Consequences of issuing a proforma invoice

Letter of April 22, 2005, Tax Office Warszawa-Mokotów, 1433 / NG / GV / 443-49 / 2005 / MP

"Issuing or receiving a proforma invoice in the field of tax on goods and services does not have any tax consequences.

The company asked the head of the local Office for information on the scope of application of the provisions of the Act of March 11, 2004 on tax on goods and services (Journal of Laws No. 54, item 535, as amended) - hereinafter referred to as the Act on VAT, or more precisely confirmation that the received proforma invoice does not entitle to deduct VAT and as a document not listed under the provisions of the VAT Act, it does not have the effects provided for by this Act.

Pursuant to Art. 86 of the VAT Act, to the extent that goods and services are used to perform taxable activities, the taxpayer (...) has the right to reduce the amount of tax due by the amount of input tax (...).

As a rule, the amount of the input tax is, pursuant to para. 2 of the quoted provision of Art. 86 states:

• the sum of the tax amounts specified in the invoices received by the taxpayer for the purchase of goods and services, confirming the prepayment (advance payment, deposit, installments), if they were related to the emergence of a tax obligation; from the principal for the delivery of goods that are the subject of the commission contract,
• in the case of import - the sum of the tax amounts resulting from the customs document, - flat-rate tax refund referred to in art. 116 sec. 6 of the VAT Act,
• the amount of tax due on the import of services, the amount of tax due on the supply of goods for which the purchaser is the taxpayer, and the amount of tax due on intra-Community acquisition of goods. It should be emphasized that the act on tax on goods and services, regulating the rights and obligations of entities obliged to apply this act, does not apply to proforma invoices.

It means, therefore, that issuing / receiving such a document in the field of tax on goods and services does not have any tax consequences. "