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Excessive VAT rate at the cash register – what to do?
Under Polish law, the seller is responsible for determining the appropriate VAT rate for the goods sold or services provided. However, it's possible for a taxpayer to apply the incorrect rate. What should you do if it's overstated?
Errors in calculating the appropriate VAT rate – what do they result from?
Entrepreneurs who sell goods and services to individuals who do not run a business and flat-rate farmers are obliged to record each transaction at the cash register, even if the customer as a private person requests an invoice to be issued to them. To avoid problems with the tax office, sales must be recorded correctly. However, mistakes do happen.
Sometimes they are the result of incorrect programming. cash register by a service technician. Therefore, you should use the services of reputable entities that sell high-quality turnover recording devices and provide professional service. They employ experienced professionals who reliably carry out the tasks entrusted to them.
The mistake may also result from seller's error, who incorrectly classifies a given good or service for tax purposes. As a result, the sale will be recorded at the incorrect VAT rate. Regardless of the cause, many entrepreneurs wonder how to deal with the problem.
What to do if the VAT rate is too high?
The cash register is constructed in such a way that the taxpayer cannot interfere with its settings in any way. Therefore, the data that has been saved in the fiscal memory and confirmed by the printed receipt cannot be modified. This does not mean, however, that it is completely impossible to correct a sale documented with a fiscal receipt with an incorrect VAT rate.
The Minister of Finance has indicated in individual interpretations that the prohibition against tampering with a cash register's memory applies only to cash register documentation. Therefore, a taxpayer cannot change the content of either a receipt or a sales transaction. However, he is obliged to indicate the correct amount of tax in the declaration and pay it to the tax office. However, this procedure only applies to understated VAT rates. If the rate is overstated, the matter becomes more complicated. Can a business expect to recover overpaid tax?
Everything depends on type of error. In the individual interpretations of the Minister of Finance, two approaches can be distinguished.
- If an entrepreneur is an active VAT payer and records sales at the cash register with an overstated VAT rate, the tax authorities will most often they refuse to correct the tax. The justification of the Ministry of Finance states that in such a situation, in the case of the sale of goods or services to natural persons, the VAT burden is borne not by the taxpayer, but by the final consumer.
Administrative courts take a different position on this matter. According to the Provincial Administrative Court in Lublin, among others, a business has the right to correct sales documented with a receipt. However, if it is impossible to refund VAT to the final consumers who actually incurred the burden, they should recognize the revenue in accordance with income tax regulations.
- If the taxpayer is exempt from VAT due to the value of sales or the type of services provided, then, as indicated by the Director of the Tax Chamber in individual interpretations, does not have to pay the VAT amount incorrectly shown on the fiscal receipt. However, they are obligated to maintain a corrections register, including all incorrectly recorded amounts. Furthermore, to exercise this right, the entrepreneur must attach a document confirming the actual transaction, such as a copy of the receipt.
Not in every situation will the taxpayer have the right to correct the sale and obtain a refund of the overpayment resulting from the adoption of an incorrect VAT rate. Therefore, it is worth being vigilant and ensuring that VAT rates are properly programmed on the cash register.By employing professional service technicians, an entrepreneur can be sure of this.
