Buying through the Amazon platform has become common practice among Polish businesses. However, buyers often receive invoices showing VAT together with a typical note: "Sales tax declared by Amazon in the country of supply". When the goods are shipped from another European Union country, the situation needs careful analysis under the rules on intra-Community acquisitions of goods.
Settling such transactions can be difficult, especially when a Polish business receives an invoice with VAT even though, under the rules, it should account for the WNT (wewnątrzwspólnotowe nabycie towarów, intra-Community acquisition of goods) itself. The problem affects many Polish companies that regularly use Amazon Business or buy through the platform as part of their business activity.
An intra-Community acquisition of goods means buying products from another European Union country, where the goods are transported from the seller’s country to Poland. In that situation the Polish buyer takes over the obligation to account for VAT in Poland, regardless of what the invoice it receives says
Correctly identifying the nature of the transaction and applying the right tax rules is crucial. Incorrect settlement can lead to problems with the tax authorities and incorrect VAT returns.
Rules for determining the place of supply in Amazon transactions
The basic element of settling a transaction correctly is determining the place of supply of goods under the VAT Act (ustawa o podatku od towarów i usług). For supplies between VAT taxpayers, including sales made through the Amazon platform, the general rule in Article 22(1) of the VAT Act applies.
Under this provision, when goods are dispatched or transported by the supplier, the buyer or a third party, the place of supply is where the goods are located when dispatch or transport to the buyer begins. This rule is fundamental for determining the tax obligations of the parties.
The place of supply of goods is determined by where transport begins, not where the supply ends. If goods are shipped from a warehouse in France to Poland, the place of supply is France, which means the seller makes an intra-Community supply of goods
For sales within the European Union, the seller makes an intra-Community supply of goods, which is taxed at 0% VAT in the country where dispatch begins. This follows from the principle of tax neutrality in intra-Community trade. Selling goods without shipping them abroad works differently, as the goods never leave the country.
At the same time, the buying taxpayer in Poland makes an intra-Community acquisition of goods. Under Article 25(1) of the VAT Act, an intra-Community acquisition of goods is deemed to take place in the Member State where the goods are located when their dispatch or transport ends.
As a result, where there is a WNT, a reverse charge mechanism applies. This means the buyer in Poland takes over the obligation to account for output VAT under Article 17(1)(3) of the VAT Act. At the same time, the output VAT becomes input VAT that the buyer can deduct, so the WNT remains tax-neutral. The condition for deducting it in the same period is that the output VAT on the WNT is shown in the return in which the taxpayer is required to account for it (Article 86(10b)(2)(b) of the VAT Act).
Conditions for an intra-Community acquisition of goods
For a Polish business, buying goods from an EU seller through Amazon is an intra-Community acquisition of goods. This legal classification requires it to account for output VAT in Poland, regardless of how the seller has issued the invoice.
Under Article 9(1) of the VAT Act, an intra-Community acquisition of goods means acquiring the right to dispose as owner of goods which, as a result of the supply, are dispatched or transported to the territory of a Member State other than the Member State where dispatch or transport began.
An intra-Community acquisition of goods takes place regardless of the content of the invoice issued by the seller. Even if the invoice shows VAT and states that it has been paid in the seller’s country, the Polish buyer is still required to recognise the WNT in Poland
A WNT takes place if certain conditions relating to the parties to the transaction are met:
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The buyer of the goods must be:
- A VAT taxpayer carrying on business activity, where the goods acquired are used for that activity
- A legal person that is not a VAT taxpayer, subject to special rules
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The supplier of the goods must be a VAT taxpayer
In the light of these rules, the necessary elements for treating a transaction as an intra-Community acquisition of goods are:
- Movement of the goods between EU Member States
- Acquisition of the right to dispose of the goods as owner in another Member State
- A Polish VAT taxpayer on one side of the transaction and a taxpayer from another Member State on the other
The term "supply" means acquiring the right to dispose of goods as owner, i.e. the transfer of economic control over them. For the tax obligation to arise, what matters is that economic control over the goods can be exercised; physical handover of the goods is not essential.
The role of the invoice in WNT obligations
The key question concerns situations where the seller makes an intra-Community supply of goods at 0%, but Amazon delivers to the Polish buyer an invoice showing VAT with a note that the tax has been declared in the country of supply. Is the Polish buyer then released from the obligation to recognise a WNT?
