Polish SMEs obliged to adapt to SAF-T standard in January
21/11/2016
Poland is introducing certain changes to simplify compliance with taxpayer obligations and progress towards e-systems. Since last July 1, the biggest companies have to declare their VAT records and other accounting documents to the Tax Agency remotely, in accordance with SAF-T standard specifications. Now, as of next January, small and medium-sized businesses will also be required to do so, and as a result must adapt their systems to this obligation as soon as possible.
Which companies are required to use SAF-T?
The Polish Tax Authority has set a schedule for migration split into three phases, based on company size and revenue. Larger companies already switched over in July. The next deadline, to be reached in January 2017, requires electronic submission of VAT records (VAT evidence) from companies with the following features:
Having more than 10 employees and fewer than 250.
With a turnover exceeding 2 million euros and less than 50 million.
It must be noted that the obligation affects all companies registered in Poland for tax purposes, even though they may have no physical office in the country. Moreover, these two criteria are applied to the company in its entirety, regardless of the fact that part of the workforce may be in other locations.
One year after the SMEs join the system, it will be the turn of microbusinesses. Businesses with fewer than 10 workers and a turnover of less than €2 million must migrate to SAF-T before January 2018.
What does complying with SAF-T standard involve?
The SAF-T standard includes a total of seven files. The majority will only be declared to the Tax Agency occasionally, when required, and are not compulsory for SMEs until July 2018. The one which must be sent as of January is designated VAT evidence or JPK_VAT, an XML-format e-document that includes the sales and purchases VAT records of the company. This file will be declared monthly, by day 25 of each month.
EDICOM has already developed an e-solution that automates generation and sending of the JPK_VAT file. Now businesses can easily comply with the Polish regulation, while simplifying their transactions with the Tax Authority.