During the course of business, it sometimes happens that an invoice is issued with incorrect data. The reason for this is usually an oversight by an employee or a mistake by the financial and accounting programme responsible for entering the information. For the entrepreneur, such a mistake can be very costly, so it is worth knowing what to do in such a situation. 
The law in force in Poland clearly stipulates that in the case of committing a fiscal offence, a company may be charged with a fine. It is imposed in so-called 'daily rates', applicable from PLN 10 to 720, whereby a daily rate may not be less than one thirtieth of the minimum wage, nor may it exceed four hundred times this amount.
In practice, this means that a company can receive a fine of up to 180 daily rates for incorrectly issuing an invoice. In the case of issuing a false invoice - this reaches up to 240 rates. The current legislation therefore provides a fair warning to entrepreneurs against committing fiscal offences. However, there are situations in which an incorrect invoice is issued by mistake. What should then be done?
How can an incorrect invoice be corrected?
According to the law, a wrongly issued invoice can be corrected in two ways: by means of a correcting invoice and a correcting note. The difference between these forms mainly concerns the person authorised to issue the document in question.
Corrective invoice
Only the seller can issue a correcting invoice. This option is available when the erroneous document has already entered legal circulation - that is, it has been handed over to the buyer. The cases indicated in the VAT Act where it is possible to issue a correcting invoice concern situations where, after the original invoice has been issued:
- a price reduction (rebate) was granted,
- the taxpayer has received the return of goods and packaging,
- the purchaser has been refunded all or part of the payment,
- the price was changed to a higher one,
- an error was noted in the price, rate, amount of tax or any other item on the invoice.
When issuing a correcting invoice, the form in which it is prepared also becomes important, as it must contain specific elements specified in the VAT Act. First and foremost, the naming of the document is important, and the word 'correction' or 'correcting invoice' must be present. The date of issue and the invoice number are also very important.
The correcting invoice must reproduce all the data that appeared in its original form, including the place to be corrected. The document must also contain the reason for the corrections made.
Correction note
The purchaser of goods or services also has the right to correct errors on the invoice. A correcting note is created for this purpose. It can be issued when the mistake is related to:
- date of invoice,
- personal data of the seller or the buyer (including typos),
- the VAT number of both taxpayers,
- the name of the goods/services purchased,
- the date of purchase/performance of the service.
Importantly, any changes can only be made by the purchaser if the person responsible for issuing the original invoice accepts the correction. A well-prepared document must include the phrase 'correction note' in its name, as well as have a separate number with a specific date of issue.
Furthermore, the note must also contain the personal details (including the VAT number) of both the purchaser and the taxpayer. It is important to indicate the content to be corrected and to present the correct information in the document.
Cancellation of an invoice issued
The function of an invoice is to document the actual course of an economic event. The issuing of such a document does not only involve drawing it up and printing it out, as it acquires legal force the moment it is entered into legal circulation, i.e. handed over to the purchaser.
Before taking this final step, it is a good idea to carefully check the details on the document, as until the invoice is entered into legal circulation, the entrepreneur still has the possibility to cancel an erroneous receipt without suffering any consequences. The issue of cancellation of invoices is not regulated by the VAT Act. Nevertheless, the tax authorities allow such an action to be carried out, emphasising, however, that the taxpayer may use this privilege only in exceptional situations and circumstances.
A cancelled invoice should be retained in the tax records, after being marked with an appropriate note explaining why the document was cancelled. However, such a document should not be entered in the general records or shown on the VAT return. It is also important that both the original and a copy of the invoice in question are included in the company's paperwork.
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