- Contractual penalties are common in contracts for delays, exclusivity clause violations, or early termination.
- From a tax perspective, these penalties can lead to unexpected VAT implications.
- Authorities and courts increasingly view these penalties as services subject to VAT.
- The National e-Invoice System will become mandatory in 2026, changing invoicing and tax compliance.
- Traditionally, contractual penalties were not subject to VAT as they were not considered equivalent services.
- Tax authorities now focus on the actual function of payments to determine VAT applicability.
- A case involving a telecom operator showed that early termination fees were considered payment for a service, thus subject to VAT.
- A similar conclusion was reached for additional parking fees, deemed part of the parking service and subject to VAT.
- Some cases still recognize penalties as true penalties, favorable for taxpayers.
Source: crido.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.
