Invoice storage - what should you know?

When starting a business, the entrepreneur decides for himself how the invoices will be stored. However, it is important that the method of its storage meets the requirements set by legal regulations.

Storage of invoices - obligation

Taxpayers are required to store, among others:

• invoices issued by themselves or on their behalf, including invoices which are duplicates of these invoices,

• received invoices, including invoices that are duplicates of these invoices.

Invoices should be stored broken down into settlement periods in a way that ensures their easy retrieval.

Storage methods

A traditional solution in business transactions is storing invoices in paper form. However, the regulations also provide for other methods of storage. Pursuant to the current regulations, accounting documents can also be stored in an electronic version, e.g. on CDs.

Electronic invoice storage

When deciding to store invoices electronically, the taxpayer should become familiar with such terms as:

• authenticity of the origin of the invoice - certainty as to the identity of the supplier of goods, service provider or invoice issuer,

• content integrity - means that the data it should contain has not been changed in the invoice.

The above cited invoice features can be ensured by any business checks (verification of the authenticity of the invoice issuer details) that establish a reliable audit trail between the invoice and the delivery of goods or service provision.

Additionally, when storing invoices in an electronic version, it is important that the files are secured in a way that prevents modification of the invoice content.

Taxpayer's obligations

Taxpayers are obliged to provide the tax authority or the tax inspection authority upon request, in accordance with separate regulations, with immediate access to invoices, and when invoices are stored in electronic form, also immediate collection and processing of data contained therein.

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Storage of invoices - a place

Pursuant to the VAT Act, taxpayers operating in the country are required to store invoices in the country. Documents stored in electronic form are an exception to this rule. In this case, it is possible to store invoices outside the country. However, invoices should be stored in such a way as to enable the tax authority or the fiscal control authority to access these invoices online.

Storage of invoices - deadlines

The obligation to store invoices, correcting invoices, and duplicates of these documents rests with the taxpayers until the tax liability expires. The tax liability expires after 5 years, counting from the end of the calendar year in which the tax payment deadline expired.