The definition of an intra-Community acquisition of goods does not refer to how the seller issues the invoice. The tax rules focus on the actual nature of the transaction, not on the formal side of documenting the sale.
Under Article 20(5) of the VAT Act, the tax obligation on an intra-Community acquisition of goods arises when the invoice is issued, but no later than the 15th of the month following the month in which the supply took place. This obligation arises even if the supplier does not issue an invoice
This means the tax obligation on a WNT arises regardless of what the seller does about invoicing. Even the absence of an invoice does not release the Polish buyer from the obligation to account for the tax in Poland.
Consequently, when the conditions in Article 9(1) of the VAT Act are met, the Polish buyer must account for the intra-Community acquisition of goods in Poland. This also applies where the suppliers have wrongly charged VAT on the supplies in the country of origin.
So not only VAT wrongly shown on the invoice, but also VAT wrongly paid in the seller’s country, does not release the Polish taxpayer from the obligation to recognise the WNT. Issues relating to how the invoice is issued are formal and do not affect the obligations laid down in the VAT Act.
Practical aspects of settling Amazon invoices
In practice, the content of an invoice cannot change who is liable to account for the tax. Whether an entity is a VAT taxpayer is an objective matter, independent of its will and of its VAT registration.
Similar principles apply where a taxpayer is not registered for VAT or EU VAT. Taxpayer status depends on independently carrying out business activity (Article 15 section 1 of the VAT Act), so VAT registration does not make an entity a taxpayer; rather, by creating a formal register of taxpayers, it gives the tax authorities a means of checking that the tax has been settled correctly.
The registration system and invoicing rules were formalised so that the tax authorities can check that tax settlements are correct. Registration mainly serves the tax authorities in keeping a register of taxpayers and does not determine whether an entity is a taxpayer. It does, however, matter for deductions: as a rule, only taxpayers registered as active VAT taxpayers may reduce their output VAT (Article 88(4) of the VAT Act)
If you receive an Amazon invoice showing VAT and stating that the tax has been paid in the seller’s country, as a Polish taxpayer you are not released from the obligation to recognise and account for the intra-Community acquisition of goods if the conditions in Article 9(1) of the VAT Act are met.
The analysis should focus on the facts of the supply of goods, not on what the invoice says. It is the full set of events connected with the supply of goods that determines the buyer’s VAT obligations.
How to settle a WNT in practice
Settling an intra-Community acquisition of goods correctly requires the Polish taxpayer to take certain steps. The process has several stages, which must be completed in line with the VAT Act.
The first step is to identify the nature of the transaction by analysing the transport documents and the invoice. The Polish business must establish whether the goods were actually shipped from another EU country and whether the seller is a VAT taxpayer in the country of origin.
Transport documents are crucial for classifying the transaction correctly. They must show where transport of the goods began and where they were going. This information is needed to determine the tax obligations of the parties
The next stage is to settle the VAT correctly in the tax return. The Polish buyer must report the intra-Community acquisition of goods as output VAT and, at the same time, record the same amount as deductible input VAT. We prepare JPK_V7 files including intra-Community acquisitions for businesses whose bookkeeping and VAT settlements we handle.
The settlement procedure includes the following steps:
- Identify the transaction as a WNT on the basis of the documents
- Calculate the output VAT at the Polish VAT rate
- Report the output VAT in the JPK_V7 file (VAT return with records, SAF-T file)
- Record the same amount as deductible input VAT
- Enter the transaction in the WNT records
- Include the value of the acquisition in the VAT-UE recapitulative statement
The reverse charge mechanism makes the WNT tax-neutral, provided the buyer has a full right to deduct input VAT. If the right to deduct is limited, part of the tax may become a cost for the business.
Documenting and recording WNT transactions
Properly documenting an intra-Community acquisition of goods is crucial for settling the tax correctly. The Polish taxpayer must keep records that make it possible to identify all WNT transactions and settle them correctly.
The basic document is the invoice received from the seller, even if it shows wrongly charged VAT. The invoice should contain all the elements required by law, including the tax identification numbers of the seller and the buyer, a description of the goods, their value and the date of supply.
