VAT and EU VAT in a Polish sp. z o.o.: when you need them

EU VAT (VAT-UE) in a sp. z o.o. is the registration for transactions with businesses from other European Union countries. The company reports it on the VAT-R form before its first such transaction, and its number is the ordinary NIP with the PL prefix. It needs it for supplies and purchases of goods within the EU and for most services provided to or bought from EU businesses.

VAT itself is something else. A company registers as an active VAT payer when it wants to add VAT to its invoices and deduct it on purchases, or when it has to. Below we explain the differences, show situations in which the obligation appears unexpectedly and, finally, explain how to check a company’s status, including one you want to buy from the list of ready-made companies.

NIP, active VAT payer and EU VAT: how they differ

These three terms are often confused because they all rely on the same number. They are not three numbers, but one number and two separate registrations.

It is also worth distinguishing a form and a return with similar names. VAT-R is a registration filed once and updated later. VAT-UE is also the name of the recapitulative statement that the company files for months with intra-EU transactions. When people say “I have VAT-UE”, they mean the registration, and when they say “file VAT-UE”, they mean this statement.

When a sp. z o.o. needs EU VAT

A company that is an active VAT payer reports its intention before the first intra-Community supply or acquisition (art. 97(1)). A VAT-exempt company may also need this registration, which surprises many owners (art. 97(2) and (3)). Here are typical situations.

• You sell goods to an EU business and the goods leave Poland. This is an intra-Community supply of goods (WDT). The 0% rate depends, among other things, on the buyer having a valid VAT number, you having proof of transport and you being registered as an EU VAT payer when you file the return (art. 42(1)).
• You buy goods from an EU business and they arrive in Poland. This is an intra-Community acquisition (WNT). A VAT-exempt company can avoid this registration as long as the value of such purchases in the year does not exceed PLN 50,000 (art. 10(1)(2)).
• You provide services to an EU business, for example programming or marketing. As a rule, the place of taxation is the customer’s country (art. 28b), and you give the number with the PL prefix on the invoice.
• You buy services from an EU business, for example online advertising from a company in Ireland. This also applies to a VAT-exempt company: it must register before the first such purchase (art. 97(3)(1)).

The last case is the most common and the easiest to miss. The owner sets up a new company, is VAT-exempt and launches ads. The advertising is settled with a foreign company, so the company should have EU VAT before the first purchase, not only once the accountant notices. An exempt company cannot deduct the tax on such a service, so it becomes its cost.

EU VAT is not needed for sales outside the EU alone or for purchases from Polish businesses. Trade with non-EU countries, such as the United Kingdom or Ukraine, may instead require an EORI number. We prepare EORI as an option, if you need it.

Does a new company have to be an active VAT payer

Not always. A company is exempt if its sales did not exceed PLN 240,000 in the previous or current year (art. 113(1)). A company starting during the year calculates the limit in proportion to the period of activity (art. 113(9)). Example: starting on 1 July 2026, activity covers 184 of 365 days, so the limit for that year is about PLN 120,986. The exemption ceases from the transaction that exceeds the limit (art. 113(5)).

The exemption is not available to everyone. Regardless of turnover, it does not apply to, among others, legal, advisory, jewellery and debt collection services, or to supplies of selected goods (art. 113(13)). If you intend to advise businesses, the company will be an active VAT payer from its first invoice.

You can also waive the exemption voluntarily (art. 113(4)). This makes sense when your customers are businesses that deduct VAT and you have large purchases with deductible VAT at the start. If you sell to private individuals, the exemption usually means a lower final price. These relationships are worth calculating with an accountant before the first invoice.

How to file VAT-R in a sp. z o.o.

The company files VAT-R with the head of the competent tax office before the first taxable transaction (art. 96(1)). The competent office depends on the company’s registered office. On the same form you indicate whether the company will be an EU VAT payer. VAT registration is not automatic. The head of the tax office verifies the details and may refuse registration if, for example, the details are false or there is no contact with the entity or its proxy (art. 96(4a)).

So prepare answers to simple questions: what the company does, who represents it, where it can be found and at what address it receives letters. The office may assess whether the business is coherent and genuine, and a virtual office address alone does not rule out registration. Nobody can promise that the office will always register a company, because it is the office’s decision. With our company registration, VAT-R is included in the price, together with NIP-8, PCC-3, UPL-1 and ZAW-FA.

Obligations after EU VAT registration

Registration is the beginning. From then on the company has regular filings, and missing one of them can raise the tax on a transaction.

For a WDT, the company has an additional condition: proof that the goods actually reached the buyer in another country. Collect it straight away, because you must have it before the deadline for filing the return for that period (art. 42(1)(2)).

When a company can lose VAT or EU VAT

Taxpayer status is not permanent. The VAT Act provides for the ex officio removal from the VAT register of a company that for six consecutive months or two quarters files returns with no sales, no purchases of goods or services and no imports with deductible tax, or does not file returns for three consecutive months or a quarter (art. 96(9a)(2) and (3)). For EU VAT the Act provides for removal after just three months or a quarter of such returns (art. 97(15)) or after three months without the recapitulative statements that were due (art. 97(15a)). Removal from VAT also means losing EU VAT (art. 97(16)).

This is a risk, not a certainty, which is why a buyer checks the status on the day they make their decision. We check the active VAT and EU VAT status of the companies on our list on the day of sale, and we give the KRS number for each of them, so you can verify it yourself in a minute in the VAT register (White List) and in VIES.

How to check a company’s VAT and EU VAT status

You can check any company’s status yourself, free of charge. The list of ready-made companies gives the KRS number rather than the NIP, so that is where you start.

1. Enter the KRS number in the KRS search and open the company’s extract.
2. Read the company’s NIP from the extract.
3. Enter the NIP in the VAT taxpayer register, the so-called White List. You will see the status: active, exempt or not registered.
4. Enter PL and the NIP in the European VIES search tool. Here you check whether the number works in intra-EU transactions.

The same method is used to check business partners. Before an invoice at the 0% rate, check the customer’s number in VIES and keep the result.

VAT in a ready-made company versus a new company

A new company starts with VAT-R and waits for the tax office’s decision. The ready-made companies in our offer have EU VAT, and the taxpayer remains the same company, because you buy its shares rather than a new business. The NIP does not change, even when you change the name, address and PKD codes, but a change of address may change the tax office, which must be reported in an update. Check the status on the day of purchase using the method above, and when running the company, remember the removal rules. If the KRS entry date matters to you, see what a ready-made company is and how the purchase works, and the other deadlines are in obligations after registering a company.