Tax alert – white list of VAT taxpayers
As of 1st September 2019, regulations introducing a so-called white list of VAT taxpayers came into force. In the light of new provisions, payments between taxpayers concerning transactions above PLN 15,000 gross should be made to bank accounts indicated on the white list. From 1st January 2020 making such payment to the bank account which is not on the white list may result in depriving of the right to qualify the expenditure as tax deductible cost.
It should be remembered, that the limit of PLN 15 000 mentioned in the white list regulations does not apply to a single wire transfer, but to the value of the entire transaction. The regulations do not specify how to understand the term "transaction". Guided by the understanding of this concept presented by the tax authorities on the ground of other tax regulations, the transaction should be understood as the total remuneration due under the contract. As a result, a contract in which monthly payments are less than PLN 15,000 can be considered as transaction above the limit if the sum of payments made under the contract exceeds PLN 15,000 (for example, a ten-month lease contract where the monthly rent is PLN 2,000).
It is not certain yet if the tax authorities will adopt the above – disadvantageous for taxpayers – interpretation of the white list regulations. In order to limit the risk in this respect, we recommend minimising payments to accounts outside the white list. In many cases, transfers of insignificant value may be considered as a part of transactions exceeding PLN 15,000, and thus making such transfers to accounts not included in the white list may result in tax penalties.
