Poland’s Ministry of Finance acknowledged a technical error in tax regulations that could penalize businesses for lawful invoice issuance during system crashes. They clarified no fines for paper or PDF invoices during total failures, promising amendments by January 2027.
E-inovicing (KseF) penalty rules before 2027 in Poland
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Poland
Author: Nikolina Basić
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Content accuracy validation date:
06.05.2026
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08:04h
The Ministry of Finance of Poland has officially acknowledged a technical error in upcoming tax regulations that could have unfairly penalized businesses for following the law.
Under the current wording, the law suggests that taxpayers could be fined for issuing "standard" invoices during a total system crash—even though standard invoices are exactly what the law requires them to use when the system is down.
Specifically, Article 106ni of the VAT Act outlines steep financial sanctions:
- Fines up to 100% of the tax amount shown on the invoice.
- Fines up to 18.7% of the total invoice value for tax-free transactions.
The confusion stems from how the law defines two different types of technical issues:
- Standard Failure: The system is glitchy, but electronic "structured" invoices are still required.
- Total Failure: The system is completely offline. In this case, taxpayers are legally allowed to use paper or PDF invoices.
The Ministry of Finance admitted that the penalty clause accidentally included "Total Failures" in its scope. This meant that a business acting correctly during a major blackout could technically have been hit with a massive fine for not using a system that wasn't working.
The Ministry has clarified its stance to ensure businesses are protected:
- No Penalties for PDF/Paper: During a total system failure, taxpayer can issue standard invoices without fear of fines.
- Legislative Fix: The Ministry will amend the VAT Act to remove the "redundant reference" before the January 2027 deadline.
The goal is to ensure that penalties only apply to those who intentionally bypass the KSeF system when it is functioning properly.
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