Don't delay KSeF implementation process in your company

The article by PKF expert (Aleksandra Wilgos - System Implementation and Automation Specialist).

A few days ago, Minister of Finance Andrzej Domański informed that the National e-Invoice System (KSeF) planned to be implemented as of 1 July 2024 has been postponed. The decision is a result of critical errors found in the system, which are preventing its efficient implementation in 2024.

A tender procedure for an external audit of the system is going to be announced in the nearest future, and consultations with business are also planned. Once the audit is completed, the new implementation date is going to be announced.

It is worth stressing that the government is not giving up the KSeF. In its opinion, it is a vital tool for tightening the tax system and facilitating business activity in the future. For this reason, we encourage you to start your KSeF preparations already today, rather than putting them off for the last moment.

Here are a few pieces of key information on the KSeF as a reminder.

What is the KSeF?

The KSeF, i.e. the National e-Invoice System, is an information and communication technology system designed for issuing, filing and sending structured invoices that document transactions concluded by entities having their registered offices in Poland or their permanent place of business in Poland.

The KSeF system, which is operated by the Head of the National Revenue Administration, enables amongst others:

• for vendors – issuance of invoices in a structured, uniform format irrespective of the vendor’s legal form, sector of operation or scale of business; additionally, the system allows for a verification of data deriving from structured invoices;
• for buyers - receipt of structured invoices,
• for tax bodies - ongoing access to all invoices issued in the KSeF, their control as well as analysis of transactions concluded by the taxpayers.

What is the difference between a structured invoice and an electronic e-invoice?

An electronic invoice is an invoice in an electronic form, issued and received in any electronic format.

A structured invoice on the other hand is an invoice issued in the National e-Invoice System, bearing an allocated number that identifies that invoice in the system.

A structured KSeF e-invoice is drawn up as an electronic file (XML) with a strictly predefined structure compliant with the e-document specimen determined by the Minister of Finance, whereas a simple e-invoice is an invoice in an electronic format. It should be remembered that application of electronic invoices requires a previous acceptance of the invoice recipient. An entrepreneur issuing an electronic invoice must comply with the same rules as those applicable to paper invoices. Apart from the very format, the difference lies in the delivery method of the document to the recipient.

What does the invoice delivery look like in the KSeF?

In order to issue e-invoices in the KSeF, the taxpayer should have an individual access to the KSeF Taxpayer Application granted to him/ her, such application to be made available by the Ministry of Finance, or s/he should have a KSeF-integrated software. It needs to be ensured that the supplier of the current software, which is used to issue sales invoices, is able to ensure an IT environment fully integrated with the KSeF. If the company has not been using any software for issuing e-invoices so far but was issuing them on paper or in Excel-like programs, it can use the free Taxpayer Application. The KSeF is a system where taxpayers can issue and receive electronic, structured invoices. It should be noted, however, that the KSeF Taxpayer Application is likely to be used rather by smaller businesses which issue a small number of invoices.

How is the KSeF to be used; what is the authorisation granting and management process?

The access to the KSeF is inseparably linked with data processing both with regard to financial and personal data, therefore the KSeF access should be granted exclusively to individuals authorised to use the system. In order to ensure that company data is effectively secured, the authorisation granting process should be well thought through. An appropriate authorisation management in the KSeF Taxpayer Application becomes necessary. The KSeF authorisation involves granting, modifying and revoking operating roles that enable working with the system. Thanks to this, the application can be operated not only by the entrepreneur himself/ herself but also by other individuals appointed to take specific and strictly defined actions in the system.

What authorisation types are there in the KSeF?

For taxpayers being natural persons (e.g. sole traders, accountants), the authorisation is granted automatically, directly in the free KSeF software, available at: https://ksef.mf.gov.pl/web/login.

• Taxpayers may manage their KSeF authorisations without submitting further notifications, and they may issue structured invoices and also have access to them.
• Taxpayers without a NIP or a PESEL number are an exception here; in such a case, a paper ZAW-FA notification form is required to be filed with the tax office.

For businesses run as civil-law partnerships or commercial law partnerships/companies, a notification on paper is required to be sent to the tax office head in the ZAW-FA format in order to be able to grant authorisation to specific individuals. The ZAW-FA form is obligatory only for granting authorisation to the first person, and such a person should be provided with the widest authorisation scope so that s/he can manage such authorisation within the organisation. Additionally, it is worthwhile to authorise more that one person in the organisation for granting such authorisations in order to avoid any role-management-related problems in the absence of the appointed employee.