The records of intra-Community acquisitions of goods must contain all the information needed to settle VAT correctly and to prepare the VAT-UE recapitulative statement. The documentation should make it possible to identify each WNT transaction and link it to the relevant accounting entries
Additional documentation consists of transport documents confirming that the goods were moved between EU Member States. These may be consignment notes, freight forwarder invoices, courier documents or other documents confirming transport.
The WNT records should include the following information:
- Date of acquisition of the goods
- Supplier’s tax identification number
- Supplier’s name and address
- Description of the goods acquired
- Value of the acquisition excluding tax
- VAT rate applied
- Amount of output VAT
- Invoice number and date
| Documentation element | Legal requirements | Consequences of absence | Practical recommendations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seller’s invoice | Determining when the tax obligation arises (Article 20(5) of the VAT Act) and the value of the acquisition | Difficulty documenting the WNT | Check before payment |
| Transport documents | Confirmation of movement | Difficulty proving the WNT | Archive all documents |
| WNT records | Detailed transaction data | Penalties for not keeping records | Keep them systematically |
| VAT-UE recapitulative statement | Filing on time | Financial sanctions | Check before sending |
Keeping the documentation properly also helps you defend your position effectively during a tax audit and provides a basis for any claim for a refund of overpaid tax.
Consequences of incorrect settlement
Settling Amazon invoices incorrectly can have serious tax consequences for a Polish business. The tax authorities may challenge how the transaction was settled and impose additional tax liabilities with interest.
The most common mistake is treating an invoice with VAT as a basis for deducting input VAT without recognising the intra-Community acquisition of goods. This leads to understated output VAT and incorrectly reported input VAT.
The tax authorities may impose an additional tax liability together with late-payment interest if a WNT is settled incorrectly. In addition, a penalty may be imposed for not keeping WNT records or for preparing the VAT-UE recapitulative statement incorrectly
Another consequence may be the need to correct tax returns for the periods in which the Amazon transactions were settled incorrectly. The correction may concern both the JPK_V7 file and the VAT-UE recapitulative statement.
If WNT transactions are systematically settled incorrectly, the tax authorities may also challenge the right to deduct input VAT on other transactions, which may significantly increase the tax liabilities.
Potential consequences include:
- Payment of the outstanding VAT with late-payment interest and a possible additional tax liability
- Penalties for not keeping WNT records
- Sanctions for incorrect VAT-UE recapitulative statements
- The need to correct tax returns
- Problems with deducting input VAT
- Additional tax audits
Avoiding these consequences requires settling all transactions correctly from the moment they occur and, where necessary, correcting incorrectly settled operations from the past.
Practical example of settlement
A specific case helps to understand how to settle Amazon invoices showing the wrong VAT rate. Consider Polish company Alfa, which bought goods through Amazon.
The company received an invoice naming a company based in France as the seller. The invoice shows VAT at 23 percent and the note: "Sales tax declared by Amazon in the country of supply". The transport documents show that the goods were shipped to Poland directly from a warehouse in France.
Despite what the invoice says, the Polish company should recognise an intra-Community acquisition of goods in Poland and account for output VAT, with a simultaneous right to deduct input VAT. The content of the invoice cannot change the legal nature of the transaction
In this situation Alfa should proceed as follows:
- Not treat the VAT shown on the invoice as a basis for deduction
- Recognise the transaction as an intra-Community acquisition of goods
- Calculate output VAT at the Polish VAT rate
- Report the calculated tax in the JPK_V7 file as output VAT
- At the same time record the same amount as deductible input VAT
- Enter the transaction in the WNT records
- Include the acquisition in the VAT-UE recapitulative statement
Settlement example: Alfa bought goods for EUR 10,000. The invoice shows VAT of EUR 2,300. In its Polish settlement the company should calculate output VAT: EUR 10,000 × 23% = EUR 2,300 (for the settlement, the amounts are converted into złoty at the exchange rate referred to in Article 31a of the VAT Act), and then record this amount as output VAT and at the same time as deductible input VAT in the JPK_V7 file.
What matters is the analysis of the facts of the supply of goods, not the content of the invoice itself. By shaping the documentation, a seller cannot change the buyer’s tax obligations under the law.
