Check the responses of PwC experts to your questions

The sales platform will be responsible for collecting VAT in respect of:

• distance sales of goods imported from outside the EU in consignments with a value of up to EUR 150

• supplies of goods B2C within the EU by suppliers from outside the EU.

The regulation introduces the presumption that in the above transactions it is the sales platform itself that received and delivered the goods, if it facilitated such a delivery.

In consequence, after accepting payment from the consumer, the platform is obliged to collect and pay VAT on the transaction. It is worth emphasizing that due to such 'legal fiction' of buying and selling goods to the consumer, the platform as a rule declares VAT on such sales accordingly as its own tax liability, and therefore this liabilty is not joint (for example in the event of the inability to enforce payment of the tax from the seller). Member States can regulate joint and several liability for VAT settlement of the platform and the underlying supplier of the goods – in this regard the regulations implementing the e-commerce package in particular member states should be analysed.

It is important to note that the liability of the intermediating platform will not be unlimited. If the platform duly proves that VAT underestimation or other errors in settlements result from incorrect information provided by the underlying seller, and that the platform did not know and could not have known that the data was incorrect, it will not be liable for VAT arrears and penalty interest. In such an instance the burden of the proof should lie on the platform.

Above all, the sellers should analyse the impact of the VAT e-commerce package on their business in details: the threshold, the countries to which the goods and services are sold B2C, the obligations regarding registration in the OSS system or in individual Member States, the impact of the new regulations on invoicing and keeping VAT records. At the same time, both settlements via VAT-OSS or, alternatively, registering in a particular EU Member State will involve the need to apply VAT rates that are binding in the consumer’s country. In order to fulfil such obligations it will be necessary to analyse the regulations of the Member States with regard to VAT rates and the related statistical classifications of various goods. These regulations frequently differ and refer to statistical and customs classifications, thus imposing an additional burden for entrepreneurs.

In this case the EU seller can use the One Stop Shop, but the sales threshold of EUR 10,000 will not apply. This means that the seller must decide to use the One Stop Shop or register in particular Member States for VAT purposes from the very first item sold.

In such a case, in order to benefit from the simplifications offered by the VAT e-commerce package, a seller from outside the EU should register under two special regimes at the same time:

• a non-EU scheme for the provision of B2C services – because sales of goods cannot be declared under this scheme;

• the EU scheme for sales of goods – because under this scheme only EU sellers are entitled to declare B2C services.

At the moment no digital tax has been introduced in Poland. The Government is currently awaiting for the jointly developed position of the EU and OECD. However, an audio-visual fee has been introduced amounting to 1.5% of the revenue earned from sharing streaming services.

There are multiple vendors offering data of different scope and quality. The safest option is to talk to an independent advisor which has a good understanding of data availability for particular markets.

It is possible but requires a statistical model that takes into account historical data (revenue) per store in different locations. The bigger the data sample the more accurate the estimation will be.

There are different options available, including “classic” econometric models and cutting-edge Machine Learning algorithms. Depending on the use case different techniques may be applicable, from regression through elastic net to random forest and others.

Yes, in the majority of the cases there is a possibility to get the same level of granularity and data quality for different countries.

No! When designed properly the geostatistical engine can work in synergy with all existing geospatial platforms (with small exceptions).

Depending on the quality of the data the accuracy of geostatistical models for site selection can estimate revenue with 5-20% accuracy.

The geospatial tools are not meant to replace the knowledge of the team only to expand it. Such tools also allow you to store the knowledge of your employees in the form of a geospatial database which can be accessible to many users.

Artificial intelligence cannot replace FTEs. It is designed to reduce the workload giving your employees more space for fieldwork and improving their efficiency. It is a tool that your team needs to learn how to utilize for their benefit.

YES – according to the information presented so far, projects consisting of automating warehouse processes will qualify for a robotization relief because the robotization relief is to make it possible to make an additional deduction of the costs of investments related to the robotization of a company. It will be crucial to verify whether the individual fixed assets purchased will fall within the definition of robots allowed for additional deductions.

It is worth looking at the IT team’s competences in an organization and its achievements to date. If the organization has never developed its own software, the IT team has not built, e.g. the company’s website, has not implemented solutions such as an eCommerce platform, CRM, Marketing Automation, etc. on its own, acquiring the necessary, internal competences in native mobile applications may be burdened with increased risk and may be long-lasting. A safer solution would be to cooperate closely with a software house specializing in creating, maintaining and developing mobile applications.

If we have manufactured a mobile application, we have several channels for promoting it at our disposal – starting from cost-free own media, i.e. a website, an e-mail marketing base/SMS, call center/CRM, point of sale or customer service employees, to paid channels – traditional, analogue ones, i.e. outdoor, the press, TV, and digital ones – independent mobile advertising networks, digital platforms, i.e. Facebook, advertisements in the app stores themselves – Apple, Google. Depending on the medium, various forms of billing will be available – from payments for a campaign’s reach to payments for results, e.g. clicking on an ad, downloading an application, customer acquisition/re-engagement, selling a product, etc.

A potential trend worth considering in the process of digital transformation, apart from the development of ERP systems is the so-called small automation that is relatively easy to implement and is a much cheaper investment than the development of ERP systems. Small automation makes use of, e.g., ETL tools which make it possible to take processes over from employees, for example with regards to information processing, the processing of data obtained from various sources in order to prepare data for further analysis. Such mechanisms usually make it possible to automate individual tasks whose scale, however, is quite large, therefore, measurable effects can also be observed during the automation of such components in financial areas.