Apart from direct authorisation assigned to a specific person, indirect authorisation may be considered and could be granted to another business entity, e.g. to an accountancy office.

Taxpayers who are not natural persons and who are holders of a qualified seal with a NIP number may avoid submission of a paper ZAW-FA notification, and exercise their initial authorisation granted fully automatically.

Authorisation types which an entrepreneur may grant for KSeF operation purposes include:

• the widest authorisation for granting, changing or revoking authorisations to use the KseF,
• indirect authorisation for issuing sales invoices or for access to structured invoices (sales and purchase invoices),
• the narrowest one - access to e-invoices in the KSeF (sales and purchase invoices).
• In addition, an entrepreneur may grant authorisation for issuing invoices on the seller’s behalf under the self-invoicing system (if a relevant contract signed earlier covers that).

What invoices will fall under the KSeF?

• Basic invoices (including ICS invoices and export invoices)
• Advance payment invoices
• Corrective invoices, corrective cumulative invoices
• Final invoices

Which documents are not going to be visible in the KSeF?

• Correction notes
• Invoices issued via cash registers (e.g. simplified ones up to PLN 450)
• Provisional invoices
• Debit notes
• Invoices issued by foreign counterparties[1]
• Single tickets e.g. for motorway use
• Single tickets for travel of persons on any distance: by train, road, ships, inland waterway transport and coastal transport, ferries, planes and helicopters.

Is it possible to withdraw an e-invoice from the system?

It is not possible to withdraw or cancel an e-invoice from the KSeF even if the parties agree to do so. If the entrepreneur issued an invoice with an error or by mistake, s/he should issue a corrective invoice. Introduction of the KSeF can initially result in an increased number of corrective invoices being issued, as this is going to be the only way of correcting the errors. With the obligatory introduction of the KSeF, correction notes are going to be entirely withdrawn.

At which point does the system consider an invoice to have been effectively issued?

A structured invoice is deemed to have been issued on the day it is sent to the National e-Invoice System, i.e. the invoice is considered issued with the start of a KSeF session. Situations will often arise where the invoice creation date in the sales system will be different from the structured invoice issuance date in the KSeF system, and this in turn can in some cases impact the moment when the tax liability arises.

Such cases will include in particular:

• invoices for building works as well as construction & assembly works services;
• supply of electric energy, heating, telecommunication services, tenancy,
• lease, leasing or similar services;
• personal security, general security, supervision and property storage services;
• continuous legal and office administration services;
• distribution of electric energy, heating or cooling energy or gas from the grid.

When is the invoice considered delivered?

The invoice is considered received via the KSeF on the day it is allocated an identification number in the system. This will not necessarily be the date of sending the invoice by the seller to the KSeF; it can be for instance one day later. It should also be noted that the KSeF is not going to notify taxpayers of any new structured invoices issued to them.

Although the KSeF implementation date has been postponed, our recommendation is to think about the potential tool or another method of issuing structured invoices. The KSeF implementation means significant changes for the entire organisation, and taking appropriate preparatory measures can facilitate the adaptation process significantly.

When planning the KSeF implementation, each organisation should answer itself a number of questions:

• What provisions are in place in our contracts both those with clients and with our suppliers? Some updates of the cooperation rules and of responsibility for individual processes are going to be conceivably necessary to ensure that the business remains secured.
• What is the average number of sales invoices issued per month? More or less than 10, 20?
• Does the organisation have an internal, commercial/operating system in place which has so far been used to issue sales invoices?
• Does the organisation have a foreign system in place which is used to issue invoices?
• How many people take part in the invoice issuing process? How many locations does this process involve?
• Is the internal commercial/operating system going to be updated to ensure KSeF integration?
• Are there any transactions where our client would issue invoices to itself on behalf of the taxpayer as part of the self-invoicing procedure? What proportion of such invoices remains outside the organisation system?
• What does the purchasing (ordering) and the cost document acceptance process look like? How many people from the organisation take part, and at what stages?
• What elements are treated by the organisation as required on the invoice (e.g. order numbers, data) to ensure that the purchasing acceptance process runs smoothly?

Downloads

• National e-Invoice System (KSeF) - don't stop implementation in your company.pdf [PDF]