Tax ID Number (NIP) on the sales receipt in 2020

Last year, the regulations concerning the tax identification number (NIP) on the sales receipts were one of the statutory changes that came into force at the beginning of 2020. The provisions apply only to VAT payers who intend to include the transaction in the settlement, including the expenditure as tax-deductible costs. Rules do not apply to purchases made by individual persons (without invoices involved).

Buyer’s NIP on the sales receipt

The seller should know whether the purchase is made by a VAT payer or a non-payer before registering the transaction at the cash register and receipt printout. If the buyer fails to inform about that, he will receive a receipt without the NIP. Issuing the VAT invoice will be impossible at this point.

The NIP on the sales receipt 2020 – the most important aspects

1. Exclusions

The law provides two exceptions regarding the application of the rules. Entrepreneurs offering car rental services with a driver and taxi drivers specifically are the two professions that can continue to issue receipts and invoices as before, without the need to provide the NIP. This also means that they do not have to improve their cash registers for the appropriate functionality (however, the online cash register regulation still applies).

2. Receipts up to 450 PLN as simplified invoices

It is worth remembering that sale receipts up to the amount of 450 PLN gross (or 100 EUR) are treated as acceptable and full-fledged invoices (although named in the law as simplified invoices). If the receipt itself is an invoice, there is no need to issue an additional document. The settlement and VAT deduction can be performed based on such a receipt (it still must contain the buyer’s tax identification number).

3. Outdated cash registers

Since on-line cash registers have not yet been fully implemented in Poland, many entrepreneurs are still using outdated types – without constant communication with the Cash Repository and functionality enabling the NIP to be printed in the proper place on the receipt. The problem has been discussed many times in 2019. The Ministry of Finance referred to the case with an individual interpretation, which states that in the case of cash registers without the proper functionality, the seller should issue an invoice directly without registering the transaction.

4. Receipts older than 2020

Keep in mind that the discussed law is not retroactive. All proofs and receipts of transactions dated 2019 and older do not need to include the NIP to be eligible for issuing a VAT invoice on their basis.

5. The receipt content layout

The order of data placed on the receipt is important. The NIP must be in the fiscal part of the printout, between the appropriate values, in an order defined by the statute of the Minister of Finance on the cash registers:

• name and surname or name of the taxpayer, address of the point of sale, and in the case of sales in non-permanent places – the address of the seat or place of residence of the taxpayer;
• taxpayer tax identification number (NIP);
• print sequence number; (…)

6. Penalties for seller and buyer

When one fails to comply with the new obligation, the Tax Office may impose a financial penalty on both the seller and the buyer – the principle of joint liability applies here. The regulations provide for sanctions of additional tax liability, imposed on the involved parties, in the amount of 100% of the invoice tax amount. The penalty is justified when:

• the taxpayer will include in the settlement an invoice based on a receipt without a tax identification number,
• the seller issues an invoice based on the receipt without the NIP.