Due to the high level of detail of reported data and the shorter time, e.g., for correcting reports once they are filed (14 days for correcting JPK [SAF] V7), on-going access to reportable information is becoming increasingly important. The breakthrough will certainly be e-invoicing which, in our opinion, will shape and accelerate the implementation of the most effective processes and highly advanced technology as well as full data integration to process retail data for tax purposes on an ongoing basis rather than only at the end of the month.

Three things are particularly important in this regard:

• The tool – i.e. the selection of an appropriate, safe technology adapted to the structure and practices on the real estate market and in lease agreements

• lease management expertise – i.e. competently drawing the necessary information from the lease agreements to the tool referred to above in order to perform an in-depth analysis of the data in the agreements, maintaining it on an ongoing basis and monitoring critical aspects of the lease agreements.

• Experts – i.e. an appropriate team of people with extensive knowledge of lease management processes from the business and legal perspective. 

Above all, the worst case scenario of what we, as the Tenant, may encounter, should be analysed.

• In this respect we should start by calculating the overall potential liability which we could incur if all the contractual penalties to which the Landlord is entitled are imposed. 

• The next step is to compare this amount to the current monthly liability following from the lease agreement, also taking into account Turnover Rent if the agreement so indicates.

• By comparing the amounts above, the difference between the levels of these two types of financial liabilities should be determined in order to potentially renegotiate the terms with the Landlord. This difference will also show both parties the level of financial disparity/asymmetry under the terms of the agreement. Acting as the Tenant, it is worth asking the Landlord the following question “Would you, as a Tenant, sign such an agreement with such disproportionate terms and thereby expose your firm to such a high level of potential financial liabilities?”

We recommend that you verify in advance whether there are general rules of internal cooperation in place in your company, aimed at the timely and transparent transfer of data at the request of the tax authority, as well as rules of cooperation and communication with the auditors during a National Revenue Administration (KAS) audit, and whether they are applied.

Having up-to-date procedures in place may significantly limit the risk of improper conduct during an audit; the goal is to protect the company’s interests and its employees by ensuring the proper course of the audit and to increase employees’ awareness of the binding legal regulations. Our experience to-date shows that such mechanisms are one of the elements of an effective system for preventing criminal and tax penal risks which may arise due to inappropriate preparation for unannounced tax audits.

The most interesting sources are:

• intent to purchase, context – changes in customer behaviour suggesting the intention to buy a product (AIDA – Attention Interest Desire Action) i.e. finding oneself at the top of the purchase funnel

• transaction data – which allows the building of knowledge about shopping habits, portfolio value, the size of the purchase window, frequency of transactions, preferences relating to goods (e.g. sizes, colours, textures), or services, complementary or mutually exclusive products, etc.

• geolocation information – used among other things to determine the budget or costs of delivery and returns

• demography – i.e. the composition of a household, age, gender

• behaviour – this allows segmentation into e.g. groups of people more likely to make decisions based on price than convenience, often returning goods, buying in instalments, “just looking”, etc. 

• devices – e.g. use of more expensive solutions, i.e. Apple suggests an appropriate disposable budget

It is the employer who specifies the place of work and working hours. As a rule, an employee must comply with the employer’s decision in this respect. Currently, it is only if the possibility of working in the office or commuting is restricted because of sanitary regulations that the employer may be officially forced to implement this model of work. Nevertheless, it is worth emphasizing that in recent months a veritable revolution has taken place in the mentality of both employees and employers. The flexibility connected with the home office model of work, which until only recently seemed unimaginable, has become the new reality. Undoubtedly, the option of applying such a model of work, even if temporarily, will be one of the expectations of new candidates for jobs. It may also mean the expansion of the labour market and that more people who have to care for children or sick family members will have a chance to get a job.

According to the guidelines of the Ministry of Finance, verification should be carried out ‘regularly’. However, the guidelines do not specify how frequently the counterparties should be verified. Although monthly verification may be difficult in practice, we recommend carrying out the verification at least once every quarter / six months – depending on the number of counterparties.

All actions should be documented so that the results of the verification could be shown in the event of a potential audit.

Moreover, it is important to archive the documentation in a way that enables the fast identification and submission of data confirming that a given counterparty was verified in a given period.

The fine is calculated on the basis of a detailed formula contained in the Act, based on the rate of interest for late payments, the value of the late payment and the delay period counted in days. The fine is calculated individually for each late payment.

No. The Act provides for the possibility to waive the imposition of a fine where the balance of payments not received on time in the period under review is higher than the balance of payments not made on time, where delays are caused by force majeure or in other particularly justified cases.

The Act also provides for a mechanism for reducing the fine by a certain percentage if the overdue amounts are paid (with interest) before the proceedings are initiated, or a debtor pays the fine on time and waives the right to have the case re-examined by the UOKIK President.

The first step in analysing the potential for digitization should be to analyse the current maturity of operations and processes. This will allow you to identify and plan steps to improve the efficiency gap, thereby identifying the potential for improvement through focused digital capabilities. You can analyse your current operating model yourself or with the support of business analysts or a consultant.

The level of digital maturity of the organization systems that are already in place are important factors to consider, since ultimately, all systems should form an efficient and effective ecosystem. It is crucial to have basic management systems (such as TMS, WMS) as well as a data management system.