Changes to import VAT accounting in Poland (Article 33a)

The rule: import VAT on the customs declaration

A taxpayer importing goods into Poland generally calculates and states VAT on the customs declaration (Article 33(1) of the VAT Act) and pays it within 10 days of being notified of the amount by the customs authority (Article 33(4)). The exception is accounting on the VAT return under Article 33a. The differences between duty and VAT are explained in differences between duty and VAT; for a general overview see how to account for VAT on imports.

Accounting for import VAT on the VAT return (Article 33a)

A taxpayer registered as an active VAT payer may account for the VAT due on an import on the return for the period in which the tax point arose (Article 33a(1)). The same amount counts as input tax on the import (Article 86(2)(2)(b)). The conditions in Article 33a(2)–(3) are:

• the taxpayer gives the head of the customs and tax office — issued no earlier than 6 months before the import — certificates showing no arrears in social security contributions and taxes above 3% of the amounts due (separately for each item), and confirmation of active VAT registration — or submits declarations to the same effect under penalty of perjury,
• customs declarations are made by a direct or indirect representative — this condition does not apply to taxpayers with AEO status or an authorisation for the simplifications under Articles 166 and 182 of the Union Customs Code (Union Customs Code),
• the documents do not have to be provided again if the head of the customs and tax office already holds current documents submitted by the taxpayer.

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New wording of Article 33a(6a) from 2026

The Act of 7 November 2025 (Journal of Laws 2025 item 1811), in force since 2 January 2026, gave a new wording to Article 33a(6a) and applies to imports for which the simplified declaration was filed after 18 June 2025. If you did not account for import VAT in full or in part on your return, you may correct the return within 4 months, counted from the month following the month in which the tax point arose. A taxpayer with AEO status that uses the Article 166 UCC simplification may do so later, no later than one month after the deadline for the supplementary declaration.

After that deadline the taxpayer loses the right to account for the VAT from that declaration on the VAT return and must pay the tax with interest to the head of the tax office competent to collect customs duty (paragraph 7). The obligation to pay is joint and several for the taxpayer and its representative, unless the representative acts for a taxpayer with AEO status or an Article 166 and 182 UCC authorisation (paragraphs 8–8a). This joint liability for the tax applies to both an indirect (indirect representation) and a direct (direct representation) representative — do not confuse it with liability for the customs debt (duty), which a direct representative generally does not bear.

Consequences for VAT returns

Quarterly filers who imported goods under Article 33a(1) must file monthly returns from the first month of the quarter in which the import took place (or, if the import took place in the third month of a quarter, from the following quarter; Article 99(3d)). They can return to quarterly returns no earlier than after 12 months following the last month of the quarter with such an import (Article 99(4a)). Do not confuse this mechanism with the UK's Postponed VAT Accounting, which applies to imports into the UK.

Documents and record-keeping

A complete set of documents helps with the accounting: the commercial invoice, the customs declaration document and transport documents. Customs documents are kept for at least 3 years (Article 51 Union Customs Code), and VAT records and documents until the limitation period for the tax liability expires (Article 112 of the VAT Act). For understating the liability on a return the authority may set an additional tax liability of up to 30% of the understated amount (Article 112b).

Contact us if you want to check whether you can use accounting on the VAT return and how to organise your declarations; see also the simplified procedure and information on UK imports and exports. For imports from Great Britain, see importing from the UK to Poland.

Frequently asked questions