From February 1, a new obligation for millions of Poles. You better get ready

The system being introduced is to be used to issue, send, receive and store invoices. It will cover all entrepreneurs and those issuing invoices in Poland, and its implementation has been divided into stages.

The purpose of introducing KSeF is digitization of invoicing and invoice accounting. An e-invoice is simply a file that is given a unique number. It will be archived in the system and the recipient will find it there. There is no need to send the document by e-mail or print it (there are exceptions to this). Politicians and officials argue that from the entrepreneur’s point of view, this means obvious benefits:

• Processes will be standardized, which reduces the risk of errors;
• Invoices will always be at hand, without having to store them yourself. This applies to documents issued up to ten years ago;
• The preparation of documents is easier (integration of the company’s accounting system with KSEF simplifies data import) and their circulation is improved (invoices reach the recipient almost in real time);
• The buyer is sure that the invoice was issued by an authorized entity;
• The digital invoice will not disappear or be destroyed;
• It will speed up VAT refunds – from 60 to 40 days.

Of course, we cannot forget about the benefits that the State Treasury intends to gain from this implementation. Digitization of processes means greater transparency and higher control efficiency. KSeF is simply intended to limit the gray zone and bring additional billions of zlotys to the state treasury. This year alone, it is to be approximately PLN 1.65 billion, as Marcin Łoboda, head of the National Revenue Administration, recently argued. In the full fiscal year, it may amount to PLN 1.8 billion.

The implemented solution will be able to be used in various ways. The Ministry of Finance has prepared free tools that can be found at ksef.podatki.gov.pl. These are: KSeF Taxpayer Applicationi.e. a solution available online, and also KSeF Mobile Application. The alternative is using the e-micro company available at the e-Tax Office. Financial and accounting programs constitute a separate group. However, these must be integrated with KSeF.

KSeF will enable issuing invoices in several modes. The first is online, where everything happens in real time. Next one is offline24which will enable issuing invoices without connecting to KSeF. However, the user must send the document to the system no later than the next business day. The solution may prove useful, among others: in case of network problems. The offline mode will also be useful when the Ministry of Finance is carrying out maintenance work and the system is not working. In this case the document must be sent to KSeF no later than the day after the end of the break. Finally, there is an emergency mode (the Ministry of Finance must be informed about any problems). The invoice is then issued offline, and you have seven business days to send it to the system from the end of the failure.

It is worth noting that the recipient does not have to accept the invoice in the system for it to be valid. The document is considered received when the system assigns it a number. In the case of customers from outside the European Union, it will be necessary to issue the document in KSeF and then send it to the buyer in an agreed manner – e.g. PDF. Such an invoice has a QR code with the KSeF number, thanks to which it can be easily verified.

Can I edit an invoice in case of an error? No – once adopted by KSeF, it becomes a legal document and cannot be changed. The solution is a correction invoice, a the number of corrections has not been limited. It is worth adding that KSeF does not send notifications about issuing an invoice – this must be checked in commercial software or that prepared by the Ministry of Finance.

From February 1, 2026, i.e. soon, all companies will collect invoices there. The issue of issuing documents is different, the system will be implemented in stages. At the beginning of February, the obligation to issue invoices in KSeF will apply to companies with sales exceeding PLN 200 million in 2024 (including VAT).). This obligation will apply to other enterprises on April 1, 2026. However, there is an important caveat: until December 31 this year. you can issue invoices outside KSeF (paper and electronic) if in a given month the total sales with VAT on these documents do not exceed PLN 10,000. zloty.

Why is the service being rolled out in stages? On the one hand, it is intended to be an outreach to smaller entrepreneurs who gain more time to adapt to changes. On the other hand, the risk of overloading the IT system decreases. In order to implement the system efficiently, it was also decided to start it on February 1, instead of January 1 – the beginning of the year often means an accumulation of settlements and reports.

What about people who run a business but do not have access to the Internet or do not use a computer or smartphone? Such circumstances will not work as an excuse. In this situation, you should give appropriate permissions to issue invoices to another person – e.g. an employee of an accounting office. This can be done in the mentioned application or in the accounting program integrated with the system. The requirement to use KSeF applies to every taxpayer who is obliged to issue an invoiceeven the legal form of conducting business does not matter.

If someone runs a sole proprietorship, they can quickly gain access by a trusted profile or qualified signature. In the case of companies, it is necessary to submit the ZAW-FA form to the tax office if the entity does not have a qualified seal. At this point, it is worth remembering about granting rights to employees or accounting offices. They include, among others: issuing and viewing invoices.

The ministry announced that from April 1 this year it is planned to enable logging in to KSeF through the national node, i.e. also through the mObywatel application.

Of course, safety is an important issue. Representatives of the ministry assure that the system has been tested by various services and institutions and is safe. Entrepreneurs should not be afraid that someone, for example, will impersonate their PESEL number and log in to KSeF. As already mentioned, authentication will require e.g. a trusted profile or a qualified signature. You can also use the KSeF certificate for this purpose. What is this last one?

KSeF certificate is used for authentication in the system, but will also be required when issuing invoices offline. The tool will allow you to attach an offline invoice with a QR code, which will enable you to verify the identity of the invoice issuer. Certificates can be downloaded from November last year. An application in this matter is submitted in the Certificates and Authorizations Module. It should be noted that the KSeF certificate is valid no longer than two years from the date of its issue (or from the starting date of its validity indicated by the taxpayer).

Entrepreneurs should make sure that their accounting system is compliant with the KSeF. It is also necessary to follow the announcements of the Ministry of Finance, because the solution may introduce corrections and novelties. Knowledge about the new tool can be expanded with the help of materials available, among others: on the ministry’s website. A lot of questions asked by companies were collected there and answered.