Guides / IE599 proof of export · Updated 19 October 2026

IE599 document: Polish proof of export and what to do if it is missing

The IE599 document is the electronic exit confirmation a Polish exporter receives once goods have left the EU. It is the standard evidence for charging 0% VAT on a sale to a UK customer. This guide explains what the IE599 is, why it sometimes never arrives, and how alternative evidence and the VAT Act's deadlines work when it is missing.

This guide is also available in Polish.

What the IE599 document is

When goods leave the EU, the export is handled in two places. The European Commission describes the export declaration being lodged electronically through the Automated Export System (AES) at the customs office of export, and the goods then being presented at the customs office of exit, the office where they physically leave the Union. Where those two offices are different, the office of exit tells the office of export that the goods have gone.

The IE599 is the message that closes that loop for the exporter. Polish customs' AES instruction for traders, published on podatki.gov.pl, defines IE599 as the message confirming the exit of the goods, sent by the office of export to the exporter or declarant. It contains the declaration data as at release, plus information that exit was confirmed or that the goods were stopped at the border.

IE599 or CC599C?

Poland now runs the export system as AES/ECS2 PLUS. In its current instruction for traders, published on PUESC, the exit confirmation is the CC599C message: it carries the declaration data from release, the date of exit (or of detention at the border) and other information from the office of exit, including any change of that office. Traders, carriers and accountants still widely say "IE599", and in practice they mean this confirmation. If your software or agent shows CC599C, that is the document you are looking for.

Why the IE599 matters for 0% VAT in Poland

For a Polish seller, a sale to a customer in Great Britain is an export of goods for VAT. Article 41(6) of the Polish VAT Act allows the 0% rate only if, before the deadline for the VAT return for the period, the taxpayer has received a document confirming that the goods left the EU. Article 41(6a) lists such documents "in particular", starting with the electronic document received from the export declaration system, or a printout of it confirmed by customs. That is the IE599.

The Act also builds in a safety margin:

One extra period (art. 41(7)). If the document has not arrived in time, the supply is not shown in that period but in the next one, still at 0%, provided the document arrives before the deadline for that next return. If it still has not arrived, the rates for a domestic supply of the goods apply.
A customs document is required for the extra period (art. 41(8)). The deferral works only if the taxpayer holds a customs document confirming the export procedure.
Later correction (art. 41(9)). If the confirmation arrives even later, the output VAT can be corrected in the period in which it is received.
Indirect export (art. 41(11)). Where the goods are exported by a buyer established outside Poland, or on the buyer's behalf, the document must show that the goods sold are the goods exported.

Payments received before delivery follow their own rule in art. 41(9a): 0% applies to the prepayment if the goods are exported, and the document received, within six months from the end of the month in which the payment arrived.

Why the confirmation does not arrive

A missing IE599 almost always means the export operation is still open in AES: the office of export has not received exit results from the office of exit. For lorries heading to Britain, the exit office is usually at the EU port or terminal where the vehicle leaves, which is often outside Poland. The confirmation can stall if the goods were not presented there with the export MRN, if they left through a different office from the one declared, or if the data does not let customs match the declaration to the departure. Our guide to the Polish export declaration in AES explains the two-office set-up in more detail.

The enquiry procedure

PUESC's AES/ECS2 PLUS instruction says that where the system has no information on exit, customs handle the case under Article 335 of the Union Customs Code Implementing Regulation:

After a set time, the system sends the declarant an enquiry about the unfinished export (CC582C, formerly IE582) asking where and when the goods left.
The declarant replies with CC583C (formerly IE583) without delay. The reply can give the status of the export or details of alternative documents, and it can be sent before any enquiry arrives. A written reply is also accepted.
A missing reply alone cannot be the basis for invalidating the declaration. Between day 91 and day 150 after release, customs may send the enquiry again.

Alternative proof of export

If the exporter brings alternative evidence to the office of export and customs find it credible, the office confirms exit in the system and the confirmation is generated manually. The instruction says alternative evidence can be anything that helps clarify the case and is lawful. Its examples include information from the system, an export accompanying document stamped by the office of exit, port system records such as a manifest, a customs declaration in the third country and a CMR confirmed by the consignee there. Article 335(4) adds an open list: a delivery confirmation signed by the non-EU consignee, proof of payment, an invoice, proof of delivery, a document signed by the business that took the goods out of the EU, and a document processed by customs in a Member State or third country.

For UK shipments, the UK side can supply useful evidence: the British import declaration, the haulier's crossing records and a CMR signed by the British customer. The PUESC instruction is clear on one point that helps many exporters: not producing the third-country customs declaration cannot on its own be grounds for refusing alternative confirmation, because the exporter is not a party to it and may not be able to obtain it. Customs assess all the evidence together and, where in doubt, may ask for documents from different parties.

The 150-day clock runs separately from the VAT deadlines. Under the instruction, the office of export may invalidate the declaration if, within 150 days of release, it has received neither exit information nor alternative evidence. Evidence received after 150 days must still be assessed. The VAT deadlines in art. 41 are usually much shorter, so act within the first VAT period.

For a practitioner's checklist of which documents to collect, see the customs agency guide on alternative proof of export when IE599 is missing.

Step-by-step if the IE599 is missing

Check the status of the export in AES, or with your agent, using the MRN.
Confirm with the haulier where and when the goods actually left the EU.
Collect the signed CMR, ferry or tunnel records, the UK import declaration if available, the invoice and proof of payment.
Submit them to the office of export, or reply to the CC582C enquiry with CC583C.
Agree with your accountant whether to use the extra period under art. 41(7) or a later correction under art. 41(9).
Keep the CC599C message with the invoice once it arrives.

If you want to see how the same journey looks from the British side, our guide to MRN numbers explains how hauliers use export and import references at GVMS ports.

Related guides

Exporting from Poland to the UK?

Easy Clearance is a UK–EU customs clearance agency handling import and export declarations, T1/T2 transit and UK–Poland removals. Its article lists the documents worth gathering when the exit confirmation does not come.

Read about alternative proof

Sources

General information, not legal, tax or customs advice. Rules change; confirm current requirements on gov.uk or with a registered agent before you ship.