From January 1, 2022, taxpayers in Poland and elsewhere may voluntarily use the National e-Invoice System. The e-invoicing obligation will, as a rule, come into force on July 1, 2024, while for small and medium-sized enterprises exempt from VAT, the use of KSeF will be mandatory from January 1, 2025. It is worth getting to know the answers to the most frequently asked questions about KSeF now.

1. How can I obtain an entitlement in KSeF for natural persons?

Taxpayers who are natural persons are automatically assigned to the original ownership right in KSeF. Therefore, the taxpayer does not have to submit any notifications, he can use the system by authorizing himself with a trusted signature or a qualified electronic signature. In special cases, when a person has a qualified electronic signature that does not contain NIP and PESEL, it is possible to report the so-called fingerprint of the signature via the ZAW-FA notification, in order to assign the signature to a given taxpayer. When changing or renewing the signature, another notification will be required for another signature that does not contain NIP and PESEL numbers. In other cases, a taxpayer who is not a natural person, in order to use the KSeF, must, via the ZAW-FA notification, indicate a natural person authorized on behalf of the taxpayer to use the KSeF. This person will also be able to grant further authorizations electronically within the KSeF. KSeF can be used by both natural persons and entities other than natural persons. In order to use KSeF, it is necessary to authenticate the taxpayer in the system. An entity that is not a natural person may authenticate itself in the system with a qualified seal. Otherwise, it is necessary for the company to submit, for example, a ZAW-FA notification in which the entity designates a specific natural person to use the KSeF (including granting rights, withdrawing rights, issuing invoices on behalf of the entity, and access to invoices).

2. Do the regulations introducing KSeF provide for changes in the content of the invoice?

The regulations introducing the KSeF, i.e. the Act of October 29, 2021, amending the Act on tax on goods and services and certain other acts (Journal of Laws, item 2076; hereinafter: KSeFu) do not impose new obligations as to the content of the invoice. The logical structure of the e-invoice also includes elements whose use is completely voluntary and arbitrary. The logical structure of the e-invoice, apart from the elements whose occurrence is regulated by art. 106a – 106q of the VAT Act, also contains elements whose use is completely voluntary and arbitrary. Their inclusion in the structure results from the business practice observed on the market, including comments made during social consultations of the structure. These so-called additional invoice elements do not result from VAT regulations and the use of which in the invoice is not prohibited. Therefore, the provisions introducing the KSeF do not impose new obligations as to the content of the invoice.

3. What date is considered as the invoice date?

The invoice is deemed to have been issued on the day it is sent to KSeF. In accounting systems, in cases where the date of invoice issue affects the date of recording the event in the records, the above should be taken into account. Indicating a specific date on the invoice as the date of issue (in field P_1) does not mean that the taxpayer is obliged to issue an invoice to KSeF on that date. The invoice can be sent the next day while observing the statutory deadlines for issuing invoices.

4. Is it possible to authorized another person to issue an invoice on behalf of the taxpayer?

 The provisions allow for the possibility of authorizing another person to issue invoices on behalf of the entity or other natural person conducting business activity, a dedicated authorization to issue invoices in this respect should be granted. Granting the right will be possible by means of commercial programs (using API), as well as in the KSeF web application for taxpayers prepared by the Ministry of Finance. In order for a natural person authorized by the taxpayer to be able to issue structured invoices on behalf of the taxpayer, it is not necessary for him or her to set up an account with KSeF. A designated authorized person will be able to issue invoices on behalf of the taxpayer, after authentication in the system using one of the methods provided for in § 5 of the Regulation of the Minister of Finance on the use of the National e-Invoice System. As part of the KSeF, the taxpayer has a choice whether he wants to directly grant authorizations to specific natural persons, also from outside his own organization, or indicate an entity authorized to issue and/or receive invoices and enable the indirect transfer of authorizations.

5. Is it necessary to store the KSeF number?

The obligation to store the KSeF number depends on whether the taxpayer is a seller or a buyer. In the case of a taxpayer who is a seller, there is an obligation to store the KSeF number. This is due to the fact that the seller must provide this number in any corrective invoices issued. However, when it comes to buyers, the regulations do not require the storage of the KSeF number. However, it is worth keeping this number, as it may be useful for evidence purposes – the fact of assigning the KSeF number determines that the invoice has been issued.

6. Is it possible to issue a corrected invoice in the KSeF system?

The KSeF system allows you to issue a corrected invoice. A structured invoice may be corrected by a correcting invoice issued to KSeF. Such an invoice should contain the identification number of the original invoice issued in KSeF.

7. In what cases is it necessary to report the so-called fingerprint of a qualified signature? How is this reported?

Permissions granted in connection with the so-called fingerprint of the signature should be reported again in the case of extending the validity of the signature or obtaining a new signature, even though it is still used by the same person.

8. What is a Universally Unique Invoice Line Number (UU_ID)?

The use of the UU_ID or UU_IDZ field is voluntary and enables assigning unique numbers to invoice lines, which may facilitate their identification in the accounting systems used, and allows for unambiguous linking of the line numbers of the original invoice with the line numbers in correcting invoices. The fields accept up to 50 characters. The desired uniqueness is uniqueness on the scale of a given taxpayer or a given system used by a given taxpayer.

9. What situations do the Contract Rate and Contract Currency fields apply to?

The fields Contract Rate and ContrACT Currency apply to cases where the invoice is issued in PLN, which means that the 106e sec. 1 – 10 of the VAT Act, the amounts in the invoice are expressed in PLN, or the invoice is the so-called dual-currency invoice, where all these amounts are expressed simultaneously in PLN and in a foreign currency, and the parties to the transaction want to include in the invoice information on the exchange rate based on which such contractual conversion was made. This is different from the case when the amounts in the invoice are specified only in a foreign currency and only the tax amount is converted into PLN in accordance with Art. 106e sec. 11 of the VAT Act. Then, the fields KodWaluty and KursWaluty are filled in.

10. What to do if an invoice is rejected?

An invoice that has been rejected is considered unissued, so it cannot be corrected or canceled. If the invoice is rejected by the system, the taxpayer may decide whether he wants to correct it and send it again to the KSeF. An invoice may be rejected by the system only in two cases, i.e. due to: inconsistency of the file structure with the logical pattern or entering an invoice into the system by an unauthorized person.

11. Will it be possible to download invoices in bulk in PDF or through the xml structure via the API?

Yes, it is possible to download invoices in bulk, but only in XML form.