The refund of shipping costs for goods is not subject to VAT when the seller has a contract with a courier company on behalf of the buyer and separately records the amounts received from the buyer for this purpose. This clarification comes from the director of the National Tax Information.
This issue was raised by an entrepreneur who sells electronic components and parts online. In each auction, he includes information indicating that the buyer grants him a one-time authorization to send the goods on behalf of the buyer and to pay for the shipping costs.
Over two years ago, he registered as a VAT taxpayer and entrusted the accounting of his taxes to an accounting office. The office calculated a 23% VAT on the returns for shipping costs and a 3% lump sum on recorded revenues, which surprised the entrepreneur. He believed that the refunds received from customers for shipping costs should not be included in the tax base. He referred to Article 29a, paragraph 7, point 3 of the VAT Act, which states that the tax base does not include “amounts received from the buyer or service recipient as a refund of documented expenses incurred on behalf of and for the buyer or service recipient and temporarily recorded by the taxpayer in the records maintained by him for tax purposes.”
Source: podatki.gazetaprawna.pl
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