VAT registration in Poland of foreign company

Can foreign company be registered for VAT in Poland?

Foreign company, both from EU Member State and  non-EU Member State, can be registered for the purpose of VAT in Poland. In order to obtain Polish VAT and EU VAT number, foreign entity is not required to possess fixed establishment, branch office or subsidiary in Poland. VAT registration in Poland can be either mandatory or voluntary.

Mandatory VAT registration in Poland

Generally, according to Polish VAT act following transactions are subject to VAT in Poland:

1. supply of goods for consideration and provision of services for consideration within Polish territory;
2. export of goods (outside EU territory);
3. import of goods (from outside EU territory);
4. intra-Community acquisition of goods for consideration within Polish territory;
5. intra-Community supply of goods.

As a result, any foreign company performing one of specified transactions may be obliged to register for VAT in Poland and to obtain Polish tax identification number (NIP).

Example 1.

German GmbH Company sends goods from Germany to its warehouse located in Poland (which is not consigned warehouse) and sells the goods to Polish customers. German company is obliged to register for VAT purposes and obtain Polish NIP.

It should be borne in mind however that Polish VAT act provides for some special rules which may exclude obligation of VAT registration in Poland, such as reverse charge mechanism, consigned warehouse institution, or so called distance sale.

Example 2.

UK Limited company not having fixed establishment in Poland occasionally buys and sells goods on the territory of Poland from Polish supplier to Polish customer (being VAT taxed entity in Poland). The goods are not leaving territory of Poland. Sale of goods from UK Limited company to Polish customer will be subject to reverse charge mechanism, which means that taxable entity is Polish customer, not UK based company. As a result, company from UK is not required to register for VAT purpose in Poland.

What is also important, foreign companies cannot benefit from the exemption because of low transaction amount. The exemption concerns only Polish taxpayers whose turnover achieved in the previous year did not exceed PLN 200,000 threshold. It means that foreign taxpayers are required to apply for VAT registration before performing first transaction creating registration obligation.

Voluntary registration.

Foreign company may also register for VAT in Poland if subject to Polish law there is not such obligation.

How to register to VAT in Poland.

In order to register to VAT in Poland, foreign company should:

• file applications for obtaining Polish NIP (tax identification number)
• file application for VAT/ EU VAT registration
• provide detailed description why VAT registration in Poland is needed
• attach foreign company documents (extract from companies register, Articles of Association) with translation to Polish language
• if company is not registered in EU Member State – it must appoint tax representative in Poland.

LF LEGAL provides services in the area of VAT registration in Poland for foreign companies, as well as advisory on VAT related matters in Poland.