Poznań Court Supports VAT Deduction for KSeF Invoices Issued Offline24

Summary

The Provincial Administrative Court in Poznań has reportedly ruled in three judgments that a purchaser may deduct input VAT supported by a structured invoice issued under the KSeF Offline24 procedure, irrespective of whether or when the invoice is subsequently assigned a KSeF identification number.
The judgments are relevant to purchasers receiving invoices during temporary connectivity problems or other circumstances permitting Offline24 invoicing. They indicate that the substantive right to deduct VAT should not depend solely on the completion of a later technical step within the National e-Invoicing System.
Businesses should nevertheless retain evidence of receipt, transaction performance and the invoice’s authenticity, while monitoring whether the judgments become final or are appealed. Internal controls should also reconcile Offline24 invoices with the KSeF records and identifiers assigned after submission.

Article

The Provincial Administrative Court in Poznań has issued three judgments concerning the purchaser’s right to deduct input VAT from structured invoices created under the Offline24 procedure in Poland’s National e-Invoicing System, KSeF.

According to the reported judgments, a purchaser receiving a structured invoice issued by a supplier in Offline24 mode may deduct the associated input VAT regardless of whether, and at what point, the invoice is assigned a KSeF number. The decisions therefore appear to separate the substantive VAT deduction right from the later technical transmission and identification of the invoice within KSeF.

Offline24 is intended to allow structured invoices to be issued when the taxpayer cannot transmit an invoice to KSeF in real time. The supplier must subsequently send the invoice to the system in accordance with the applicable procedural requirements. That later submission generally results in the assignment of a KSeF identification number.

The judgments are commercially important because purchasers may not control when a supplier transmits an Offline24 invoice or whether the supplier completes the process correctly.

Conditioning the purchaser’s VAT deduction on the supplier’s subsequent technical compliance could create cash-flow exposure and uncertainty for otherwise genuine transactions.

The decisions should not, however, be read as removing the need for normal input VAT controls. Businesses should continue verifying that the underlying supply occurred, the purchase relates to taxable business activities, the supplier and purchaser details are correct, and no specific restriction on deduction applies. Evidence showing when and how the invoice was received may also become particularly important.

Accounts payable and tax teams should establish a separate reconciliation process for Offline24 invoices. This should identify invoices received outside the normal KSeF flow, track their later appearance in the system and investigate invoices that remain unmatched. Contracts and supplier onboarding materials may also need to specify responsibility for timely transmission.

The judgments may provide helpful support in disputes, but their wider effect will depend on the written reasons, the precise facts of each case and whether the decisions are appealed. Businesses should therefore monitor further court developments and any guidance issued by the Polish Ministry of Finance.

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