The VAT white list and the mandatory payment to a business bank account

The white list of VAT payers (officially: the “List of VAT taxpayers”) is a central register kept by the Head of the National Revenue Administration. It contains current data on all Polish VAT payers – the name, the NIP (tax identification number), the status (active / exempt / struck off) and the bank account numbers declared to the tax office. The register was created in 2019 as part of the fight against VAT fraud, and since 1 January 2020 a transfer of more than PLN 15,000 to an account that is not on this list has serious tax consequences.

Although the white list has existed for 7 years, it is still a source of accounting and business slip-ups. In this article we explain when you must check it, how to do it, what to do if you make a mistake and what the exceptions are.

What exactly is the white list

A public search engine is available at podatki.gov.pl/wykaz-podatnikow-vat-wyszukiwarka. In it you can look up any company by:

• NIP – the most common scenario (you know the supplier’s NIP from the invoice)
• REGON (statistical business number) – used less often
• Bank account number – you check whether the account has been declared

Searching is free and does not require logging in. For larger volumes (hundreds of queries a month) there is a public API – wl-api.mf.gov.pl. Accounting programs use the API to check suppliers automatically.

What you see in the search engine

• Full company data (name, address, NIP, REGON, KRS – the National Court Register)
• VAT status: active (green), exempt (yellow), struck off (red)
• The date the VAT number was granted and, if applicable, removed
• Declared bank accounts (the whole list, with the dates of declaration)
• The legal basis for removal or refusal of registration (if applicable)

The PLN 15,000 threshold – when the obligation applies

The obligation to check the account arises if a single transaction exceeds PLN 15,000 gross. The definition of a “single transaction” is key:

• One invoice for PLN 20,000 = obligation
• Two invoices of PLN 8,000 each – as a rule, no (separate transactions)
• One invoice for PLN 20,000 split into 2 instalments of PLN 10,000 = obligation (because it is a single transaction)
• A framework agreement with 10 invoices of PLN 5,000 each = depends on how it is settled (if the combined settlement exceeds PLN 15,000, the obligation applies)

Net or gross?

Gross. The threshold applies to the amount of the transfer actually made – with all taxes, including VAT.

The consequences of not checking – two sanctions

1. Loss of the right to deduct the cost

If you paid more than PLN 15,000 to an account that is not on the white list, you cannot count this payment as a tax-deductible cost (PIT / CIT). In practice this means an increase in income tax of 12–32% (PIT) or 9–19% (CIT) of the invoice amount.

Example: an invoice for PLN 50,000 net + PLN 11,500 VAT = PLN 61,500 gross. Payment to the wrong account. You lose the PLN 50,000 cost deduction: PLN 50,000 × 19% (flat rate) = PLN 9,500 of additional PIT.

2. Joint and several liability for VAT

The tax office can collect from you the VAT that your supplier has not paid – up to the amount of the supplier’s arrears in the tax due on that supply (Article 117ba § 1 of the Tax Ordinance Act). So if the supplier does not pay its PLN 11,500 of VAT, you may be called on to pay it.

Exceptions – when you do not have to check

1. A payment under PLN 15,000 gross

The threshold is understood broadly: a single transaction, not a monthly total. Most small purchases (a computer, software, office supplies) do not need checking.

2. A payment to a consumer (B2C)

The white list applies to B2B transactions. If you pay a private individual who does not run a business (for example, rent for a flat from a private person), you do not check.

3. The split payment mechanism (MPP)

If you make the transfer through the split payment mechanism (the VAT amount goes to the supplier’s VAT account, the net amount to the main account), you are safe even if the account is not on the white list. Split payment frees you from both sanctions.

4. Payments to banks / credit unions (SKOK)

All payments to accounts of banks and credit unions (SKOK) – fees, commissions, loan instalments – do not need to be checked.

5. Payments to assignment accounts (factoring)

A payment to a factor (a factoring company that takes over the receivable) into its factoring account does not need to be checked. Details are in the article Factoring for a small business.

6. Payments abroad

The white list applies to Polish VAT payers. If you pay a foreign company (not registered in Poland), you do not check.

The ZAW-NR form – a 7-day rescue

If you paid by mistake to an account that is not on the white list, you have 7 days from the day you ordered the transfer to notify the head of the tax office (yours, not the supplier’s) using the ZAW-NR form. You state that the payment was made to an account that is not on the list.

What you gain

• You keep the right to deduct the cost (which you would otherwise lose)
• You are freed from joint and several liability for the supplier’s VAT

How to file

• Through ePUAP or the Tax Portal – electronically
• On paper to the tax office (rarely used)
• Completed by a person representing the company or by an authorised representative
• Free of charge

Limit

ZAW-NR can be filed once for a given payment. It does not protect against deliberate abuse – if the tax office proves that you knew the account was not on the list, sanctions may still be imposed.

Practical scenarios

Scenario 1 – a new supplier

You buy a service for PLN 25,000 net from a new company. It is the first payment. You check:

1. Does the invoice contain a NIP? → Yes
2. The account from the invoice or from the order? → Best to copy the number directly from the invoice
3. Search the white list by NIP → the list of declared accounts
4. Compare the number from the invoice with the list → if it matches, OK

Scenario 2 – a long-standing supplier changed bank

A supplier of many years’ standing sent invoices with a changed account number. You check before the transfer – the new account is not yet on the white list (the supplier forgot to declare it).

Options:

• Call the supplier and ask them to declare it (1–3 days before the list updates)
• Pay by split payment (which gets around the white list)
• Hold the payment until the list is updated

Scenario 3 – a virtual account

Some companies (especially sales networks) use virtual accounts – each customer has an individual number that directs to the company’s main account. The white list does not contain virtual accounts. You check the company’s main account (shown in the company details), and the virtual account is safe as a “pointer” to it.

Automation – the MF API

For companies with a large number of suppliers it is worth automating the check. The MF API (wl-api.mf.gov.pl) lets you check:

• A supplier by NIP (it returns, among other things, the list of accounts)
• A single account (true / false)
• Bulk verification

Many accounting programs have verification built in – the check runs automatically when you enter an invoice in the program. It saves time and greatly reduces the risk of a mistake.

What to do now

1. Declare your own accounts for the white list (CEIDG – the central register of sole traders / NIP-8)
2. Configure your accounting program – switch on automatic verification (if the program has this function)
3. Set up a procedure in the company – check the account before every transfer over PLN 15,000
4. Archive the checks – printouts, screenshots or system logs (evidence in case of an inspection)
5. Train your people – the bookkeeper, the salesperson, the business owner

Summary

The VAT white list is one of the simplest but also one of the most painful mechanisms in the Polish tax system. 30 seconds of checking protects you from the loss of the cost deduction, joint and several liability and sanctions. Checking counterparties and their accounts against the white list is not part of the accounting service at Profais – you do it yourself, before invoicing and before a transfer. If the account is not on the white list, the ZAW-NR notification is available to you.

Sources: podatki.gov.pl/wykaz-podatnikow-vat-wyszukiwarka, wl-api.mf.gov.pl, VAT Act Article 108a, Tax Ordinance Act Article 117ba, PIT Act Article 22p, CIT Act Article 15d.