The tax office is conducting secret checks on Poles. Every fifth person pays a fine

Verification purchase is a new tool in the hands of the tax office, which was introduced in 2022 as part of the Polish Deal. It consists of officials going incognito to a given store or premises and making a standard order. In this way, they check whether the seller correctly records the sale and issues a fiscal receipt. It turns out that as many as every fifth such inspection in Poland ends with a fine. — informs WP Finance.

Secret tax inspections

After all, the officials reveal their identity by showing their official ID. If the transaction is properly registered and the seller has issued a receipt, a note is made. It is given to the entrepreneur together with the receipt and at the end of the month the controlled person can reduce the sale.

However, the rules are often broken. Sellers often do not issue receipts or give customers receipts that do not meet certain standards, e.g. do not include the Tax Identification Number or VAT number. Therefore, they cannot be considered a receipt. This type of situation most often occurs in outlets run directly by the owners. This applies primarily to industries such as: passenger transport, gastronomy, automotive, beauty, as well as sales at bazaars and marketplaces.

The amount of the fine for irregularities can range from PLN 430 to PLN 21,500. The average amount of such a fine is around PLN 4,000. In total, since 2022, officials have conducted over 140,000 inspections. Over 32,000 fines have been imposed for a total amount of over PLN 45 million.

One of the controllers admitted that conducting a verification purchase can be difficult, especially in smaller towns. Entrepreneurs share photos of the controllers, so they know when an inspection is taking place.