Legal regulations specific to Poland during SAP rollouts

SAP is a multi-language system, and the Polish version is also available as a standard. This means that every company in the world can use the Polish version of SAP. However, we are not only talking about the service language, but rather adapting processes to laws that are specific to Poland. The chosen SAP functionalities must be configured (introduced) according to these laws.

This requires awareness of the fact that such a necessity exists. Moreover, people who know how to map the local specificity in the SAP system should be involved in the implementation. Consultants from the corporation’s headquarters do not usually possess such knowledge, as they develop corporate solutions and then introduce them in the various countries.

Of course, specific local laws exist in every country. Nonetheless, the Polish legal and tax system is one of the most complex, with a large number of specific regulations regarding reporting to government institutions. The differences concern not only taxation laws, but also several other, less obvious areas.

One example of a regulatory requirement specific to the Polish legal framework is the Standard Audit File. A similar reporting obligation exists in many countries; however, due to differences in tax regulations, solutions implemented in the corporation’s central SAP system cannot be applied in Poland. As a company operating under local law, the Polish branch must report according to the structures required by the Polish Ministry of Finance.

The introduction of the SAF reporting obligation in 2016 clearly illustrates how, despite best intentions, it can sometimes be difficult to remain fully compliant with legislation. The Ministry of Finance gave companies just three months to prepare for the obligation to generate the Single Control File. The clock started ticking, and companies began looking for solutions that would help adjust corporate integrated systems, including SAP, to new requirements. The challenge was considerable, and the situation was made even more difficult by the fact that the final file formats were published at the last minute.

The situation repeated itself in early 2020, when the Ministry of Finance announced far-reaching changes to the SAF structure and, following the announcement of the final version of the JPK_VAT schemas, companies were given less than two months to finalize their work. Ultimately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the effective date of the new schema was postponed, but even so, there was still very little time left.

In 2024, the Ministry of Finance imposed an additional annual SAF reporting obligation using the new SAF structures for CIT (JPK_PD): JPK_KR_PD and JPK_ST_KR. It can be expected that these will not be the last changes to SAF. And each of them will require adjustments in SAP.

We are currently witnessing a similar situation with the introduction of electronic invoicing and the National e-Invoicing System (KSeF). In this case, the tax authorities have already postponed the mandatory KSeF implementation date several times. Initially, it was scheduled for 2023. Currently, the effective dates are February 1, 2026, for companies with sales exceeding PLN 200 million in 2025 and April 1, 2026, for all other businesses. At the same time, changes, adjustments, and new logical structures continues to be introduced to the KSeF.

This uncertainty does not promote business stability, and nearly every change to reporting obligations requires modifications to the SAP system configuration.

SAF and KSeF are just two of a long list of Poland-specific legal requirements that need to be taken into account when implementing SAP in the Polish branch of a corporation. At All For One Poland, we have identified more than 50 necessary changes and adjustments to the system across four key areas: Finance, Sales and Distribution, Materials Management and HR.

In many of those processes, we adapt the corporate SAP system to the Polish legal specifics in this area. We determine the detailed scope of adaptation during the analysis with our experts. In the analysis, we will take into account the individual needs of the organization.

In addition, we have a wide range of All for One SAP Add-ons. There are ready-made add-ons to SAP, which allow you to adjust your corporate SAP system to the current legal regulations in Poland.

Among over 40 solutions in this portfolio are also the All for One JPK and All for One KSeF products, which address the challenges described above. Other finance-related solutions include All for One Partner Checker (the VAT taxpayers’ white list) and All for One Split Payment. In human capital management, we offer All for One E-Deklaracje (generation of documents sent electronically to the Ministry of Finance), All for One Employee Personnel Files and All for One PPK (Employee Capital Plans).

With these solutions, our customers can adapt faster to reporting requirements and are guaranteed that modified processes comply with legislation and are well integrated with the SAP corporate standard. In addition, as part of the maintenance services, we provide for most products, we provide updates that incorporate all changes and new legal requirements.

Starting in March 2025, SAP also delivers the SAP Document and Reporting Compliance (SAP DRC) solution, which helps companies manage and comply with global requirements for electronic invoicing and statutory reporting.

It enables the creation, processing, and management of electronic documents, ensuring compliance with legal and regulatory requirements. SAP DRC integrates with SAP systems like ECC and S/4HANA, allowing for data exchange and automation.

The solution supports KSeF (for SAP ECC and S/4HANA system versions) as well as SAF (for S/4HANA only).

For SAF, the solution supports three reports:

• JPK_VAT,
• JPK_KR_PD,
• JKP_ST_KR.

The remaining reports are scheduled to be delivered within this year. So is the submission option. Currently, the solution requires configuration based on SAP Best Practices.

All for One Poland supports Polish branches of international companies using SAP in adapting their systems to Polish legal requirements. In companies that are just planning SAP rollout projects to Poland, knowledge of the legal specifics is very important.

Engaging a local company for the SAP rollout in Poland will help address these problems. Depending on the needs, the support may concern areas:

• fit & gap analysis,
• management of rollout project,
• performance of the entire or selected scope of implementation work,
• ensuring SAP compliance with local laws,
• • coordination of cooperation of all involved parties, including subcontractors,
• SAP training.

In an international SAP project such as a rollout from a foreign headquarters to Poland, translations take place not only between Polish and the language of the corporation (usually English or German). They also involve the SAP system language and the language of the business. A business that operates locally in a completely different legal environment.