Court experts and VAT

In the case of VAT settlements of court experts, two situations should be distinguished:

• provision of services at the request of the courts,
• providing the activities of an expert for private expert opinions.

Depending on which of them will take place, the moment when the tax obligation arises in terms of VAT will be determined differently.

Court experts - activities ordered by the courts and the VAT obligation

In a situation where in 2014 a court expert will provide services at the request of common, administrative and military courts, or the prosecutor's office, the tax obligation in the tax on goods and services will arise as before, i.e. on the date of receipt of all or part of the payment.

The date on which the expert invoice is issued and the date on which the service is rendered to the court will not matter. However, the taxpayer should remember that not only the receipt of the entire remuneration, but also the receipt of a prepayment, advance payment, deposit, etc., will result in a tax obligation in this specific part.

Example 1.

On January 5, the statutory auditor performed the service at the request of the common court. The invoice documenting the sale was issued on January 20. Payment for the service was made on February 10. When will the VAT obligation arise?

The tax obligation under VAT will arise on February 10, because on that date the expert received the payment for the service provided.

Example 2.

On January 5, the statutory auditor performed the service at the request of the common court. The invoice documenting the sale was issued on January 20 for the amount of PLN 3,000. On February 10, the expert received PLN 2,000, and on March 8, he received the remaining amount of PLN 1,000. When will the VAT obligation arise?

The tax obligation under VAT will arise in part in February (PLN 2,000, respectively) and in March (PLN 1,000).

The activities of an expert performed for entities other than courts

When an expert in 2014 provides services to entities other than courts, then the tax obligation under VAT will arise on general principles, i.e. as a rule on the date of service provision, expert opinion.