Interpretations and legal basis to abandon the cash register, switch to e-paragraphs and invoice all online sales

We have prepared the following information in cooperation with friendly accounting offices and online stores under our care.

Remember that each case should be interpreted individually. Consult your accountant or write to your tax office to request an individual interpretation. A short letter outlining your eCommerce business will give you 100% clarity on the situation.

If a taxpayer sells by mail order, he may enjoy an exemption from recording on a fiscal cash register, after meeting certain conditions:

  • If payments for the ordered goods will be made in full to the taxpayer's bank account: by mail (cash on delivery), bank (electronic payment) or SKOK
  • If the supply of goods relates to an activity that takes place on a consignment basis,
  • If it is clear from the records and evidence documenting the payment (e.g., an invoice) what specific activity the payment was for and to whose benefit it was made
  • If the products that the taxpayer sells are not listed in the Decree of the Minister of Finance (link later in the article)

If the taxpayer meets the above, he will not be required to record in a fiscal cash register mail order sales of goods. If the taxpayer uses a fiscal cash register, he can apply for its deregistration.

How to switch to invoices - why was this article written?

If you think that giving up the classic receipts and cash register will make it easier to run your online store and business - read the rest of the article. All the functionality related to invoicing and issuing e-receipts for sales in your PrestaShop store will provide you with our Invoices and E-Receipts module.

One-time payment, no subscriptions, fast, easy and in accordance with accounting and tax laws. You can read more about our solution and its capabilities on the module page:

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Why can it be profitable to give up receipts?

  • You don't have to maintain (or buy) a fiscal printer
  • You don't have to print and package receipts
  • You don't have to print monthly statements that your accountant manually transcribes into your accounting software

Why might it be convenient to switch to invoices?

  • Automatically issue invoices for orders, including generating adjustments, returns and duplicates.
  • Invoices will be the only billing document, so you will keep your paperwork or files in order :)
  • You will generate a monthly statement and download all PDF invoices 1-click
  • You will give your accountant the monthly statement on file and the invoices generated in PDF.
  • With the export of invoices from the store, your accountant will upload all your sales into the accounting software
  • There are no accounting and bookkeeping differences after switching to B2C invoicing
  • You do not incur additional tax costs after switching to invoicing
  • By automating invoicing, you don't have to print, which means you save our earth's natural resources

Updated 2022-12-06

The Decree of the Minister of Finance dated December 22, 2021 on exemptions from the obligation to keep records of sales using cash registers can be found here. It reads, among other things: "It is exempted from the obligation to keep records in a given fiscal year, but no longer than until December 31, 2023 (...)."

According to the regulations, as of May 1, 2021, the seller is exempt from the obligation to issue a printed fiscal receipt each time. It may be replaced by an electronic fiscal receipt, which will be sent to the customer's email address or directly to his cell phone(source). Bingo!

Mail order sales and the obligation to use a cash register - KIS interpretation.

Source

Bulletin for Economic and Financial Services No. 24 (1067) dated 20.08.2020, page 24 (individual interpretation by the Director of the National Tax Information dated July 23, 2020, No. 0111-KDIB3-2.4012.401.2020.1.MN)

Factual state

An active VAT taxpayer conducted retail sales of home decoration and furnishing items to individuals not engaged in business activities. He was required to keep records of sales using fiscal cash registers - the cash register was installed in 2009. As of February 2020, sales were made only to non-business individuals by mail order (by post or courier). The taxpayer received all payments in the form of bank transfers or other forms of non-cash payment, to a bank account maintained for business purposes. In the case of exchange of goods, the payment/payment was accepted by the courier, and the money received was deposited into the taxpayer's bank account. The sale was documented by the courier in the form of a statement of payments indicating the order number, bill of lading number, the amount of money collected, and the personal data of the purchaser. From the records and evidence documenting the payment, it was clear what specific activity it concerned and for whose benefit it was made. In total, the turnover realized for non-business individuals exceeded PLN 20,000 per year. The taxpayer did not sell articles and services, excluded from the exemption from keeping records with the use of cash registers.

The taxpayer asked whether, in the described state of affairs, he was entitled to an exemption from the obligation to record sales with fiscal cash registers and whether he could deregister the used cash register.

