The Tax Representative — A Sensitive Role Growing in Importance After VAT Changes

• Non-EU businesses that must VAT-register in Poland are generally obliged to appoint a fiscal (tax) representative, with exceptions for taxpayers established in Norway and the UK, which have administrative-cooperation agreements with Poland. [crido.pl], [mddp.pl]
• The representative bears joint and several liability with the foreign taxpayer for VAT obligations — a wide exposure meaning not every tax adviser is willing to take on the role even when providing compliance services. [crido.pl]
• To qualify, a representative must (among other conditions) be established in Poland, be a registered active VAT payer, have a clean 24-month tax and criminal record, and be authorised to provide tax advisory or bookkeeping services under Article 18b of the Polish VAT Act. [sip.lex.pl]

Article

CRIDO’s Polish tax blog frames the tax representative (“przedstawiciel podatkowy”) as a role that only a few years ago was seen mainly as a technical requirement for a narrow group of foreign taxpayers, but which has become increasingly sensitive (“newralgiczna”) as VAT rules — and enforcement — evolve. Foreign entrepreneurs doing business in Poland often must appoint a fiscal/tax representative to account correctly for Polish VAT, and firms such as CRIDO that take on the function shoulder considerable responsibility, balanced against the opportunity to build long-term client relationships. [crido.pl]

The obligation to appoint a representative falls on taxpayers established outside the EU (without a seat or fixed establishment in a member state) who are subject to mandatory registration as active VAT payers — with the notable exceptions of taxpayers from Norway and the United Kingdom, given Poland’s administrative-cooperation and anti-fraud agreements with those countries (Norwegian and UK taxpayers may, but need not, appoint one). Importantly, the obligation only applies where the foreign taxpayer performs activities taxable in Poland. [crido.pl], [mddp.pl]

The defining feature — and risk — is joint and several liability: the representative is liable alongside the foreign taxpayer for the correctness of VAT settlements and any arrears. A recent tax ruling confirmed that this liability begins at the moment the representation is established and covers arrears arising after that date; where the representative files corrections for pre-appointment periods, liability is limited to the transactions underlying the correction. [crido.pl]

Under Article 18b of the VAT Act (consolidated text Dz.U. 2025.775, version in force from 1 April 2026), the representative must cumulatively: have its business seat in Poland; be registered as an active VAT payer (or as a VAT-EU payer where applicable); have no material tax arrears over the last 24 months; have key persons free of fiscal-criminal convictions over the same period; and be authorised to provide professional tax advisory services or bookkeeping services. [sip.lex.pl]

Sources:

• CRIDO – Przedstawiciel podatkowy pod lupą: praktyczne aspekty odpowiedzialności [crido.pl]
• OpenLEX – Art. 18b VAT Act (Przedstawiciel podatkowy) [sip.lex.pl]
• MDDP – Wszystko o przedstawicielu podatkowym [mddp.pl]

Click on the logo to visit the website