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Settlement of purchases with AliExpress from July 1, 2021 - what is worth knowing!

Due to the low prices of products, many entrepreneurs decide to buy on the AliExpress platform and sell them in Poland. Purchases from platforms outside the EU are subject to special accounting in tax records. Importantly, the settlement of purchases with AliExpress has changed from July 1, 2021. This article explains how to settle your purchases with AliExpress!

Settlement of purchases with AliExpress - the basis for cost settlement

When making a purchase with AliExpress, remember to obtain the appropriate document by means of which it will be possible to include the cost in the tax records. Such a document is, of course, an invoice as well as a bill issued by the seller, which contains the buyer's company data. The elements that are required on the invoice documenting the import of goods from AliExpress are:

name and address of the contracting party issuing the invoice,
name and address of the buyer,
place and date of issue,
invoice number,
type and quantity of goods,
the unit price and its value expressed in a convertible currency,
information about the country of origin,
conditions of delivery.

Importantly, the purchase invoice should be issued in English, and if it is issued in a foreign language or contains symbols of articles, a translation into Polish is required.

The document confirming the order, payment or delivery does not constitute an accounting document, so it is not possible to recognize the cost on its basis. However, this does not mean that you cannot sell goods that have been purchased without an invoice. Then it is worth having the auction documents in your documentation, including the application for invoicing.

Customs clearance and settlement of purchases with AliExpress

Customs clearance can be carried out independently, with the help of a customs agent or Polish post. It should be noted that from July 1, 2021, new customs and tax regulations entered into force throughout the European Union (EU), which imposed new obligations on postal operators. Therefore, customs clearance, if it is not carried out independently or with the help of an agent, will be performed by the Polish Post Office, if the parcel has a value of up to EUR 150 (under the regulations, the post office was granted an default power of attorney, which can be resigned by submitting a relevant declaration at the post office. ).

According to the price list available on the Polish post office website, a customs fee will be charged for each clearance when delivering the parcel, together with a postage fee, which amounts to PLN 8.50. So, if a fee is charged, it is worth making sure that you receive an appropriate document confirming its collection, because such postage may constitute the entrepreneur's tax cost only if it is documented.

According to the explanations regarding the import of small-value parcels and postal parcels with a value of up to EUR 1000 provided by the Ministry of Finance, it is indicated that in relation to parcels with a value of more than EUR 150 and EUR 1000, the entrepreneur, if he wants the post office to clear customs, must grant a power of attorney to acting as an indirect agent by depositing them at a post office. Importantly, the customs declaration procedure carried out by the Polish Post Office does not apply to shipments containing goods subject to excise duty and those with a value exceeding EUR 1000.

The customs document confirming the customs declaration is the SAD document or its electronic equivalent - the PZC message. According to the information provided on the Polish Post website: Electronic confirmation will be available on the website of the Post Office usually within a few days after delivery. Logging in on the website and collecting the electronic confirmation of payment is made on the basis of the shipment data known only to the recipient.

Settlement of purchases from AliExpress - customs duties

In the case of purchases with AliExpress, regardless of whether the importer purchases goods of a small value of EUR 22 or "standard" goods, each item must be cleared through customs - even if the trader believes that no customs duties will be charged.

The customs duties that may be charged to the entrepreneur are customs and excise duties. The basis for calculating customs and tax duties is the so-called customs value of the shipment. In a typical case, it consists of the value of the goods in the shipment, increased by the cost of transport to the country of destination and possibly insurance costs.

Duty

Excise

It is not profitable when the value of the shipment does not exceed 150 EUR. Above this value, duty has to be paid.

The amount of the duty ranges from 3-8% of the value of the goods, sometimes it may be 0%.

The cost of duty for a specific product can be checked in the ISZTAR system.

It should be paid whenever the purchased goods subject to excise duty, e.g. alcohol, perfumes or tobacco products.

The excise duty rates can be viewed on the website of the Ministry of Finance - LINK.

