Invoice outside KSeF: can you deduct the VAT?

Yes, you can deduct VAT from an invoice you received outside KSeF (Krajowy System e-Faktur, Poland's National e-Invoicing System), even when the seller should have issued it in KSeF and didn't. The right to deduct arises in the period in which the tax obligation arose, but no earlier than the period in which you actually received the invoice (art. 86 ust. 10b pkt 1 of the VAT Act).

KSeF 2.0 Manual, Part II, section 1.7

This applies to active VAT payers. If you use the art. 113 exemption (the small-business VAT exemption), you don't deduct VAT on purchase invoices anyway.

What the Ministry of Finance says

In its "Najczęstsze pytania" (frequently asked questions) on KSeF, the Ministry of Finance (MF) writes that the right to deduct VAT from an invoice issued without KSeF "will continue to be ensured, provided the substantive conditions for deduction in art. 86 of the Act are met and none of the negative conditions in art. 88 of the Act apply". A missing KSeF invoice is described there as an "uchybienie formalne" (a formal defect), and the breach of the obligation "as a rule falls on the issuer". The KSeF 2.0 Manual, Part II (section 1.7) takes the same position. The Ministry justifies it by the fact that KSeF is being rolled out in stages.

MF, KSeF frequently asked questions, questions 1–4

This is MF guidance, not a provision of the Act, but you can rely on it if the tax office asks.

The seller doesn't escape the tax either. According to MF, issuing a document outside KSeF doesn't take the sale out of VAT, so the seller accounts for the tax as usual.

Why the invoice arrived outside KSeF

The rule is that a buyer with a Polish NIP (tax identification number) receives the invoice in KSeF. Until 31 March 2026, however, the obligation applied only to the largest sellers (sales above 200 mln zł in 2024). From 1 April 2026 a seller may lawfully issue an invoice outside the system when:

• it stays within the art. 145m limit: invoices document sales of up to 10 000 zł gross in a given month (until 31 December 2026; we explain how to count it in our post on the 10 000 zł KSeF limit);
• it issues the invoice from a cash register, or gives a receipt with the buyer's NIP of up to 450 zł (100 euro), which counts as a simplified invoice (art. 145n, also until 31 December 2026);
• it has no registered office or fixed establishment in Poland, or its Polish fixed establishment isn't involved in the transaction (art. 106ga ust. 2 pkt 1–2), for example a foreign software vendor;
• another case under art. 106ga ust. 2 applies, or one from the MF regulation issued under art. 106s.

There is a second group too: a seller who should be issuing in KSeF and simply sent a PDF. According to MF, the deduction is still preserved (provided the art. 86 and 88 conditions are met), but MF calls such an invoice a "warning signal" (more on that below).

You don't have to check which group the seller falls into. According to MF, the buyer has no duty to verify whether the invoice was properly issued outside KSeF, nor to ask the seller to issue it in the system.

Two kinds of documents only look like an "invoice outside KSeF". A PDF or printout with a QR code is usually a visualisation of an invoice that is already in KSeF; scanning the code shows you its data or tells you the invoice isn't in KSeF. Our guide on receiving invoices in KSeF covers this. The other is the "potwierdzenie transakcji" (transaction confirmation) a seller may hand over before the invoice gets its KSeF number (you receive the invoice itself in KSeF). According to the MF Manual, it isn't a tax document.

When you can deduct: an example from Pani Krystyna's office

Pani Krystyna, an accountant, keeps the books for Bartosz, a carpenter running a JDG (jednoosobowa działalność gospodarcza, a sole proprietorship) and an active VAT payer. A small fittings supplier sells within the 10 000 zł limit and issues its invoices as PDFs. Invoice dated 28 September 2026: 2 000 zł net, 460 zł VAT, 2 460 zł gross. Bartosz receives it by email on 2 October.

