Non-Union OSS, IOSS and SME: when an invoice cannot be issued voluntarily in KSeF

Non-Union OSS, IOSS and SME: no obligation does not mean a choice to use KSeF

In the cases described below, it is not simply that there is no obligation to issue an invoice in KSeF. It is also not possible to issue an invoice documenting these activities voluntarily in KSeF. This qualification appears in the Ministry of Finance information on the scope of mandatory KSeF.

Which activities does the exclusion cover?

The Ministry of Finance identifies exclusions concerning specific types of transactions, covering invoices issued by taxpayers using the following special procedures:

• Non-Union OSS — for activities covered by that procedure;
• IOSS import procedure — for activities covered by that procedure;
• The procedure for the provision of international occasional passenger transport services by road — for activities covered by that procedure.

It separately states that invoices documenting activities carried out by a taxpayer using the exemption referred to in Article 113a(1) of the VAT Act — the SME procedure are not issued in KSeF.

For all these cases, the source includes a decisive qualification: invoices documenting the specified activities cannot be issued voluntarily in KSeF. This exclusion should therefore not be read as allowing a choice to use KSeF despite the absence of an obligation.

Limits of this rule

The reference point is the activity documented by the invoice and the specified procedure. The rule described here should not automatically be extended to all activities of a particular business. The OSS discussion concerns non-Union OSS only — do not extend this conclusion to Union OSS.

This guide does not determine whether a particular transaction falls under a given procedure or whether a taxpayer is entitled to use a procedure or exemption.

Optional organizational checklist

To help organize your documentation, you can prepare a short note recording:

• which procedure is actually being used;
• which activity the invoice documents;
• which of the cases described above the note relates to.

This is solely an organizational recommendation, not an additional legal obligation or a way to confirm entitlement to a procedure or exemption.

Key takeaway

For invoices documenting the activities described under non-Union OSS, the IOSS import procedure, the special procedure for the provision of international occasional passenger transport services by road, and the specified activities of a taxpayer using the SME exemption, the absence of an obligation does not mean that the invoice can be issued voluntarily in KSeF.

Source: Ministry of Finance — Scope of mandatory KSeF.