Tax authority's position

The tax authority recalled that Article 111(1) of the VAT Act sets forth the general principle, from which it follows that the obligation to keep records of sales using a cash register applies to all taxpayers who sell to the recipients specified therein, i.e. natural persons who do not conduct business activity and flat-rate farmers. Thus, the primary criterion determining the obligation to use cash register records is the status of the buyer. Issues concerning exemptions from the obligation to keep records using cash registers for certain activities and certain groups of taxpayers, as well as deadlines for starting to keep these records using cash registers, as of January 1, 2019, are regulated by the Regulation of the Minister of Finance of December 28, 2018 on exemptions from the obligation to keep records using cash registers (Journal of Laws of 2018, item 2519).

Mail order sales - subjective exemption from recording

Pursuant to § 2 paragraphs 1 and 2 of the aforementioned regulation, the activities listed in the appendix to the regulation (in accordance with the conditions set forth in the appendix) are exempted from the obligation to keep records in a given tax year, but no longer than until December 31, 2021. Under item 36 of the aforementioned annex, a supply of goods by mail order (by post or courier) is indicated, if the supplier of the goods receives payment in full for the activity performed through the mail, a bank or a SKOK (respectively, to the taxpayer's bank account or to the account of the taxpayer in a SKOK of which he is a member), and it is clear from the records and evidence documenting the payment what specific activity it concerned and to whose benefit it was made (the purchaser's data, including his address). However, in accordance with § 4 of the aforementioned regulation, exemptions from the obligation to record - among others mentioned above - do not apply in the cases specified in this provision (among others, in the case of sales of recorded and unrecorded digital and analog data carriers).

Thus, a taxpayer is entitled to take advantage of the exemption from the obligation to record turnover using a cash register - based on § 2(1) in conjunction with item 36 of the Annex to the Regulation - if the following conditions are jointly met:

  • the supply of goods relates to an activity that takes place by mail order (by post or courier)
  • payment for the goods is made in full by mail, bank or SKOK - to the taxpayer's bank account or to the taxpayer's account in SKOK, of which he is a member
  • the records and evidence documenting the payment unambiguously show what specific activity the payment concerned and to whose benefit it was made,
  • the subject of the supply is not goods listed in § 4 of the Ordinance.

Failure to meet one of the above conditions means the inapplicability of the exemption in question.

In light of the above, the tax authority considered that in the situation described by the taxpayer, all the conditions for exemption from the obligation to record on a cash register the sale of goods, by mail order, to individuals not engaged in business activity and flat-rate farmers were met. Therefore, the taxpayer is entitled to use this exemption, but no longer than until December 31, 2021.

Deregistration of the fiscal cash register

On the other hand, referring to doubts about the possibility of ceasing to keep records of sales using a cash register and deregistering it, the tax authority considered that since the taxpayer only sells goods whose supply is covered by the exemption from the obligation to keep records of sales using a cash register, he may file a request to the competent head of the tax office to deregister it from the register of cash registers, pursuant to § 34 of the Decree of the Minister of Finance of April 29, 2019 on cash registers (Journal of Laws, item 816).

In accordance with this provision, in the event of termination of use of a cash register with electronic or paper copy recording due to termination of business activity or operation of these cash registers in fiscal mode, the taxpayer:

  1. issues a fiscal daily report and a fiscal periodic (monthly) report,
  2. immediately, with the assistance of a service technician, reads the contents of the fiscal memory by issuing a settlement fiscal report and prepares a protocol of this activity, according to the model attached as Annex No. 4 to the Regulation,
  3. submits the protocol of reading the contents of the fiscal memory, together with the attached settlement fiscal report, within 5 days from the date of their preparation, to the head of the tax office competent for the taxpayer,
  4. prepares and submits, together with the documents referred to in item 3, to the head of the tax office competent for the taxpayer, an application for deregistration of the cash register from the register of cash registers, according to the form attached as Appendix No. 5 to the Regulation.

