Simplified VAT procedure - international occasional carriage of passengers by road (VAP)

Are you a taxpayer in the EU and you carry out occasional road passenger transport in Poland by buses registered in an EU country other than Poland? You do not want to settle Polish VAT on passenger transport services in Poland according to general rules (i.e. in the VAT-7 or VAT-7K declaration)? You can take advantage of simplified VAT registration and settlement. Below you will learn how to register.

How to handle a matter

What you should know and who can benefit from the service

You can benefit from the simplified VAT procedure if:

• you are engaged exclusively in international road transport services consisting in occasional carriage of passengers by buses registered in an EU country other than Poland
• the seat of your business or permanent place of business from which you provide services, or your permanent place of residence or habitual residence is in an EU country other than Poland
• you are not registered as a VAT payer in Poland
• you will not be able to deduct input tax, receive a tax refund or a tax difference refund

More information can be found on the website of the Ministry of Finance

When should you handle the matter

Submit registration application before you start providing international occasional road passenger transport services.

Where you can handle the matter

Drugi Urząd Skarbowy Warszawa-Śródmieście
Jagiellońska 15, 03-719 Warszawa

What to do step by step

1. Submit your registration application VAP-R electronically

Documents

Time limit

Submit registration application before you start providing international occasional road passenger transport services.

2. The office will register you as a VAT payer - occasional transports

The Head of the Second Tax Office Warsaw-Śródmieście will assign you an identification number and confirm electronically on the VAP-5 form your identification as a VAT payer - occasional transports.

Documents

How much will you pay

The service is free of charge

How long will you wait

How can you appeal

If the tax office refuses to register you, you can:

• call on the head of the tax office to put an end to the violation of the law
• appeal to the administrative court

It is good to know

Keeping VAT records

Keep records in electronic form. The records should contain:

• data necessary to determine the subject matter and tax base,
• amount of tax due,
• other data (e.g. route length) for the correct preparation of the VAP-1 declaration.

Keep the records for 5 years from the end of the year in which the international occasional road passenger transport service was operated.

When and where to submit a VAP-1 declaration

You submit your VAP-1 if you are registered as a VAT payer - occasional transports.

Submit your tax declaration by the 25th day of the month following the quarter in which the tax obligation arose. The declaration shall be submitted electronically to the Head of the Second Tax Office Warsaw-Śródmieście.

All amounts shown in the tax return must be shown in the Polish currency. If payments for the provision of services were made in other currencies, convert them into the Polish currency. Do it in accordance with the customs regulations used to determine the customs value of imported goods.

What to write in the VAP-1 declaration

Enter in the declaration:

• the assigned VAP identification number
• the registration number of the bus, the number of persons carried and the value of services provided by this bus on the territory of Poland excluding tax
• total value of services supplied on the territory of Poland without tax, being the taxable base
• tax rate
• amount of tax to be paid to the tax office

The calculated amount of tax should be paid in Polish zlotys by the 25th day of the month following the quarter in which the tax obligation arose to the bank account of the Second Tax Office Warsaw-Śródmieście.

Notification of change of data

Notify the Head of the Second Tax Office Warsaw-Śródmieście about each change of data. Update the data within 7 days of the change. Do it on the VAP-R form. Please note that the purpose of submitting the form is to update the data.

Expiry of VAT payer's identification - occasional transports

The tax office will notify you of losing the status of a VAT payer - occasional transports, if:

• you notify about the discontinuation of services (VAP-Z)
• you cease to provide services
• you do not submit a VAP-1 declaration for the next four quarters
• you no longer fulfil the conditions for using the procedure

Obligation to hold a VAP-5 document

When performing occasional transport on the territory of Poland, the driver must carry a printout of the confirmation of identification of the taxpayer as a "VAT payer - occasional transport" (VAP-5).