Counterfeits cost Poland billions annually
14:42
EU countries lose some PLN 67 billion in tax revenues every year due to counterfeit goods, according to a report published on June 10 by European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) concerning 11 sectors. In the case of Poland, the loss of sales revenue in four industries reaches PLN 4.5 billion a year.
The largest increase concerns the cosmetics and personal hygiene sector. Poland loses PLN 1.942 billion annually because of this.
The EUIPO report indicates that EU governments lose a total of up to €15 billion every year due to the presence of counterfeit goods on the market. These are losses in revenues from direct and indirect taxes, as well as social security contributions, which are not paid by illegal producers.
Counterfeits are not only economic losses, but also threats. According to the warnings reported by the EU market surveillance authorities in the European Commission, the executive branch of the EU, 97 percent of registered dangerous counterfeit products have been assessed as posing a serious risk. It regards, among others, risk of fire, choking, electric shock, suffocation or hearing damage. All these raise costs. This is because counterfeit products are not subjected to such rigorous testing to ensure their security as the originals.
Up to €19 billion of sales are lost every year in the EU by the cosmetics and personal care sector, the wine and spirits sector, the pharmaceutical sector and the toys and games sector due to counterfeiting, the report states.
Founded in 1994 and headquartered in Spain, EUIPO is the EU agency responsible for the registration of the EU trademark and the registered Community design, two unitary intellectual property rights valid across the 27 EU member states.