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Settlement of purchases with AliExpress - VAT

From July 1, 2021, it becomes more complicated for entrepreneurs to purchase goods from AliExpress when the seller treats the entrepreneur as a private person and, under the IOSS mechanism (i.e. one-stop-shop for import), VAT will be charged and paid by the online platform.

The seller, from whom the entrepreneur orders the goods, uses the IOSS mechanism, should inform at the time of purchase that VAT is charged in the price of the goods (from July 1, 2021, VAT should be paid on each shipment from a third country). At the same time, let us remind you that in the case of a company-company sale, the tax by the seller should not be paid at the time of purchase, but only charged at the time of customs clearance. So the invoice to the company from the seller from AliExpress should not include VAT.

If the invoice from the seller from AliExpress contains VAT, the buyer may ask the seller to correct the invoice. However, as with communication with a third country seller, this correction may not be issued at all.

In a situation where VAT has been paid via the electronic interface and it informs the competent authority / entity that the VAT due has already been paid, it should not be remitted.

The Ministry of Finance has not announced an official position specifying the procedure in the event that the seller under IOSS pays Polish VAT and includes its value on the invoice. It is safe to assume that such a tax is not deductible in the register and apply for an individual interpretation that will relate to the discussed case and thus secure the taxpayer.

What does the settlement of purchases with AliExpress look like in the tax records?

The invoice documenting the purchase of goods from AliExpress should be included on the date of issue only in KPIR in column 10 "Purchase of commercial goods and materials". If it is issued in a foreign currency, the conversion should be made at the average exchange rate of the National Bank of Poland on the day preceding the invoice.

Customs duties on the basis of a SAD or PZC document should be reported by means of an internal ID in the amount indicated on the customs document. Internal Voucher in KPIR is also included in column 10 “Purchase of commercial goods and materials”. The amounts indicated on the customs document are already converted into PLN, so there is no need to convert them. The booking of the cost of customs duties is made on the date of issue of the customs document.

The VAT charged on the customs document is deducted on the date of receipt of the customs document, in the amount indicated on the document. It should be noted that VAT is rounded to full zlotys, so the amount of VAT calculated from the tax base should be checked when the records are kept in the accounting system. A third country seller is indicated as the counterparty. For the purposes of the JPK_V7 file, the customs document on the basis of the deduction of VAT should be marked as "IMP".

Download KAS explanations on the import of small-value parcels and postal parcels with a value of up to EUR 1000

To download:

pdf
Explanations on e-commerce and postal items up to 1000 EUR.pdf Description: Printed in the form of a brochure.

Settlement of purchases with AliExpress with clearance in Poland in the wfirma.pl system

In the wfirma.pl system, the settlement of purchases with AliExpress is made by making direct entries in the accounting records - KPIR and the VAT register.

The purchase cost is recognized on the basis of the received invoice from the seller from AliExpress using the following scheme: EXPENDITURE »ACCOUNTING» ADD »VAT INVOICE (EXCLUDING VAT), then selecting the appropriate type of expenditure (in the case of purchases of goods for resale or materials for production, please indicate: PURCHASE OF GOODS COMMERCIAL AND BASIC MATERIALS). If the invoice was issued in a foreign currency, in the ADVANCED tab, indicate the foreign currency, then the system will convert the value into PLN at the average exchange rate of the National Bank of Poland on the day preceding the invoice issue date.

Recognition of the cost of customs duty or excise duty on the basis of the customs document is done according to the following scheme: EXPENDITURE »ACCOUNTING» ADD »INTERNAL EVIDENCE (when it is a purchase of commercial goods for resale or the purchase of materials for production as an ACCOUNTING SCHEME, indicate: PURCHASE OF COMMERCIAL GOODS).

However, the recognition of VAT from the customs document is carried out according to the following scheme: RECORDS »PURCHASE VAT REGISTER» ADD ENTRY, where we complete:

as contractor's data - data of a third-country seller,
as the document number - the number of the customs document,
date of issue - date of issue of the customs document,
date of posting to VAT - date of receipt of the customs document,
in the RATE - net value item, we indicate the amount of the VAT tax base, and correct the calculated VAT amount to the value indicated on the document.