Delivery of goods through a transport company and exemption from the cash register

Source: VAT Guide No. 8 (536) dated 20.04.2021, page 25

, "At the beginning of 2021, I started a business involving the online sale of goods to individuals. All payments are made by wire transfer to my bank account. I send goods to customers via a transportation company. Do I have to record such sales in a fiscal cash register?

Entities conducting online sales of goods have the opportunity to take advantage of two types of exemptions, namely due to the turnover achieved and due to the sale of goods by mail order, and the rules for their use are set forth in the Regulation on exemptions.

A taxpayer starting after December 31, 2018, the supply of goods or provision of services to non-business individuals and flat-rate farmers, until December 31, 2021, is exempt from the obligation to record with cash registers, if the expected turnover on this account does not exceed, in proportion to the period of performance of these activities in a given tax year, the amount of PLN 20,000. This is stipulated in § 3(1)(2) of the Regulation on Exemptions. However, if during the year the turnover from sales to private individuals exceeds the limit calculated in proportion to the period of performing the sales in 2021, the exemption will cease to be effective after the expiration of two months following the month in which the turnover exceeded the aforementioned limit (§ 5(2) of the Ordinance).

A taxpayer whose turnover is higher than PLN 20,000 has the opportunity to take advantage of the exemption for mail order sales, but here it is necessary to meet additional conditions.

This exemption is defined in § 2(1) in conjunction with item 36 of the Annex to the Regulation on Exemptions, and applies to the supply of goods by mail order (by post or courier), provided that:

  • the supplier of the goods receives payment in full for the activity performed through the mail, a bank or a cooperative savings and credit union (respectively, to the taxpayer's bank account or to the taxpayer's account in a cooperative savings and credit union of which he is a member),
  • it is clear from the records and evidence documenting the payment what specific activity it concerned and for whose benefit it was made (the purchaser's data, including his address).

It should be mentioned that a taxpayer is excluded from the possibility of benefiting from any of the exemptionsset forth in the regulation by making sales of goods listed in § 4(1)(1) of the regulation on exemptions.

The Director of the National Fiscal Information in an individual interpretation dated March 12, 2021, No. 0113-KDIPT1-3.4012.929.2020.1.ALN explained that the legislator explicitly indicated that only sending goods by mail or courier services entitles a taxpayer to take advantage of the exemption from the obligation to keep records with a cash register on the basis of § 2 in conjunction with item 36 of the Annex to the Regulation on Exemptions, while meeting the other conditions under the aforementioned provision.

This interpretation indicates that the rules for carrying out business activities involving the provision of postal services in domestic or foreign trade are set forth in the Act of November 23, 2012. Postal Law (Journal of Laws of 2020, item 1041, as amended). Pursuant to Article 46(1) of this Act, a designated operator, i.e. a postal operator obliged to provide universal services, is obliged to provide universal services throughout the country.

However, with regard to courier services, it was pointed out that, although they are not directly regulated in Polish law, these issues are referred to in the Act of November 15, 1984, Transportation Law (Journal of Laws of 2020, item 8), as well as the aforementioned Postal Law.

In turn, according to Article 3 item 19 of the Postal Law, a courier mail item is a letter mail item that is a registered mail item or a postal package, received, sorted, transported and delivered in a manner that collectively provides:

  • direct receipt of the postal item from the sender,
  • tracking of the postal item from posting to delivery,
  • delivery of the postal item within the guaranteed period of time specified in the regulations for the provision of postal services or in contracts for the provision of postal services,
  • delivery of the postal item directly into the hands of the addressee or person entitled to receive it,
  • obtaining a receipt for receipt of the postal item in written or electronic form.

At the same time, it was stressed that the activity of a postal operator, and therefore also a courier company operating under similar rules, is classified as a regulated activity, and in this sense requires additional registration and the fulfillment of certain conditions. Meanwhile, as pointed out, the launch of freight services comes down only to the registration of a business.

