How to obtain a VAT-25 certificate?

A taxpayer who owns a vehicle imported from another European Union Member State must, in order to register, submit to the office an appropriate document confirming the payment of the tax on goods and services or the lack of obligation to pay this tax for transporting a means of transport from abroad. This issue is regulated by the provisions of the VAT Act, Art. 105.

When is the obligation, and when is the dismissal?

The obligation to pay VAT on vehicles purchased outside the country within the European Union arises when the taxpayer makes an intra-Community acquisition of goods. When registering a given vehicle, a certificate of payment of the tax on goods and services must be presented, which can be obtained by submitting an application for intra-Community acquisition of means of transport: VAT-23.

The VAT-24 application is submitted by persons applying for the issuance of the VAT-25 certificate, which confirms that there is no obligation to pay VAT for the import of a means of transport from another Member State to be intended for traffic in the territory of the Republic of Poland. This obligation applies to natural persons and business entities who imported a used vehicle from the Member States of the European Community, and at the same time this transaction was not an intra-Community acquisition of goods. In particular, this obligation is imposed in relation to:

- natural persons not conducting business activity,

- entities conducting business activity benefiting from the exemption from tax on goods and services,

- active VAT taxpayers in Poland only if one of the following circumstances occurred with them:

• the vehicle was purchased from a natural person without business activity in the Member State concerned,
• the vehicle was purchased from an economic entity that is not a VAT taxpayer in a given Member State,
• the sale of the vehicle has been taxed with value added tax in a given Member State on the basis of the so-called margin,
• the vehicle was purchased for purposes other than those related to the conducted business activity.

NOTE: The person importing the used means of transport as an intermediary in its purchase, is not required to obtain such a certificate, because he is not the owner of the vehicle. This obligation rests with the final owner of the right to use the car.

Purchase of a means of transport in another EU Member State cannot be counted as an intra-Community transaction in one of the following situations:

• the buyer or seller are not VAT payers or value added tax payers,
• the purchase of goods will take place in the margin system as used goods.

What documents should be attached to the VAT-24 form?

• documents confirming the purchase of the vehicle: purchase contract, bill or invoice,
• other documents which clearly show that in a given case there is no intra-Community acquisition of goods, e.g. vehicle card, registration certificate or other documents confirming the fact that the car is used and a document of deregistration / deregistration of the means of transport from the records of the Member State in which was purchased,
• technical inspection with the identification document of a vehicle registered for the first time abroad (both documents are issued by a vehicle inspection station),
• translation of the above documents into Polish, drawn up by a sworn translator,
• in the case of a passenger car, proof of payment of excise duty in the territory of the country,
• proof of payment of the stamp duty due in the amount of PLN 160.

A correctly completed application, together with a complete set of attachments, should be submitted to the office competent for the place of taxable sale. In the case of purchasing a means of transport, it will be the place where its shipment or transport was completed. The taxpayer may deliver the application in person, by post or electronically (more information on this subject at: http://www.finanse.mf.gov.pl/systemy-informatyczne/e-deklaracje). However, you should remember to have photocopies with the original attachments when submitting the declaration.

Decision of the Tax Office

The application is verified in terms of content, and in the event of failure to meet the statutory requirements, the Head of the Tax Office refuses to issue the certificate in the form of a decision. The decision on refusal to issue the VAT-25 form is subject to a complaint to the Director of the Tax Chamber submitted through the authority within 7 days from the date of delivery of the decision. The complaint should contain charges against the decision, specify the essence and scope of the demand being the subject of the complaint and indicate evidence justifying the demand.

The certificate may be collected only by an authorized person or authorized by the taxpayer upon presentation of an identity card. The applicant has the right to receive this certificate without undue delay, however, the office has no more than 7 days to issue a decision from the date of acceptance of the application for consideration.