Dear Clients,
We would like to inform you that as of February 1st, 2024, the so-called Central Excise Product Register (CEWA) will become effective, with the result that excise tax records and other documentation referred to in Articles 138a-138l and 138o will mandatory have to be kept in electronic form. This is another ICT system being introduced by the Ministry of Finance, introduced by the Project Act January 31st, 2023, amending certain laws to reduce irregularities in the trade of certain goods and improve the functioning of the National Tax Administration (UD325) (hereinafter: “Project”).
Such evidence should be kept by, among others, entities that professionally produce electricity from renewable energy even if they do not effectively pay excise taxes.
What is CEWA and what is the purpose of its introduction?
CEWA is an IT central system that is a data set of excise records of all entities. The premise of the system is to allow tax authorities to access current information on activities carried out through excise goods, which should be subject to records. The transformation is intended to enable the transition from paper records and documentation to electronic records in one central information and communication system – CEWA. The proposed system is intended to reduce the financial and administrative burden on businesses, as well as simplify record-keeping and documentation obligations.
Electronic records
Under the current Article 138p (1) of the Excise Tax Act (hereinafter: “u.p.a.”), records and other documentation, shall be kept in paper or electronic form. As part of the aforementioned Project amendments – the content of this provision is to be amended so that instead of the word “paper or electronic” the provisions “kept and stored using the CEWA information and communication system” will be introduced.
Therefore, this identifies a new obligation to entrepreneurs, i.e., to keep the records referred to in Articles 138a-138l (records of excise goods and records of non-excise goods) and Article 138o (documentation of activities in the production of beer, wine, fermented beverages or intermediate products) of the u.p.a. in a uniform XML format.
Going by the proposed changes, CEWA will thus cover records of, i.a.:
- tax warehouses;
- intermediate entities;
- consuming entities;
- taxpayers consuming produced electricity;
- intermediate coal and gas entities;
- shipping entities;
- entities making intra-community acquisitions of excise goods outside the excise duty suspension regime;
- entities producing, trading and consuming ethyl alcohol.
What steps should an obligated entrepreneur take?
Entities carrying out excise activities only to a limited extent (i.e., a small number of entries) may find it sufficient to fill out CEWA in online form. However, entities performing a large number of activities recorded in records and books will have to fulfill more obligations, i.e. not only prepare the entity’s profile in CEWA, but also take comprehensive technological measures to develop the correct method.
Therefore, the entrepreneur should prepare in advance the requirements for reports from the systems (in order to properly prepare a file in XML format) in accordance with the scheme and taking into account the specifics of the business, including developing and testing solutions and implementing them in the company’s structures.
Data entered into the records will be kept in CEWA for a period of 5 years counting from the end of the calendar year in which they were entered.
Advicero support
In connection with the entry of the CEWA system, we offer you support throughout the entire record-keeping process and set out the steps for proper operation. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.