As of September 2019, a new list of VAT payers is available, the so-called white list. On the one hand, it is a tool that makes it easier for entrepreneurs to verify their contractors, but on the other hand, they have been forced to verify suppliers’ bank accounts by introducing sanctions for a transfer to a bank account not listed on the “white list” from 1 January 2020. The verification of contractors on the “white list” is an important element supporting the due diligence procedure, which is significant from the point of view of defending the right to deduct VAT in cases where a fraud occurred in the supply chain, although the taxpayer itself did not knowingly participate in it, and it did not know and – while exercising due diligence – could not know that it had participated in a transaction related to VAT fraud.
Due diligence procedures related to VAT are an important element of managing tax risk in a company, but also limiting the tax risk of tax persons responsible for tax settlements.
