In the practice of our accounting office in Warsaw, we encounter problems that are addressed to us by new clients looking for professional accounting services in Warsaw, related to the failure to issue or refusal to issue accounting documentation by persons dealing with the provision of accounting services. Such a situation occurs for various reasons, but this article does not mention them. You can only state here that sometimes it is the fault of the client of the accounting office (the accounting office refrains from issuing such documentation due to the lack of payment for the accounting services provided), while sometimes the reason lies with the accountant or the accounting office.

What should the client do in this case? After all, taking over the bookkeeping by a new accountant or an accounting office without access to accounting documentation is in many cases almost impossible (in the case of accounting books) or at least very difficult.

It should be pointed out here that the responsibility of the accounting office (bookkeeping office) or the accountant who independently provides accounting services is to issue accounting documents at the request of the client. Failure to pay for accounting services does not release the accounting office from the obligation to issue accounting documentation. Receivables for the provided accounting services may be claimed by the accounting office in a civil manner, it is not entitled to retain these documents until the customer pays the amount due, regardless of how the contract for the provision of accounting services in this regard is formulated. The issuance of accounting documentation is not an entitlement dependent on good cooperation, but an obligation. Failure to issue such documentation exposes the client to serious fiscal consequences (difficulty in continuing keeping e.g. accounting books), making proper settlements with the Tax Office, and, consequently, material and even penal fiscal liability.

Failure to issue accounting documentation by an accounting office (accountant) is the basis for the civil law liability of such an office towards the client, as well as it may exemplify the features of a prohibited act stipulated in art. 276 of the Penal Code.

It is worth quoting at this point one of the rulings of the Supreme Court of August 9, 2000 in the case with reference number. V KKN 208/00, according to which “Denying the possession of a document and detaining it in undetermined conditions and not delivering it, despite the request of the authorized person, may be treated as concealing a document within the meaning of Art. 276 of the Penal Code “

In this case (failure to issue, refusal to issue accounting documentation, making the issue of accounting documentation conditional on payment for accounting services), in addition to civil law requests that can be addressed to such an accounting office (accountant), it is also possible to notify law enforcement authorities of suspected crime by persons responsible for running an accounting office (an accounting office, an accountant who independently provides accounting services) pursuant to art. 276 of the Penal Code.