VAT registration. What You need to know?

Recent amendments to the VAT Law, introduce significant innovations, if we are talking about VAT registration after 1 January 2017.

By choosing to conduct business activities, each taxpayer needs to review its Articles of Association. In some cases, the VAT registration is obligatory, for instance, consulting or legal services. In other cases, it is possible to choose the tax exemption (on January 1, 2017 the limit of tax exemption was raised up to 200 000 PLN, calculated in proportion, if a taxpayer begin operations during the tax year).

Until recently, the VAT registration was more of a formality. The taxpayer submits form VAT-R and the relevant authorities took no additional measures. However, at beginning 2017, the tax offices across the country began a thorough procedure of checking subjects of economic activity before its registration as the active or exempt VAT taxpayer.

Such procedures often include:

- request a description of the activities that will be subject to VAT;

- checking the contract on the legal address;

- request description activity (business model);

- request information about accountant and the location of accounting documents;

- Articles of Association.

In addition, submission of untruthful information in its VAT registration form or the lack of contact with the subject of economic activity may lead to failure in obtaining a VAT number. This can be, for example, telephone contact attempts, for which the employee of the tax authority shall make the corresponding notes. A prerequisite for refusal of registration without notifying the taxpayer is also a situation when the taxpayer or its agent does not respond to summons. As noted by the legislators, the lack of registration means that the subject is not placed in the web database of taxpayers which provides information for potential partners.