Poland — Major VAT Amendment Signed into Law: Deregulation, Tightening and CJEU Case Law
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KGT Country Update | Poland — VAT Legislation | 30 September 2026
On 25 September 2026, the President of the Republic of Poland, Karol Nawrocki, signed the Act of 4 September 2026 amending the Act on Goods and Services Tax and the Act on the Rules of Registration and Identification of Taxpayers and Tax Remitters (the "Amending Act").
The Amending Act will enter into force on 1 January 2027, with several provisions phased in separately between 1 December 2026 and 1 July 2028. It makes wide-ranging changes to the VAT Act of 11 March 2004 (Journal of Laws of 2025, items 775, 894, 896, 1203, 1541 and 1811, and of 2026, item 507) and to the Act of 13 October 1995 on the Rules of Registration and Identification of Taxpayers and Tax Remitters (Journal of Laws of 2026, items 151 and 507), combining deregulatory simplification, tighter anti-fraud measures, and the implementation of three Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) rulings.
Background
The Amending Act originated as a Ministry of Finance legislative project ("Projekt ustawy o zmianie ustawy o podatku od towarów i usług oraz ustawy o zasadach ewidencji i identyfikacji podatników i płatników"), adopted by the Council of Ministers on 2 June 2026 and subsequently passed through the Sejm and Senate before being signed into law. It is a separate instrument from the ViDA-driven single VAT registration and call-off stock changes KGT covered in its 15 September 2026 update on the Council of Ministers' adoption of Poland's first ViDA implementation bill; this Amending Act is a broader domestic VAT package addressing deregulation, split-payment enforcement, and CJEU compliance rather than the EU ViDA package specifically.
The Legislative Change
The Amending Act introduces changes of a dual character.
First, it is deregulatory: it abolishes certain reporting obligations and introduces simplifications and clarifications intended to reduce the administrative burden of doing business, including eliminating the distinction between electricity delivered through the national grid and electricity delivered outside it (applying uniform VAT treatment to both) and removing the requirement for taxpayers to file separate inventory reports where the necessary data already appears in the JPK_VAT filing.
Second, it seals the tax system: it extends the obligation to use the VAT split payment mechanism, and introduces new obligations around unused and virtual cash registers, with penalties for non-compliance — measures aimed at protecting State revenue against tax avoidance and irregularities in VAT settlements.
Implementation of CJEU Case Law
The Amending Act also implements three CJEU rulings into Polish law:
- Judgment of 24 March 2022 in Case C-697/20, W.G. v Dyrektor Izby Skarbowej w L. — allowing each natural person who independently carries on agricultural activity because of a joint agricultural, forestry or fishing holding to be treated as a separate VAT taxpayer.
- Judgment of 4 October 2017 in Case C-273/16, Federal Express Europe — allowing the 0% VAT rate to be applied to insurance services and services relating to the import of goods exempt from VAT, where the value of those services has been included in the taxable amount.
- Judgment of 25 May 2023 in Case C-114/22, Dyrektor Izby Administracji Skarbowej w Warszawie v W. sp. z o.o. — amending the ground for refusing the deduction of input VAT by removing its link to a transaction being considered sham or null and void under national civil law, together with related adjustments to the split payment mechanism and the additional tax liability.
Scope
The Amending Act applies to VAT-registered taxpayers and remitters generally, with particular relevance to businesses affected by the split payment mechanism, users of cash registers (including virtual cash registers), electricity suppliers, taxpayers relying on inventory reporting, agricultural holdings operated jointly by family members, providers of insurance and import-related services, and any taxpayer affected by an input VAT deduction previously refused on sham-transaction grounds.
The Amending Act also creates a new VAT warehouse procedure covering trade in the goods listed in a new Annex No. 17 to the VAT Act, intended to simplify settlements for the groups of goods it covers.
Timeline
The Amending Act enters into force on 1 January 2027, except for the provisions on the following schedule:
| Date | Provisions of the amending Act |
|---|---|
| 1 December 2026 | Article 1(13)(b) |
| 1 January 2027 | All other provisions |
| 1 July 2027 | Article 1(36)(a) |
| 1 January 2028 | Article 1(27) and Article 7 |
| 1 July 2028 | Article 1(1), Article 1(33)(b) and Article 1(34)(b) |
Businesses Affected
- Businesses subject to the extended VAT split payment mechanism, and those managing input VAT deduction positions previously affected by the sham-transaction ground for refusal.
- Retailers and other taxpayers operating cash registers, including virtual cash registers, who must review disposal and servicing obligations for unused devices.
- Electricity suppliers and traders affected by the removal of the distinction between grid and non-grid electricity supplies.
- Taxpayers currently filing separate inventory reports that will be superseded by JPK_VAT data.
- Family members jointly operating agricultural, forestry, or fishing holdings who may now register individually as separate VAT taxpayers.
- Providers of insurance services and services connected with the import of VAT-exempt goods, who may become eligible to apply the 0% VAT rate.
- Businesses trading in the goods newly listed in Annex No. 17, who may use the new VAT warehouse procedure.
Required Actions
- Map the Amending Act's provisions against the phased entry-into-force schedule (1 December 2026, 1 January 2027, 1 July 2027, 1 January 2028, and 1 July 2028) to identify which changes apply to which part of the business, and when.
- Review split payment mechanism coverage and update accounts payable / accounts receivable processes and SAP configuration ahead of the extended obligation.
- Assess whether input VAT positions previously denied on sham-transaction grounds should be revisited in light of the amended deduction rule and its interaction with the split payment mechanism and additional tax liability.
- Inventory unused and virtual cash registers and confirm disposal and servicing obligations ahead of the applicable deadline.
- Evaluate eligibility for the new VAT warehouse procedure for goods listed in Annex No. 17, and for the 0% VAT rate on qualifying insurance and import-related services.
- For groups with jointly operated agricultural, forestry or fishing holdings, assess whether separate VAT registration by individual family members is now available and advantageous.
Practical Implications
The Amending Act is a significant domestic VAT reform that runs in parallel with, but separately from, Poland's KSeF e-invoicing rollout and its ViDA transposition work. Multinationals operating in Poland should treat it as a distinct compliance workstream: its deregulatory elements reduce some reporting burden, but its split payment extension and cash register enforcement measures increase the practical stakes of accurate VAT determination and payment-flow configuration.
The staggered entry-into-force schedule, spanning December 2026 to July 2028, means the Amending Act cannot be treated as a single go-live event and instead requires a provision-by-provision implementation plan.
Expected Next Steps
KGT will monitor the Dziennik Ustaw publication of the Amending Act for its official Journal of Laws position number, and any implementing regulations or Ministry of Finance guidance issued ahead of the 1 January 2027 general entry into force and the later phased dates through 1 July 2028.
How Can KGT Support You?
KGT helps multinationals translate domestic VAT reforms like this one into concrete SAP configuration and process changes — including split payment mechanism setup, VAT determination logic, and readiness assessments — through its SAP-integrated e-invoicing add-ons and SAP Document and Reporting Compliance (DRC) services, alongside ongoing monitoring of Poland's fast-moving VAT and e-invoicing legislative agenda.
This article is provided for general informational purposes and does not constitute tax, legal, or professional advice. Businesses should seek advice specific to their circumstances before acting on this information.
