On 12 February 2018, the Polish president signed the Act, which changes the act on the National Court Register. The new law took effect on 15 March and introduces the electronic filing of financial statements in Poland in two steps.
New regulations have been introduced for Polish companies due to the recent amendments to the National Court Register Act. The new law, which entered into force on 15 March 2018, will substantially change the rules on how to prepare and submit financial statements in Poland to the National Court Register (KRS) and tax authorities.
Obligation for electronic filing of financial statements in Poland from October 2018
The following requirements will apply as of 1 October 2018:
Financial statements in Poland shall be prepared in an electronic form and may only be submitted using a dedicated on-line service provided by the Justice Minister for the purpose;
- the (electronic) financial statements must be signed by each management board member using his or her qualified electronic signature,
- the financial statements must be submitted electronically with the use of qualified electronic signature or signature confirmed by a trusted ePUAP profile by at least one individual authorised to represent the company whose personal ID number PESEL is identified in the KRS;
The filings made via the on-line service will be accessible also for Polish tax authorities so that businesses with KRS registration will no longer be required to separately send their financial statements (accompanied by audit report plus copy of resolution of the general meeting to approve the statements) to tax offices.
Transition period between 15 March and 30 September 2018
There is an interim period between 15 March and 30 September 2018 when the following rules apply:
- financial statements in Poland can continue to be prepared traditionally (on paper with handwritten signatures);
- such financial statements are duly submitted to KRS if they are sent as a scan with the use of qualified electronic signature or signature confirmed by a trusted ePUAP profile by at least one individual authorised to represent the company whose PESEL number is identified in the KRS;
- corporate income tax payers have to file their annual financial statements (plus audit report and copy of resolution of the general meeting to approve the statements) to tax offices as they did before, i.e. on paper, within 10 days from approval of the statements.
It is recommended for each company verifying whether it is able to comply with the above preparation and filing standards for electronic financial statements, especially if its authorised representatives include foreigners.
If you would like to know more about the new requirements regarding submission of financial statements in Poland, please visit the homepage of WTS&SAJA Sp. z o.o., the exclusive representative for Poland of WTS Global.
