KSeF in Poland: invoices for foreign buyers and the changes on 1 January 2027

KSeF dates from 2026 to 2028

KSeF, in Polish Krajowy System e-Faktur, is Poland’s national system for structured e-invoices. Companies with 2024 sales over 200 million zł including VAT issue invoices in KSeF from 1 February 2026. All other companies follow from 1 April 2026. Until 31 December 2026, a company may issue invoices outside KSeF while those invoices total 10,000 zł a month or less.

The 10,000 zł allowance counts the sales with VAT on invoices issued in one month. When a company passes the limit, the invoice that passes it and every later invoice go through KSeF. Invoices from cash registers may also stay outside KSeF until 31 December 2026.

Two more dates matter for 2027. From 1 January 2027, a buyer registered as an active VAT payer in Poland gives the KSeF number in a bank transfer to another Polish VAT payer. Current law also starts the KSeF penalty rules on 1 January 2027. On 20 October 2026, the Polish government sent a bill to the Sejm that moves this date to 1 January 2028. The bill had its first reading on 21 October 2026. The Ministry of Finance says the duty to use KSeF stays the same.

Invoices for buyers outside Poland

A Polish seller issues the invoice in KSeF also when the buyer is abroad. The Ministry of Finance says invoices for supplies to other EU countries, exports and services to foreign businesses go through KSeF. A buyer abroad without a Polish tax number cannot sign in to KSeF, so the seller sends the invoice in an agreed way.

The agreed way can be a PDF by email, a link or a paper copy. Under article 106gb of the Polish VAT act, the seller marks such an invoice with a QR code. The code gives access to the invoice in KSeF and lets the buyer check its data. The Ministry of Finance says that for this buyer, the document it receives is the invoice.

The date of receipt also differs. For a Polish buyer with a tax number, the invoice counts as received on the day KSeF gives it a KSeF number. For a buyer abroad, it counts as received on the day the buyer gets it. In the ministry’s example, KSeF numbered the invoice on 1 February 2026 and the buyer got the PDF by email on 3 February 2026. The date of receipt is 3 February.

Checking a KSeF invoice with the QR code

The QR code on a KSeF invoice is a link to that invoice in KSeF. A buyer scans it with a phone, and no sign-in is needed. If the invoice is in KSeF, the page shows its KSeF number, the seller’s tax number, the issue date and the date KSeF received it. If not, the page says so.

To download the file, the buyer types three details from the invoice: the invoice number given by the seller, the buyer’s tax identifier or a note that there is none, and the total amount due. After several wrong tries in a row, KSeF blocks the download of that invoice for a time.

Check the text under the code. An invoice that is already in KSeF shows its KSeF number under the QR code. An invoice issued offline and not yet sent to KSeF carries two codes, marked OFFLINE and CERTYFIKAT. The second code confirms who issued the invoice. In offline24 mode, the seller sends the invoice to KSeF by the next working day at the latest.

A second way works without the QR code. On the anonymous access page of KSeF, the buyer types the KSeF number, the invoice number, the buyer’s tax identifier, the buyer’s name and the total amount due.

Polish carriers and Lithuanian forwarders

A Polish carrier that invoices a Lithuanian forwarder issues the invoice in KSeF. The carrier then sends it to the forwarder in the agreed way, with the QR code. From 1 January 2027, the 10,000 zł allowance has ended. A small carrier that issued its few invoices outside KSeF in 2026 then issues its invoices in KSeF.

KSeF stores invoices for 10 years from the end of the year of issue, under article 112aa of the Polish VAT act. The buyer abroad still keeps the invoice it received, as the rules of its own country require. How VAT applies to a transport service between Poland and Lithuania depends on the facts of each case. Ask your accountant.

A foreign company registered for VAT in Poland, with no seat or fixed establishment there, does not have to issue invoices in KSeF, according to the Ministry of Finance. The same applies when its fixed establishment in Poland takes no part in the sale. Such a company may still use KSeF if it wants.

RNJ Transport plans loads from the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany to the Baltic states. These routes cross Poland, and partner carriers drive many of these loads. You deal with one contact person and get one invoice from RNJ Transport, also when a partner carrier drives the truck.

Steps before 1 January 2027

A buyer outside Poland has three tasks with Polish suppliers and carriers. Agree with each supplier how invoices reach you. Check the KSeF number and the QR code on each invoice. Keep the invoice as you received it. A company with Polish VAT registration should also ask its accountant about the KSeF number in bank transfers from 1 January 2027.

1. 1

   Agree the delivery channel

   Give each Polish supplier one email address for invoices, or agree on paper copies.

2. 2

   Check the KSeF number

   The number sits under the QR code. The word OFFLINE means the invoice is not in KSeF yet.

3. 3

   Scan the QR code

   The page shows whether the invoice is in KSeF, with its basic data.

4. 4

   Keep the invoice

   Store the file or the paper copy as your accounting rules require.

5. 5

   Ask your accountant

   Ask about VAT on the invoice and, with Polish VAT registration, about bank transfers.

Checklist: invoices from Polish suppliers and carriers

Use this list when a Polish supplier or carrier sends KSeF invoices. Ask your accountant about any case that depends on the facts of your company.