Do invoices for services supplied abroad have to be issued through Poland’s KSeF?

KSeF invoices for services supplied abroad may be mandatory even when the service is taxable outside Poland. The decisive factors are the applicable invoicing rules, the parties’ status, who accounts for VAT and statutory exclusions. A KIS ruling dated 22 June 2026 confirmed the requirement for design services connected with German properties where the German customer accounted for VAT under reverse charge.

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When does a cross-border service invoice fall within KSeF?

A business should determine:

• the place of supply for VAT purposes,
• whether Polish invoicing rules apply,
• whether the supplier is subject to KSeF and no exclusion applies.

For most B2B services, the place of supply is the customer’s establishment or the relevant fixed establishment. Separate rules cover services directly connected with a specific property.

Article 106a of the Polish VAT Act may apply Polish invoicing rules even where the service is taxable abroad. For another EU Member State, this may occur where a Polish taxable person supplies the service, the customer accounts for VAT and no self-billing arrangement is used.

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What did the KIS ruling of 22 June 2026 confirm?

Individual ruling no. 0112-KDIL1-3.4012.251.2026.2.ŁW concerned a Polish company preparing structural designs for properties in Germany. Under Article 28e of the Polish VAT Act, Germany was treated as the place of supply and the invoices were marked reverse charge.

KIS applied Article 106a(2)(a) of the Polish VAT Act. The supplier was established in Poland, the German customer accounted for VAT and the Polish company issued the documents. The invoices therefore had to follow Polish rules, including issuance through KSeF.

The conclusion does not cover every cross-border service automatically. A reverse charge annotation alone does not determine the KSeF obligation, foreign VAT registration, whether local VAT is due or which additional details foreign law requires.

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When is mandatory KSeF excluded?

Exclusions include:

• self-billing by a foreign customer without a Polish tax identification number,
• invoices issued to foreign consumers,
• a foreign business registered for Polish VAT but without an establishment or participating fixed establishment in Poland.

Until 31 December 2026, a transitional deferral applies where monthly gross sales documented by invoices otherwise subject to KSeF do not exceed PLN 10,000. The invoice that exceeds the threshold and all subsequent invoices must be issued through KSeF. The business cannot return to the simplification later.

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How should the invoice reach a foreign customer?

In online mode, the supplier issues the structured invoice, waits for the KSeF identification number, generates a visualisation with the required QR code and sends it to the customer, for example as a PDF. Under an applicable offline mode, the document may be delivered earlier under that procedure.

Text fields may be completed in English, but a separate second invoice should not be created. The PDF must reflect the XML data submitted to KSeF.

Businesses providing recurring international services should use a VAT compliance decision matrix covering the customer’s country and tax status, the type and place of supply, who accounts for VAT, possible foreign registration and the delivery method.

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If you have any further questions or require additional information, please contact your business relationship person or use the enquiry form on the HLB Poland website.

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