Recent Changes in Poland’s Deposit System and VAT Calculation Passed

• Last week, the Polish parliament passed changes to the packaging and packaging waste management law
• The amendment includes changes to the deposit system and VAT accounting for deposits
• VAT will be accounted for at the end of the year and declared to the tax office by the producer or distributor
• Initially, the operator will pay VAT to the tax authorities
• Significant changes were introduced in the rules for collecting deposits, previously handled only by stores
• From October 1 next year, deposits will be collected at every stage of beverage distribution
• Marek Przybylski, a tax advisor and legal advisor, explained that there was a proposal to exempt the operator from being the VAT payer on deposits, but it was not successful
• This system may lead to discrepancies in the settlements of operators and entrepreneurs introducing beverages to the market
• Different rules will apply to other types of returnable packaging as agreed by entrepreneurs
• Article 29a section 12 of the VAT law, which allows for the settlement of deposits within 60 days, will not be repealed
• In practice, there will be two VAT accounting systems for deposits, even when products covered by different deposits are sold together, such as a transport crate with returnable bottles

Source: mddp.pl

Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.

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