It was supposed to make life easier for companies, but it blocks transfers. KSeF causes new chaos in settlements

The problem that affects companies’ daily settlements is increasingly visible in the National e-Invoice System. This concerns the rapidly growing number of corrective invoices. The document cannot be corrected or edited in the system, so each error must be corrected separately. In practice, even a minor mistake ceases to be a simple technical change and turns into another accounting event.

This means more documents, longer information flow and additional burdens on both sides of the transaction. An incorrectly entered discount, an incorrect VAT rate, an error in the quantity of goods or a unit of measurement – each of these cases requires the issuance of a new correction invoice. The document must be processed by the system, sent to the recipient and linked to the original invoice.

KSeF corrective invoices extend settlements

Experts point out that such a mechanism extends the entire settlement cycle. Contractors, seeing inconsistencies, increasingly withhold payments until the data is fully clarified. One mistake does not result in a quick correction, but postpones the payment date even by many days, and sometimes weeks.

An additional problem is the lack of correction notes. Until February 1, 2026, the buyer could correct some minor formal errors himself, such as typos in the company name, address or other basic data. After the changes, each such error must be handled by the issuer in the form of a correction invoice, which significantly increases the number of documents in circulation.

KSeF corrective invoices increase the risk of hold-ups

According to experts, some of the problems also result from the limitations of the KSeF Taxpayer Application. The free tool does not verify the correctness of invoices, even in accounting terms, because it was assumed that such control would be ensured by commercial systems. In practice, this means that smaller taxpayers who use the application directly are more likely to make mistakes, which translates into further corrections.

There is also a risky practice of zeroing invoices and issuing them again. Experts emphasize, however, that such a solution is only permissible in certain cases, for example when the transaction did not take place or the document was issued with an incorrect NIP number. In case of formal errors, a simple data correction is enough, and zeroing may lead to tax problems.

KSeF corrective invoices change the meaning of the invoice

Experts also note that KSeF separates the tax order from the business order. A formally structured invoice only exists after it has been assigned a KSeF number, but this does not automatically mean an obligation to pay. The payment deadline still results from the contract between the parties, and not from the mere presence of the document in the system.

In practice, a situation may arise in which an invoice is correctly issued in KSeF, but the contractor still questions it due to errors in the data, price or transaction terms. Until everything is agreed, the money will not be transferred to the account. As a result, instead of accelerating the circulation of documents, KSeF is increasingly extending payments and increasing the risk of financial hold-ups.