Original / copy of the invoice and the right to deduct VAT

As early as the beginning of 2011, the implementing provisions to the Value Added Tax Act entered into force. The introduced regulation waived the obligation to mark invoices as "original" or "copy".

Currently, entrepreneurs, pursuant to Art. 106 g of paragraph 1. 1 of the Act on tax on goods and services, they are required to issue invoices in two copies, one of which is received by the customer. As already mentioned in the previous paragraph, from January 1, 2011, taxpayers do not have to mark "original" when issuing the invoice with regard to invoices transferred to the buyer and, respectively, "copy" in the case of invoices retained in the entrepreneur's documentation.

What elements should the invoice contain?

However, if the taxpayer has received an invoice marked in this way, he will not be deprived of the right to deduct VAT. The tax regulations regulate only the elements that should be included in the invoice. They are them, pursuant to Art. 106e of the VAT Act, including:

• date of issue;
• one or more series number that uniquely identifies the invoice;
• the first and last names or names of the taxpayer and the buyer of the goods or services and their addresses;
• the number by which the taxpayer is identified for tax purposes;
• the number by which the buyer of goods or services is identified for the purposes of tax or value added tax under which he received the goods or services;
• the date on which the delivery of the goods or the service was completed or completed, or the date on which the payment was received, if such a date is specified and differs from the invoice issue date;
• name (type) of goods or services;
• measure and quantity (number) of goods delivered or scope of services rendered;
• unit price of a good or service without the tax amount (net unit price);
• the amount of any price discounts or rebates, including in the form of an early payment discount, provided that they are not included in the net unit price;
• value of the goods delivered or services performed, covered by the transaction, excluding the tax amount (net sales value);
• tax rate;
• the sum of the net sales value, with the division into sales subject to individual tax rates and sales exempt from tax;
• the amount of tax on the sum of the net sales value, broken down into amounts related to individual tax rates;
• total amount due.

It is permissible to use additional markings referred to in Art. 106e paragraph. 1 items 16-24 of the VAT Act.

Form of the invoice issued

Pursuant to Art. 2 point 31 of the VAT Act, an invoice is a document in paper or electronic form containing the data required by the Act and the regulations issued on its basis. On the other hand, an electronic invoice is an electronic invoice issued and received in any format

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electronic (Article 2 (32) of the Act).

Summing up, the fact that the invoice contains the indication "original" or "copy" is irrelevant. An invoice is considered correct if it has all the necessary elements specified in the act.