The increasing globalization of the economy means that supply chains can become long and complex. Many production steps are relocated to other countries. Polish suppliers, service providers or logistics centers are often involved in the production processes of our clients from the DACH region. In complex situations, it is not clear at first glance whether the VAT liability arises in Poland or not. Before you start your business model, which involves carrying out certain activities in Poland, it is advisable to first have the tax experts check whether this will make your company subject to VAT in Poland.

How can we help?

We have extensive expertise in VAT advisory for foreign companies. We review your business model and determine whether your company is required to register for VAT in Poland or not, or whether VAT registration is optional. You will receive a detailed statement from us with a complete explanation and information on the legal basis.

Your business model envisages transactions that relate entirely or partially to Poland? It is then advisable to have the VAT consequences of all such transactions checked.

International transactions often cause many problems for taxpayers and tax authorities, which is reflected in the large number of ECJ decisions. The value-added tax is neutral; However, if the input tax deduction/tax exemption is questioned by the tax office and the reimbursement/additional payment of taxes is demanded, the refunded tax can only rarely be reclaimed by the counterparty. For transactions that extend over longer periods of time, the amount of additional tax burden in the event of a complaint by the tax office can be considerable. It is therefore advisable to have business models that also affect other countries checked by tax experts from a value-added tax perspective.

There is hardly a topic in the world of VAT that causes as much controversy as the concept of fixed establishment. It has been the subject of numerous ECJ decisions and many judgments by national administrative courts.

Although VAT is harmonized across Europe, national tax authorities tend to interpret the notion of fixed establishment as broadly as possible in order to maximize their own tax revenue. There is therefore an increasing tendency to understand the concept of a fixed establishment in an increasingly abstract way, so that it does no longer requires the activities of the company itself to be considered as established – even the activities of its subsidiaries or even independent contractors may lead to the establishment of the fixes establishment.

Therefore, in most situations in which cross-border services are to be provided, it is advisable to clarify the VAT consequences in the country of residence of the service provider and in the country of residence of the client and, if necessary, have them confirmed by the local tax authorities.

How can we help?

We offer our clients a complex analysis of the planned transaction process with regard to the risk of establishing a fixed establishment.

Some transactions are so complex that, despite deeper analysis, they cannot be clearly assessed for VAT purposes. There are also cases where the statements of the tax office or the jurisprudence represent different views. Ultimately, there are situations that can be clearly assessed for tax purposes, but the clients, due to the scale of planned transactions, require additional assurance that the tax treatment will not be questioned by the tax office in the future (e.g. due to future changes in case law) . In all of these situations, we recommend that our clients apply for a binding ruling of tax law.