Consequently, it was considered that:

"(...) in the case in question, in the part concerning the lack of obligation to record with a cash register sales to individuals who do not conduct business activity, who placed an order in an online store, made an online payment and picked up the goods at a collection point of their choice, and the goods will be delivered through a company (or a person employed by the company) engaged in shipping or transport of goods or other services in the field of shipping/transport of goods that are not postal or courier services, all of the conditions for exemption from the obligation to record on a cash register the Applicant's sales of goods by mail order to non-business individuals and flat-rate farmers, pursuant to Section 2 (1) of the Ordinance, will not be met in total. 1 of the Regulation in conjunction with item 36 of the Annex to the Regulation. For although, as indicated in the application, on the basis of the records and documentation kept by the Applicant it will be possible to determine to which specific order the payment received on the company's account referred, and to whose benefit the sale was made, and payment for the purchased goods will be able to be made at the customer's choice using the payment system .... or by traditional online transfer to the bank account indicated on the invoice or in the body of the email, then the condition of delivery of goods in the mail order system, i.e. by post or courier (...) will not be met."

To sum up

In the situation described above, a taxpayer who sells goods by mail order has the possibility to benefit from the exemption from the obligation to use a fiscal cash register due to the amount of turnover. He cannot benefit from the exemption from recording on the basis of § 2 in connection with item 36 of the Annex to the Regulation on Exemptions, if the delivery of goods by mail order is made through a transport company.

Delivery of goods by mail order and fiscal cash register

Source: VAT Guide No. 6 (510) dated 20.03.2020, page 33

, "In 2018 we eliminated the fiscal cash register. We now intend to make mail-order sales of goods to individuals. We will receive payment for the goods to our bank account or it will be made on delivery (the courier collects payment from the customer, which he will pay to our account). Will we have to record such sales in a cash register?

In general, sales to non-business individuals and flat-rate farmers are subject to recording in a cash register.

However, by virtue of § 2(1) and item 36 of the appendix to the Regulation on Exemptions, exempted from the obligation to record in a given tax year, but no later than December 31, 2021, is the supply of goods by mail order (by post or courier). For a taxpayer to be entitled to apply this exemption, the following conditions must be met:

  • the supplier of the goods receives payment in full for the activity performed through the mail, a bank or a cooperative savings and credit union (respectively, to the taxpayer's bank account or to the taxpayer's account in a cooperative savings and credit union of which he is a member),
  • it is clear from the records and evidence documenting the payment what specific activity it concerned and to whose benefit it was made (the purchaser's data, including his address).

However, this exemption cannot be used by a taxpayer who delivers the goods himself to the purchaser without using the services of a postal or other courier service.

It should also be borne in mind that a taxpayer is excluded from the possibility of benefiting from any of the exemptions set forth in the regulation by making sales of the goods listed in § 4(1)(1) of the aforementioned regulation.

The Director of the National Tax Information in an individual interpretation dated November 22, 2019, No. 0114-KDIP1-3.4012.492.2019.1.ISK, considering a case in a similar state to the question asked, explained that: "(...) since the supply of goods carried out as part of the Applicant's retail clothing business is made by mail order or courier service, payments are made in the manner indicated in item 36 of the Annex to the Regulation on Exemptions (...), while the goods sold do not fall within the exemptions indicated in § 4 para. 1 item 1 of the Regulation on exemptions from cash registers, then with respect to these sales the Applicant is entitled to apply an exemption from the obligation to record sales by means of cash registers on the basis of § 2(1) of the Regulation on exemptions from cash registers in conjunction with item 36 of the aforementioned annex to the Regulation. (...)"

Additionally, he explained that: "(...) On the other hand, referring to the Applicant's doubts regarding the possibility of ceasing to keep records of sales using a cash register, it should be pointed out that the Applicant has such a right with respect to all three cash registers for which he meets the conditions for benefiting from the exemption from the obligation to record sales using a cash register. (...)"

To sum up

If, in the situation presented in the question, payments for the ordered goods will be made in full to the taxpayer's bank account (both directly by the final recipient and by courier companies, which will deposit the payments received from the buyer into the taxpayer's bank account), then the taxpayer will not be required to record in the cash register mail order sales of goods.

Comments (1)
from 1
16:28 05/02/2023 /

Pytanie co dalej od 1 stycznia 2024 w kontekście KSEF (Krajowy System eFaktur) - gdzie faktury od 1 stycznia będą mogły być wystawiane jedynie jako ustrukturyzowany zestaw danych w rządowym systemie, a nie dokument poza systemem rządu.