WDT 2026
intra-EU supply of goods with the 0% VAT rate

What WDT is — definition and conditions

Under art. 13 sec. 1 of the Polish VAT Act of 11 March 2004, WDT means the export of goods from Poland to another EU Member State to a taxable person identified for intra-EU transactions.

For a transaction to qualify as WDT, two basic conditions must be met:

1. The supplier must be an active VAT payer registered for VAT-EU (with the PL prefix on NIP),
2. The buyer must be identified for intra-EU transactions in their country (must hold an active VAT-EU number with their country prefix).

Exception: the supply of new means of transport (vehicles up to 6 months old or under 6,000 km) qualifies as WDT regardless of the VAT status of either party.

If the buyer is a natural person not running a business — there is no WDT. WSTO rules apply (intra-Community distance sales of goods) with an annual limit of 10,000 EUR.

The 0% rate — conditions under art. 42 of the VAT Act

To apply the 0% VAT rate to WDT, all of the following must be met (art. 42 sec. 1):

• The supply was made to a buyer with an active VAT-EU number issued by another Member State,
• The buyer provided this number to the supplier (it appears on the invoice and in the VAT records),
• The supplier holds proof of transport confirming delivery of the goods to the buyer outside Poland before the deadline for filing JPK_V7 for the period,
• When filing JPK_V7, the supplier is registered for VAT-EU.

Risk of losing the 0% rate: the rate cannot be applied if:

• The taxpayer did not file the VAT-EU summary on time (art. 42 sec. 1a),
• The filed summary does not contain correct delivery data,
• The buyer did not have an active VAT-EU number on the transaction date (status checked in VIES — see VIES — buyer verification),
• Transport documents are not received on time.

If the 0% rate is lost, the supply is taxed at the domestic rate (usually 23%) — the additional VAT comes out of the supplier's pocket.

Tax point — when the obligation arises (art. 20)

Under art. 20 sec. 1 of the VAT Act, the WDT tax obligation arises:

• On the date the invoice is issued by the taxpayer, or
• No later than the 15th day of the month following the month of supply — if the invoice was not issued in time.

Example 1. Sale on 20 May 2026, invoice issued 12 June 2026. Tax point: 12 June 2026.

Example 2. Sale on 20 May 2026, invoice issued only on 18 June 2026. Tax point: 15 June 2026 (the 15th of the month after supply — earlier than the invoice date).

Continuous deliveries over one month — the obligation arises at the end of each month until the deliveries end.

Advances on WDT: do not trigger a tax point and require no advance invoice. This is an important difference from domestic sales.

Tax base and exchange rate

Under art. 29a sec. 1 of the VAT Act, the WDT tax base is everything that constitutes payment received or due from the buyer. This includes:

• The goods price,
• Customs duties, fees, taxes (excluding VAT itself),
• Additional costs: commissions, packaging, transport, insurance — when invoiced by the supplier.

Foreign currency exchange rate: the average NBP rate from the day before the tax point applies (art. 31a). Alternatively, the taxpayer may use the ECB rate from the same day — the choice is made for the whole tax year.

Transport documents — what to keep

Art. 42 sec. 3 of the VAT Act lists documents confirming transport from Poland to another EU country. Together they must unambiguously prove that the goods reached the buyer in another Member State:

• Transport documents — CMR (international road consignment note), AWB (air waybill), Bill of Lading (sea), CIM (rail),
• Packing list with description of type, quantity, parameters,
• Sales invoice with PL prefix at the supplier and prefix of the buyer,
• Correspondence with the buyer confirming receipt (signed email, order confirmation, acceptance protocol).

Not all documents are required — a set that together proves export is sufficient. Photocopies, faxes and scans are accepted (confirmed by art. 180 §1 of the Tax Ordinance).

No transport documents in time: in the first period after WDT, the taxpayer reports the supply as domestic (23% rate). If documents arrive by the deadline for filing JPK for the second period, the taxpayer may correct — apply the 0% rate and recover VAT. If documents never arrive, the 23% VAT stays with the seller.

Obligation to file the VAT-EU summary

Every WDT transaction must be reported in the VAT-EU summary information — full guide in the article VAT-EU summary information 2026.

Key points:

• Deadline: by the 25th day of the month following the transaction month,
• Form: electronic only (no paper version),
• Mode: monthly (there is no quarterly VAT-EU),
• Omission or error results in loss of the 0% rate and possible sanctions.

Three practical WDT examples

Example A — furniture sale to the Czech Republic. Polish carpentry firm (active VAT, PL52602...) sells furniture to a Czech distributor (CZ7654321). Value 30,000 EUR, transported in the supplier's own van on 20 May 2026. Invoice issued 22 May with 0% WDT rate. CMR with the buyer's signature. The transaction is recorded in JPK_V7M for May and in the VAT-EU summary for May (filed by 25 June). ✅ All correct.

Example B — B2B e-commerce to Germany. A JDG sells gadgets through its own shop to a German IT company (DE123456789). Shipment via DHL courier — waybill with tracking number plus invoice. Value 1,200 EUR. 0% rate applied, transaction in VAT-EU for the delivery month.

Example C — buyer's VAT-EU not active. A Spanish client provides a number which, after VIES verification, turns out to be inactive. What to do: a) hold the delivery and ask for an active number, or b) issue an invoice with the Polish 23% rate (domestic transaction). The 0% rate must not be used — sanction risk.

Most common WDT mistakes

• Not verifying the buyer in VIES before delivery — during an audit, the tax office requires evidence of verification on the transaction date. A VIES screenshot with date is critical.
• Failing to recheck the buyer's VAT-EU number — the counterparty may lose registration. Verify before each delivery, especially for large contracts.
• Missing CMR with consignee's signature — a transport document without proof of receipt is not enough. Require the carrier to provide a document with the buyer's signature.
• Late VAT-EU summary filing — past the 25th, even by one day, the office may deny the 0% rate. If you spot an error — immediately file a correction with an explanation.
• No PL prefix on the invoice — the supplier must use PL+NIP, not the NIP alone. A German buyer may refuse to accept such an invoice (problems with deduction in DE).

Frequently asked questions

Need help with WDT settlement?

We assist Księgowość 365 clients with one-off WDT transactions (e.g. selling a machine to the Czech Republic) and with continuous deliveries (e-commerce across the EU). We handle proper buyer verification in VIES, transport-document collection, JPK_V7 records, and timely VAT-EU summary filing.

For Sp. z o.o. and JDG starting EU sales we also configure accounting software to correctly distinguish WDT from domestic sales — preventing the most common cause of 0% rate loss.

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