Service-Tax

Is it possible to invoice before the sale?

When is the obligation to issue an invoice?

According to the Act of March 11, 2004 on tax on goods and services, the tax obligation arises upon the delivery of goods or the performance of a service. On the other hand, when the sale is obligatorily documented with an invoice, Art. 106b.

Art. 106b sec. 1 and 3

“1. The taxpayer is obliged to issue an invoice documenting:

sale, as well as delivery of goods and provision of services referred to in art. 106a, point 2, made by him for the benefit of another taxpayer of the tax, value added tax or a tax of a similar nature or for the benefit of a non-taxable legal person;
mail order sale from the territory of the country and mail order sale within the territory of the country to an entity other than indicated in point 1;
intra-Community supply of goods to an entity other than indicated in point 1;
receipt by him of all or part of the payment before performing the activities referred to in points 1 and 2, except in the case when the payment concerns the intra-Community supply of goods or activities for which the tax obligation arises in accordance with art. 19a paragraph. 5 point 4. (...)

3. At the request of the buyer of the goods or services, the taxpayer is obliged to issue an invoice documenting:

the activities referred to in para. 1, paragraph 1, with the exception of the activities referred to in article 1. 19a paragraph. 5 point 4, and receipt of all or part of the payment before performing these activities, except in the case when the payment concerns intra-Community delivery of goods - if the obligation to issue an invoice does not result from paragraph 1,
the sale exempt, referred to in paragraph 2, subject to article 22. 117 point 1 and article. 118

- if the request for its issue was made within 3 months from the end of the month in which the goods were delivered or the service was performed, or the whole or part of the payment was received. "

By what date should a VAT invoice be issued?

The date on which the invoice should be issued is stated in Art. 106i of the VAT Act: "The invoice is issued no later than on the 15th day of the month following the month in which the goods were delivered or the service was performed (...)". However, the legislator has provided for some exceptions to this rule.

For sale to another taxpayer of the following nature:	The deadline for issuing an invoice is:
providing construction or construction and assembly services	30 days from the day the services were provided
deliveries of printed books (PKWiU ex 58.11.1) - excluding maps and leaflets - and newspapers, magazines and magazines, printed (PKWiU ex 58.13.1 and PKWiU ex 58.14.1), * when the contract provides for the settlement of the returns of publications,	60 days from the date of delivery of the goods * 120. day from the first day of delivery of the goods
activities consisting in printing books (PKWiU ex 58.11.1) - excluding maps and leaflets - and newspapers, magazines and magazines (PKWiU ex 58.13.1 and PKWiU ex 58.14.1),	90 days from the day of performing the activity

It is possible to issue an invoice before the sale

In the same article of the Act regarding the latest invoice date, paragraph 7 refers to the issue of an invoice prior to the sale.

Art. 106i sec. 7

"Invoices cannot be issued earlier than the 30th day before:

1) delivery of goods or performance of a service;

2) receiving, prior to the delivery of goods or the performance of a service, all or part of the payment. "

So if an entrepreneur wants to issue an invoice before the sale or service, he is generally not forbidden to do so, but he should keep an eye on the deadline, because, as we read in the act, it should not take place earlier than 30 days before the sale.

Pre-sale invoice - consequences

The taxpayers who provide construction or construction and assembly services, as well as printing books for other companies, should pay particular attention to issuing an invoice before the service is provided. Why? The answer lies in the construction of Art. 19a of the VAT Act. The tax obligation for them arises upon issuing the invoice. The same applies to suppliers of utilities, telecommunications services, or providers of rental services.

Issuing an invoice before the sale - or before the service is performed - may have negative consequences also due to the need to show the sale in advance for the purposes of income tax settlement. Some of the tax advisers claim that pursuant to Art. 14 sec. 1c of the Personal Income Tax Act, if an invoice is issued prior to the provision of the service / delivery of the item, the revenue is generated at the time of issue.

Art. 14 sec. 1c updof

"The date on which the revenue referred to in paragraph 1, it shall be considered, subject to the provisions of paragraph 2. 1e, 1h and 1i, the date of delivery of the item, sale of property rights or performance of a service, or partial performance of the service, no later than the day:

issuing an invoice or
payment of receivables. "

Therefore, issuing an invoice before the sale is possible and in accordance with the regulations, as long as it is done not earlier than 30 days before the delivery of the goods / performance of the service / receipt of the payment. However, you should remember about the tax consequences of issuing an invoice before the date of sale, which may result in the need to pay the tax earlier.