The tax office has received reports on internet transactions and is sending summons to people who sell on Allegro, Vinted, or OLX. It is looking for those who conduct unregistered activities. Those selling their old clothes or books need not worry, writes "Rzeczpospolita"
A reader of "Rzeczpospolita" received a request to submit a correction to his tax declaration. Tax authorities discovered that the man was selling online.
Recently, the tax authorities have intensified checks on taxpayers included in reports submitted by online platforms such as Allegro, OLX, or Vinted, in connection with the regulations implementing the EU directive DAC7, Monika Piątkowska, a tax consultant at fillup, told "Rzeczpospolita"
The EU directive DAC7 will be in effect in Poland from July 1, 2024. Under this directive, platforms such as Allegro, OLX, or Vinted are required to submit tax reports on transactions of sellers who exceed the legally established limits — making more than 30 sales or whose total exceeds 2000 euros
However, this does not mean that such individuals will automatically have to pay tax. If they sold items they had owned for at least six months, and the resale price was lower than the purchase price, there is no tax to pay — as there has been no enrichment.
Problems may arise for those who work in the gray area, and there are quite a few such people on Vinted. Some sellers resell products ordered from Chinese platforms at a higher price, while others sell clothing from second-hand stores.
— If you sell 30 identical pairs of shoes or 30 copies of the same book in a year, it will be difficult to convince the tax office that you are simply getting rid of personal property. However, those who, although they exceeded the limits, sold old personal items — for example, clothes they have outgrown or books they have already read — should not fear a visit from the tax office, explains Piontkowska.
Another interlocutor of "Rz", Piotr Juszycki, a tax consultant at inFakt, reminds that the tax office has previously checked trading platforms and the most active users. "Now everything is clear to them," he noted
According to experts, people working "under the table" have reasons to be concerned. As Yushitsky points out, the tax office may, for example, discover that the seller was supposed to pay VAT (if they were not entitled to an exemption), and may also impose a fine on them, after which ZUS (Zakład Ubezpieczeń Społecznych) may get involved with a demand for payment of outstanding contributions.
“The consequences can be dire,” notes Piątkowska, pointing out that the tax office will calculate PIT based on income, that is, revenue minus expenses. In her opinion, if there were no receipts for purchases that would allow expenses to be accounted for, such income may turn out to be very high. “As a result, there will be a significant debt along with interest,” said the expert.
Online sales under the tax office's scrutiny: summons are already being sent