Assume the tax obligation arose in September. The invoice was received in October, though, so Bartosz can deduct the 460 zł of VAT in his October return at the earliest. The date of receipt of an invoice from outside KSeF is the day it actually reached him.

A different rule applies to an invoice in KSeF. Its date of receipt is the day the KSeF number is assigned (art. 106na ust. 3), regardless of when anyone downloads it or gets a PDF by email. Had the same invoice received its KSeF number on 28 September, the date of receipt would have been 28 September.

Polish VAT Act, art. 86 ust. 10b pkt 1, art. 106na ust. 3

An offline24 invoice emailed before it reaches KSeF

An invoice issued in offline24 mode must be sent to KSeF by the next business day at the latest, and a buyer with a Polish NIP should receive it only through KSeF. The date of receipt is then the day the KSeF number is assigned (art. 106nda ust. 11). The same rule applies when KSeF is unavailable (art. 106nh ust. 4).

Sometimes the seller emails the PDF straight away, before the invoice reaches the system. The MF Manual calls this incorrect and describes the consequence: the buyer acquires the right to deduct on the date of actual receipt. So if the email with the offline24 invoice arrived on 30 September and the KSeF number was assigned on 1 October, 30 September is the date that counts for the deduction.

For invoices issued in emergency mode (art. 106nf) or during a total failure (art. 106ng), we found no rule in the MF materials on the date of receipt for a buyer with a Polish NIP. The modes themselves are covered in our guide to KSeF outages and offline mode.

What evidence MF expects

MF writes that a missing KSeF invoice "should be a warning signal for the buyer", and that such invoices "may increase the risk of the reliability of the entire transaction being verified". The buyer should exercise due diligence and secure evidence that the transaction really took place.

For every invoice from outside KSeF, Pani Krystyna collects from the client:

• a transfer confirmation or other proof of payment,
• an acceptance report, delivery document or order,
• correspondence with the seller, including the email the invoice came in (which also proves the date of receipt).

We add one practice of our own that MF doesn't require: keep a list of suppliers who still issue invoices outside KSeF.

How to mark such invoices in the JPK_V7 file is a separate topic. Since February 2026 the file requires the KSeF numbers of purchase invoices, or the appropriate markings when there is no number, but we don't cover here which marking to use.

Invoices outside KSeF in 2027

At the end of 2026, art. 145m and 145n expire: no more 10 000 zł limit, no cash-register invoices, and no receipts with NIP as simplified invoices. What remains are the permanent exclusions in art. 106ga ust. 2 (for example sellers with no registered office or fixed establishment in Poland) and the offline modes.

KSeF 2.0 Manual, Part I, p. 14

It is unresolved whether the deduction position also holds in 2027. The answer in the "Najczęstsze pytania" has no time limit, but section 1.7 of the Manual is titled "Odliczenie podatku VAT z faktur wystawionych poza KSeF w okresie od lutego do grudnia 2026 r." (deducting VAT from invoices issued outside KSeF from February to December 2026), and the reasoning itself relies on the staged rollout. We found no direct answer for 2027 in the MF materials.

The penalties under art. 106ni (up to 100% of the VAT on the invoice, or up to 18.7% of the total amount due when no VAT is shown) apply to the invoice issuer. Under the Act in force they take effect on 1 January 2027. On 16 September 2026 MF announced a deferral to the end of 2027, and draft UD477 moves them to 1 January 2028. MF sent the draft to the Council of Ministers on 15 October, but it has not been passed yet.

Even if the penalties are deferred, officials in 2027 "will respond to cases of invoices issued outside KSeF (except for cases specified by law) and examine whether not using the system leads to unreliable tax settlement". That is what MF announced in its 16 September statement.

MF: penalty deferral extended (16.09.2026)

If you keep the books for clients, review their suppliers before the end of the year and ask those outside KSeF how they will issue invoices in January. We track the penalty dates and the status of draft UD477 in our post on KSeF penalties in 2027 and 2028.