ordered and the printout kept as evidence; the standard of counterparty verification is discussed in our article on empty invoices under Polish law.

What to check before and after registration

• Whether the small business exemption applies (limit of PLN 240,000 pro rata) and whether no Article 113(13) transactions are performed. A waiver of the exemption binds at least until the end of the following year.
• Documents for verification. Title to the premises, the company agreement, sources of financing, a description of the planned activity, the business account number. Prepared in advance, they shorten registration.
• VAT-UE. Ticked in the VAT-R before the first EU transaction, also for an exempt taxpayer purchasing services from the EU.
• The attorney filing the VAT-R. Liability up to PLN 500,000 for arrears from transactions of the first 6 months. Decide who signs the filing.
• After registration. Confirmation of status on the register, reporting of the account, implementation of KSeF, returns from the first period even without sales, to avoid removal.
• On suspension of activity for at least 6 months. Removal and reinstatement on resumption; where transactions are to be performed during suspension, notification to the head (Article 96(9b)).
• On refusal or removal. A demand for a decision on refusal, an application for reinstatement in the proper route, a complaint to the administrative court.

Counterparts in other jurisdictions

Small business exemption thresholds in the EU vary. Since 1 January 2025 they have been covered by the common SME scheme with an EU-wide limit of EUR 100,000 under Directive 2020/285, with each state keeping its own national threshold. Italy applies a threshold of EUR 85,000 in its flat-rate regime, the United Kingdom GBP 90,000 since April 2024. The Polish limit of PLN 240,000, about EUR 56,000, sits in the middle of the range. Verification before entry and removal ex officio are less common in the EU; the Court of Justice accepts them as long as the authority does not refuse the right to deduct solely because of a counterparty’s lack of registration.

Frequently asked questions

When do I have to register for VAT in Poland?

Before the first taxable transaction, if no exemption applies: where sales in the previous year exceeded PLN 240,000 (from 2026) or where transactions excluded under Article 113(13) are performed, such as legal and advisory services or supplies of building land (Articles 96 and 113 VAT Act).

What is the VAT exemption threshold in Poland in 2026?

PLN 240,000 of net sales in a year (Article 113(1) VAT Act), raised from PLN 200,000 from 1 January 2026. Where activity starts during the year the limit is calculated pro rata to the number of days.

How long does VAT registration take in Poland?

The statute sets no deadline. The head registers after verifying the filing; in the firm’s experience this takes from a few days to a few weeks, longer where explanations are requested. Confirmation of registration is issued on request for a stamp duty of PLN 170.

Can the tax office refuse registration?

Yes, where the data are untrue, the entity does not exist, cannot be contacted, does not respond to summonses, is banned from doing business or there is a fear of use for tax fraud (Article 96(4a)). According to the Supreme Administrative Court (I FSK 517/20) the refusal requires a decision, against which an appeal and then a court complaint lie.

When does the tax office remove a taxpayer from the VAT register?

Among other cases, on suspension of activity for at least 6 months, failure to file returns for 3 months or a quarter, nil returns for 6 months, issuing fictitious invoices and knowledge of participation in fraud (Article 96(9) and (9a)). Removal is an act without a decision (NSA resolution I FPS 3/23), which may be challenged before the administrative court. Reinstatement has separate routes depending on the reason for removal.

Can I deduct VAT on invoices received before registration?

Yes, if the purchases served taxable activity. Registration conditions the exercise of the right to deduct, not its arising. The invoices are included in the return for the proper period or by correction.

Related entries

• VAT deduction
• VAT refund disputes in Poland
• VAT return delays in Poland
• VAT carousel allegations
• Fictitious transactions in Polish tax law
• Empty invoices under Polish law
• Fixed establishment for VAT purposes
• Branch of a foreign company in Poland
• Active remorse in tax law
• Tax fraud

The most expensive registration mistakes concern not the form but what happens afterwards: the forgotten nil return, the account outside the register, the attorney who did not know what he was liable for. Skarbiec Law Firm handles VAT and VAT-UE registrations of Polish and foreign companies, represents taxpayers in verification proceedings and deregistration cases and advises on VAT compliance in Poland and on company formation in Poland.

Legal status as of 4 November 2026.

Robert Nogacki

Robert Nogacki is a Polish attorney at law (radca prawny), the founder and managing partner of Kancelaria Prawna Skarbiec (Skarbiec Law Firm), which has operated continuously since 2006.

The law is equal for everyone, but the parties rarely are: on one side stands an organization with time, money, and lawyers, on the other a person with one business, one nest egg, and one life.

Clients rarely come to him with a legal problem. They come with a problem that also has a legal side: an audit that began with a single invoice, money entrusted to someone who has disappeared, a company that has to be passed on before it is too late. Most such matters are decided long before the first letter is written, in decisions made without asking and in deadlines nobody remembered. So he begins by asking how the client got here, not what the client should have done.

He advises entrepreneurs and families from more than a dozen countries, including those whose accounts the tax office has just seized and who do not know what to do tomorrow morning. He defends them in tax audits, customs and fiscal inspections, disputes with the tax authorities, and criminal tax proceedings. He represents victims of investment fraud and Ponzi schemes. He helps families set up family foundations and plan succession, so that a life’s work outlasts a single generation.

Not every case can be won. Every case can be run so that the client knows where they stand. Since 2006 he has represented the victims in the WGI case (Warszawska Grupa Inwestycyjna, the Warsaw Investment Group), one of the longest criminal cases in the history of the Polish financial market, because some things must not be left half finished, even when they take two decades. In the case of the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange Zonda (Zondacrypto, operated by BB Trade Estonia OÜ), he represents several hundred victims in the criminal investigation conducted by Poland’s National Prosecutor’s Office and in the Estonian bankruptcy proceedings.

Kancelaria Prawna Skarbiec is listed in the rankings of Poland’s largest tax advisory firms published by Dziennik Gazeta Prawna and Rzeczpospolita, and it is a four-time recipient (2015 to 2018) of the European Medal awarded by the Business Centre Club and the European Economic and Social Committee. Robert Nogacki publishes regularly, in the press and on the firm’s website, for people who have a problem rather than a law degree, because a legal opinion the client cannot understand protects only the lawyer.

He believes that the best legal advice is the kind that means the client never has to appear in court.