The Finance Minister has announced that, contrary to previous predictions, the use of the National e-Invoice System (KSeF) will not be compulsory from July 2024. The delay is due to critical errors in the system, preventing its implementation in 2024.
The Finance Minister stated that the mandatory electronic invoicing system will definitely not be introduced in 2024. Whether or not the system contains more errors will be revealed by an external audit. Errors in the e-Invoicing System could prevent businesses from issuing invoices, which would in turn affect their cash flow. Therefore, experts believe it is better to wait until the system is fully ready to serve businesses. The decision to delay the implementation deadline may delight businesses that have not yet adapted their systems.
According to a survey by SW Research commissioned by inFaktu, only 44 percent of micro and small Polish businesses are aware of the National e-Invoicing System. Among those surveyed, one in five has no plans yet to implement it. Solutions to integrate accounting with the e-invoicing system have already been implemented in one in four businesses.
“In my opinion, the Ministry of Finance should, in addition to the audit, also start checking legal regulations related to the National e-Invoice System, especially in terms of executive acts. Another important step is to set the enforcement date of the obligatory use of the e-Invoicing system. Many firms have implemented or are implementing the system and now they will be left in suspense, unsure until when. On the other hand, companies that have not yet started implementing it may wait until a new deadline is announced. The sooner the Ministry provides a specific date, the more time entrepreneurs will have to prepare for the e-Invoicing system. As the Polish Entrepreneurship Survey showed, what negatively affects entrepreneurs is the lack of stable law and its uncertainty,” explains Piotr Juszczyk, Chief Tax Advisor at inFakt .
How do entrepreneurs evaluate the e-Invoicing system?
The inFakt expert believes that the mandatory use of the e-Invoicing system will revolutionize invoice issuing. Not only will it change the document flow, but it will also force businesses to use a single universal platform. The introduction of obligatory electronic invoicing was rated positively by almost 40 percent of responders in the Polish Entrepreneurship Survey. Every fourth respondent rated this negatively.
Survey methodology
The Polish Entrepreneurship Survey was conducted in November 2023 among entrepreneurs. The study was carried out by SW Research using a mix-mode (CATI+CAWI) methodology with a group of 400 people (representatives of micro and small businesses). When answering the survey questions, respondents used a five-tier evaluation scale. Appropriate weights were assigned to each response variant – a weight of 1.0 for a very positive variant, a weight of 0.5 for a moderately positive variant, 0 for a neutral variant, a weight of -0.5 for a moderately negative variant, and a weight of -1.0 for a very negative variant.