Invoice date – what do the regulations say?
According to current regulations, the VAT invoice should be issued no later than the 15th. day of the month following the month in which the goods were sold or the service was rendered. For example, if the sale took place on January 20, the invoice should be issued no later than February 15.
This rule also applies to advance invoices, as well as those issued to non-business individuals. However, it should be noted that in the second case the invoice can be issued only at the request of the customer.
Invoice date – exceptions
Of course, there are exceptions that justify issuing an invoice on a different date – all of them are listed in the Value Added Tax Law. It says that a VAT invoice must be issued no later than:
- 30th day from the date of performance of services – in the case of construction and construction and repair services;
- 60th day from the date of delivery of the goods – in the case of delivery of printed books and printed newspapers, magazines and periodicals, excluding maps and pamphlets;
- The 90th day from the day of the activity – in the case of activities involving the printing of books and newspapers, magazines and periodicals, excluding maps and leaflets;
- With the expiration of the payment deadline – in the case of the supply of electricity, heat or refrigeration and line gas, as well as the provision of services:
- telecommunications;
- rental, lease, leasing or services of a similar nature;
- Protection of persons and security services, guarding and storage of property;
- permanent legal and office services;
- distribution of electricity, heat or refrigeration, and line gas.
Note, however, that in the vast majority of cases the rule is that the invoice must be issued by the 15th. day following the month when the transaction was made.
One more issue remains to be clarified – when is the earliest that an invoice can be issued? Again, the answer to this question can be found in the VAT Law, specifically in Art. 106i. An entrepreneur cannot issue a VAT invoice earlier than 60. day before:
- making delivery of goods;
- performance of the service;
- receipt of all or part of the payment before the delivery of goods, or performance of services
Date of sale on an invoice – what do you need to know?
The date of sale on the invoice refers to the day on which the sale was made, the goods were delivered or the service was performed. Terms such as date of delivery or date of service are used here.
According to Art. 106e of the VAT Law, the date of sale is one of the information that should be included on the invoice. However, this does not apply to situations where the date of sale is the same as the date of the invoice – in such a situation, it is not necessary to include information about the date of sale on the document (legal basis: Article 106e paragraph 1 point 6 of the VAT Act). Of course, putting the date of sale in such a situation is not a mistake.
The moment when the tax obligation arises
Issues related to the inclusion of the date of sale and the date of invoice primarily affect the moment when tax liability arises. The first and foremost important thing here is to determine the moment when the income arises. From Art. 14 paragraph. 1c of the PIT Law stipulates that the date on which the income referred to in para. 1, shall be considered, subject to paragraph. 1e, 1h-1j and 1n-1p, the date on which the property was delivered, the property right was disposed of, or the service was performed, or the service was partially performed, not later than the date:
- issue an invoice or
- payment of dues.
The exception to this is continuous services, i.e., those that are performed during specific billing periods. Then it is assumed that the date of sale is the last day of the accounting period in question. It could be a quarter, for example. If the company performs a recurring order, the last day of the quarter in which the sale or service is performed is considered the moment when revenue is generated.
Date of sale versus date of invoice – summary
As you can see, the issue of the date of sale and the date of invoice raises many questions. In most cases, it is perfectly sufficient to know that the invoice must be issued by the 15th. the day of the month following the month in which the service was performed or the sale was made – possible exceptions are described above, so unless you are running a construction company, printing books or distributing energy, in 99% of cases this deadline should be adhered to.
It is also worth remembering that if the date of sale is the same as the invoice date, you do not need to include it in the document. If, on the other hand, these dates are different, information about the date of sale must be included on the invoice. This is because it is important for determining the moment when the income arises, and thus the tax liability.
