Do you purchase services from foreign suppliers such as Google or Facebook? Find out how to correctly settle VAT on imported services, avoid mistakes and fulfil your declaration obligations.
An increasing number of Polish entrepreneurs use services from foreign suppliers — advertising platforms, SaaS tools, hosting or software licences. Although the invoice arrives from abroad and often does not include Polish VAT, the tax obligation on the buyer's side does not disappear. This is precisely what the mechanism of import of services and reverse charge is about. In this article we explain when the obligation to settle import of services arises, how to correctly report it in a VAT declaration, and what mistakes Polish entrepreneurs most commonly make when purchasing services from companies such as Google, Meta or cloud software providers.
Import of services is a situation in which a Polish company (a VAT taxpayer or an entity required to register) acquires a service from a foreign contractor, and the place of supply of that service — in accordance with the provisions of the VAT Act — is located in Poland. This applies to both active VAT taxpayers and VAT-exempt entrepreneurs, provided the value of imported services exceeds specified thresholds. The most common examples include: • SaaS software subscriptions (e.g. CRM platforms, invoicing tools) • advertising on Google Ads and Meta Ads (Facebook, Instagram) • hosting and cloud data storage services • software licences from foreign suppliers • advisory services provided by foreign entities The general rule for B2B services states that the place of supply is the country of establishment of the recipient — i.e. Poland. This means that the Polish entrepreneur must independently calculate and remit VAT.
Reverse charge involves transferring the VAT settlement obligation from the foreign seller to the Polish buyer. The foreign supplier issues an invoice without VAT — it usually bears the annotation "reverse charge" or "VAT: 0%". As the buyer, you are required to: 1. Calculate Polish VAT at the applicable rate (most commonly 23%) on the net value of the service. 2. Report the output tax in the JPK_V7 file (in the fields relating to import of services). 3. Simultaneously deduct the input VAT — if you are an active VAT taxpayer and the service is used for taxable activities. In practice, import of services is therefore tax-neutral for an active VAT taxpayer — output VAT and input VAT cancel each other out. However, omitting this obligation is an error that may result in a correction and interest charges.
Purchases of advertising on Google Ads and Meta Ads are one of the most common cases of import of services in small and medium-sized companies. Google Ireland Limited and Meta Platforms Ireland Ltd. are entities established in Ireland — their invoices are issued without Polish VAT, with a reverse charge annotation. It is worth noting that if you have provided the supplier with your NIP number (EU VAT number), the foreign company treats the transaction as B2B and does not add its own tax. If you have not done so, some platforms may charge local tax — which does not, however, exempt you from the obligation to settle import of services in Poland. For SaaS subscriptions (e.g. Slack, HubSpot, Adobe) the rules are analogous. Remember to: • verify each time whether the contractor is established abroad • collect invoices and archive them for JPK purposes • check whether the service is not subject to a special place of supply rule (e.g. cultural or sporting services)
Import of services must be reported in the JPK_V7 file (combining the VAT declaration and records) for the period in which the tax obligation arose. For most services this is the moment the service is performed, or — if an invoice was issued or payment was made before that date — whichever of those events occurs first. In JPK_V7 you report import of services: • on the sales side (output tax) — in the relevant import of services fields • on the purchases side (input tax) — if the right to deduct applies Taxpayers settling VAT on a monthly basis submit JPK_V7M by the 25th day of the following month, while those settling quarterly submit JPK_V7K. It is an error to omit import of services from the records or to report it in the wrong settlement period — both situations may result in a notice from the tax office (US).
Based on accounting practice, several recurring problems can be identified: 1. Failure to settle import of services — the entrepreneur assumes that since the invoice contains no VAT, there is nothing to settle. This is an error — the tax obligation exists regardless of the content of the foreign invoice. 2. Incorrect exchange rate — the value of a service in a foreign currency must be converted to Polish zloty using the NBP exchange rate from the last business day preceding the date of the tax obligation. 3. Wrong settlement period — reporting import of services in the month the invoice was received instead of the month the service was performed. 4. Lack of an EU VAT number — failure to register for VAT-UE when regularly acquiring services from EU contractors. 5. Omitting services from non-EU suppliers — import of services also applies to suppliers from the USA, the United Kingdom or Asia — the rules are the same.
Many sole traders benefit from the subjective VAT exemption (up to PLN 200,000 in turnover). This does not mean, however, that they are exempt from the obligation to settle import of services. A VAT-exempt entrepreneur who acquires services from foreign entities is required to: • register as a VAT-UE taxpayer before making the first purchase of services from EU contractors • submit a VAT-9M or VAT-8 declaration (depending on the type of transaction) and pay the output VAT due • accept the absence of the right to deduct input VAT — the tax is therefore a real cost For small companies using SaaS tools or social media advertising, this cost can come as a surprise. It is worth factoring it into the budget and planning an appropriate settlement frequency.
Import of services is an area in which mistakes occur even among experienced entrepreneurs — particularly given the dynamically growing number of foreign digital tools. Correct settlement of reverse charge, appropriate exchange rates and timely reporting in JPK_V7 are obligations that are worth entrusting to a reliable accounting firm. If you have any doubts regarding VAT settlement on foreign services, contact Danexis — call +48 780 760 666, write to kontakt@danexis.pl or visit us at ul. Braniborska 74/20 in Wrocław. We will be happy to analyse your situation and help you avoid costly mistakes.