When exporting goods from Poland that are transported or shipped outside the European Union, a preferential 0% VAT rate may apply. One of the conditions for using this rate is notification (form) IE-599. This form and the conditions for applying the preferential 0% VAT rate are discussed further in our article.

Exports of goods shipped or transported from Poland outside the European Union are subject to VAT. Exports of goods may be subject to a reduced rate of 0%, but this requires meeting certain conditions and obtaining documents confirming the export of the goods. One such document is the IE-599 notification.

For the supply of goods to be considered export, the following conditions must be met:

• the export of goods must commence from the territory of the Republic of Poland;
• documents confirming the export of goods must be available before the tax return filing deadline.

The export of goods from the territory of the Republic of Poland must be continuous in terms of transportation and movement of goods. The movement of goods to the territory of another EU member state outside the customs warehouse procedure will not be considered export of goods.

Types of documents confirming the export of goods, include:

• an electronic document obtained from the IT system used to process export declarations, or a printout of this document certified by the competent customs authority;
• an electronic document obtained from the IT system used to process export declarations outside of this system, provided its authenticity is ensured;
• an export declaration in written, registered paper form, submitted outside the IT system used to process export declarations, or a copy of it certified by the competent customs authority.

The EU and Poland operate the Export Control System (ECS), which processes export customs declarations. This electronic system generates customs messages regarding individual stages of goods customs clearance. For example:

• IE-515 message concerns the declaration of goods for export,
• IE-518 message concerns the results of the inspection conducted by the Export Customs Office,
• IE-529 message concerns the release of goods for export,
• IE-599 message concerns the confirmation of export clearance or refusal of export clearance.

The IE-599 message is electronically signed by the ECS system and is an XML file. Once generated, the IE-599 message is sent to the email address specified in the export declaration (IE-515).

The IE-599 notification can be received from another country, and the 0% VAT rate will still apply.

The key moment for classifying this transaction as an export of goods, for which the 0% rate is applicable, is the commencement of transportation from Poland. The fact that the country of export of the goods is another EU Member State is irrelevant. In this situation, the document confirming the export of the goods will be the IE-599 message, which contains a note indicating the competent customs office for export located in another EU Member State.

A similar situation arises in the case of indirect export, which we discussed in our article. VAT law permits the export of goods transported either by or on behalf of the supplier (direct export) or by or on behalf of a buyer located outside the country (indirect export). In the case of indirect export, that is, when transport is organized by a buyer in a third country or another legal entity acting on its behalf, it may in practice be possible for the goods to undergo customs clearance at a customs office located in an EU Member State other than Poland. In such a situation, the IE-599 notification will contain information about the competent customs office at the exit, located in another EU Member State.

The IE-599 notification may not always indicate the application of the 0% VAT rate. If the goods have not left EU territory and the B1 code is present, then the goods are not actually exported.

It is important to ensure consistency of the data contained in the IE-599 message, including the identification of the goods being exported, the names of suppliers and buyers, and the value of the export.

The following article provides detailed information on exporting goods, with relevant examples.

The link provides several related articles on the Polish entrepreneur portal.

Podstawa: art. 5 Ustawa z dnia 11.03.2025 r. o podatku od towarów i usług.