President Duda signs fuel tax package

Poland's President Andrzej Duda signed into law a bill that will tighten tax collection in fuel trade to muster an estimated PLN 2.5 billion in additional VAT revenues, the Polish Press Agency (PAP) informed. Fuel importers will now be obligated to pay VAT on fuel from other EU countries within five days of its entry into Poland, according to the new legislation. Permits for fuel trade, in turn, will now be issued only to an entity located in Poland or a foreign firm which registers a unit in Poland, the bill indicates. Firms managed by convicted tax felons will be unable to receive a permit. Previously, importers would often operate via middlemen who did not have the assets necessary to satisfy the state's tax (VAT, CIT, excise) claims when fraud was detected, Janczyk explained. The bill will take effect on August 1, 2016.