It is worth discussing an enquiry from an overseas customer with your accountants before agreeing the final price and issuing a document. The customer's country alone does not determine the tax treatment. Relevant factors include the type of sale, the buyer's status and where and how the transaction will take place.
Introduce the customer and their role in the transaction
Collect the customer's name, address, country and any tax details they have provided. Explain whether the buyer is a business or an individual, and who actually places the order, receives the goods or services and pays for them. If a platform or intermediary is involved in the sale, explain its role. Provide the details for the agreed checks rather than drawing your own conclusions from the language of a website or an email address. The country of the bank account is no substitute for information about the buyer either. If any details are unclear, clarify them with the customer before agreeing the documents.
Describe the goods or services precisely
For a service, explain what the work involves, whom it is for and where it will be carried out. Also describe any connection to a particular property, event or other location. For goods, state their type, location and planned delivery route. Determining the place of supply for VAT involves both general rules and exceptions, so a broad description such as 'a service for an overseas customer' is not enough. A draft order or contract showing the actual scope of your commitment will help.
Explain how delivery and acceptance will work
If you are shipping goods, explain where they will travel from and to, who will arrange transport and what proof of delivery you will receive. Flag any storage outside Poland, collection by the customer or delivery directly from another seller. For services, discuss how completion will be confirmed, for example through acceptance of a project stage or confirmation of work for an agreed period. Do not wait until the sale is complete to choose the documents. Ask your accountants in advance which information they will need to assess and record the transaction as it will actually take place.
Discuss the price, currency and required formalities
Provide the proposed price and explain whether payment will be made in full, in advance or in stages. Specify the currency, payment method, expected fees and any deductions. Before issuing the document, agree with your accountants the VAT treatment, the required invoice details and whether any additional registrations or notifications are needed. VAT-UE registration alone does not cover every possible obligation connected with international sales. For a more complex arrangement, agree the scope of support and whether further advice relating to the particular country may be needed.
Agree a standard set of documents for future transactions
After discussing the first case, record which documents you will send to your accountants: the sales document, order, proof of completion or delivery, payment record and the intermediary's statement, where one is involved. Agree how to report returns and corrections. For the next customer, check whether the circumstances really are the same. A change of country, buyer status, warehouse or how a service is provided may call for another conversation. Treat the existing arrangements as a record of a particular sales model, rather than a ready-made template for every international transaction.
Bring with you
A short checklist to prepare
- Customer details and information about who is actually buying
- A precise description of the goods or services
- The place of performance, transport route and acceptance arrangements
- The price, currency, payments and role of any intermediaries
- Agreed documents, formalities and scope of support