The deadlines for the VAT refunds in Poland

The PL VAT Act defines two different ways to allocation of the excess of input VAT over output VAT amount- transferring it to the next periods or returning the difference on the bank account. The VAT refund can be received on various dates. Currently, there are three deadlines for the refund of the VAT excess- 25 days, 60 days and 180 days.

VAT refund within 60 days

The return within 60 days is called as the return within the basic deadline. For this deadline, the taxpayer is not obligated to fulfilment of any special conditions.

In accordance with art. 87 p. 2 of PL VAT Act, the VAT difference is, as a rule, refunded within 60 days calculating from the date of submission of VAT reports by taxpayer to the taxpayer’s bank account at bank established in PL.

In case if the validity of the VAT return requires additional verification, the Head of the TA, performs as part of the tax check, tax control or tax proceeding, and can extend this period until the end of the verification of the submitted VAT reports. If the verifications carried out by the TA prove the validity of the VAT return, the TA will pay the amount due together with interest.

VAT refund within 180 days

If the taxpayer has not performed the taxable activities in PL or the supply of goods or services taxed outside the PL in the given tax period, the buyer is entitled to return of input VAT within 180 days from the date of submitted the VAT reports. It is possible to shorten this time to 60 days only if the taxpayer submits the application to PL TA with the proprietary security.

VAT refund within 25 days

The possibility of applying for VAT return within 25 days is possible only if the several conditions will be met altogether:

  • The amount of input VAT shown in the given VAT reports results from:
  1. invoices documenting the amounts of receivables that have been fully paid from the taxpayer’s PL bank account indicated in the identification application to PL TA,
  2. invoices other than those mentioned in point (a), documenting receivables, if the total amount of them do not exceed PLN 15 000.
  3. VAT amounts results from import declarations, custom documents and decisions have been paid by taxpayer,
  4. import of goods settled in accordance with art. 33a of PL VAT Act, intra- community acquisitions, the provision of services for which the recipient is the taxpayer, the supply of goods for which the buyer is taxpayer, if the VAT report shows the amount of output VAT on these transactions,
  • the amount of input tax or tax converted into the next period, unsettled in previous periods and shown in the VAT reports, does not exceed PLN 3,000,
  • the taxpayer submitted to PL TA, not later than on the submission date of VAT reports, the confirmations of payments of the amounts resulting from point (a),
  • the taxpayer for the next 12 months directly preceding the period for which the taxpayer applies for VAT return within 25 days:
  1. was registered as an active VAT taxpayer,
  2. submitted the VAT reports for each tax period,

The VAT refund within 25 days shall also apply in case of the taxpayer’s decision of tax refund to VAT account. In this case, at the taxpayer’s request contained in the submitted tax report, the tax office is obliged to refund the tax difference within 25 days from the date of submission of the tax return.

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