Since May 1 of this year, the day of our country's accession to the EU, most of the provisions of the new VAT law have been in force. This is the most important piece of legislation for a large group of entrepreneurs. The entry into force of its provisions has resulted in a radical change in taxpayers' attitudes to the way VAT is accounted for and paid. This is because the Polish VAT system has become an integral part of the European settlement system. The law is very complicated and its practical application may cause difficulties for taxpayers. New obligations have appeared in it, and the legislator has not given much time to get acquainted with its provisions and thus adapt to the new requirements . In the series " VAT in 2004", the second part of which we have just presented, we discuss in detail the new solutions in this area.

The first part discusses activities related to the mere fact of the new law's entry into force, includes information on the EU legal order and new rights of Polish taxpayers related to it. The registration activities required for each category of taxpayer are approximated. Both the subject and object of taxation are described, as well as the rules for making tax settlements and tax refunds.

In the second part, we point out the tax base, VAT rates, place of supply of services, intra-Community transactions, triangular transactions, consignment sales, new means of transportation, taxation upon liquidation of business, taxpayer base and the VIES system. We discuss tax documentation in detail ( including: tax declarations, quarterly summary information, VAT invoices, records, cash registers and deadlines for keeping documents). We also briefly discuss special procedures.