As announced, today we have the most important information regarding the plastic tax, the minimum tax and the greenhouse gas emission tax.
The EU's policy directions should also become the directions of individual member states. In practice, this often depends on vested interests. Although it's not a popular topic in the media, European Union legislation impacts our finances. However, we don't always realize this. Below are the most important changes in 2024. Although only one can be considered a tax in the strict sense, all of them impact the finances of citizens of EU member states.
Plastic tax (Single Use Plastic)
Combating environmental pollution is a priority for the European Union. One of the paths the EU is taking is promoting the circular economy of plastics. To this end, it has issued a directive on reducing the environmental impact of certain plastic products. This directive prohibits the marketing of certain plastic products and introduces a fee charged to entities that market plastic products and, in some cases, to consumers who purchase them.
The provisions of the directive have been implemented in Poland in the Act on the obligations of entrepreneurs regarding the management of certain waste and on the product fee.
1. Reducing the use of plastic products
Businesses offering single-use plastic packaging products, or beverages or food packaged in such products, must collect the end-user fee. This obligation also applies to businesses offering these products through a vending machine.
The fee applies to:
1) beverage cups, including their lids and tops;
2) food containers, i.e. containers such as boxes, with or without a lid, used to contain food that:
(a) is intended for immediate consumption, whether on-site or take-away,
(b) is normally eaten straight from the container, and
(c) is ready for consumption without further processing such as preparation, cooking or heating, including containers for fast food or other meals ready for immediate consumption, but excluding beverage containers, plates and packages and wrappers containing food.
The fee is 20 groszy per cup and 25 groszy per food container.
The fee shall be paid into a separate bank account kept by the marshal of the voivodeship competent for the place of its collection, by 15 March of the year following the calendar year in which it was collected.
2. Extended responsibility for placing on the market
An entrepreneur who places single-use plastic products on the market is obliged to pay an annual fee to cover the costs of collecting waste generated from products of the same type, including transport and processing.
The fee applies to:
1) food containers, i.e. containers such as boxes, with or without a lid, used to contain food that is:
a) intended for immediate consumption, on-site or to take away,
b) normally eaten straight from the container, and
c) ready for consumption without further processing such as preparation, cooking or heating
including containers for fast food or other meals ready for immediate consumption, with the exception of beverage containers, plates and packets and wrappers containing food;
2) packets and wrappers made of flexible materials containing food intended for direct consumption from the packet or wrapper without any further processing;
3) beverage containers with a capacity of up to three litres, i.e. containers used for storing beverages, such as beverage bottles, including their caps and lids, and multi-material beverage packaging, including their caps and lids, excluding glass or metal beverage containers with caps and lids made of plastic;
4) beverage cups, including their lids and lids;
5) lightweight plastic shopping bags within the meaning of Art. 8 item 15a letter a of the Act on Packaging and Packaging Waste Management;
6) wet wipes, i.e. pre-moistened wipes intended for personal hygiene and pre-moistened wipes for household use;
7) balloons, except balloons for industrial or other professional use, which balloons are not distributed to consumers;
8) tobacco products with filters containing plastic and filters containing plastic sold for use in conjunction with tobacco products.
The fee is 10 groszy per kilogram for each type of waste, except for wet wipes, balloons, and tobacco products, which are charged 1 groszy per item. The fee must be paid to a separate bank account maintained by the voivodeship marshal by March 15th of the year following the calendar year to which the fee applies.
3. Financing public education campaigns
An entrepreneur placing on the market:
1) tobacco products with filters containing plastic and filters containing plastic sold for use in conjunction with tobacco products;
2) wet wipes;
3) balloons, with the exception of balloons for industrial or other professional use, which balloons are not distributed to consumers;
4) lightweight plastic shopping bags; 5
) sanitary towels, tampons and tampon applicators.,
6) fishing gear containing plastic
– is obliged to finance public educational campaigns.
This obligation may be fulfilled by allocating the fee to public educational campaigns by 1 March of the calendar year following the calendar year to which the fee applies, or by paying the fee to a separate bank account of the relevant marshal’s office by 15 March of the calendar year following the calendar year to which the fee applies.
The fee is 5 groszy per kilogram of light shopping bags, 1 groszy per 10 pieces of tobacco products introduced to the market and 1 groszy per piece of other products introduced to the market.
Minimum tax – equalization (Pillar 2)
The introduction of a minimum tax is intended to prevent tax competition. Although the European Union directive will be significant for member states, approximately three-quarters of all countries have already announced the implementation of a similar regulation. In the EU, the tax applies only to entities belonging to capital groups (domestic and international) whose consolidated global revenues exceed EUR 750 million annually in at least two of the last four fiscal years immediately preceding the fiscal year under review. The minimum tax will be paid only by entities whose effective tax rate (taking into account tax credits) in a given country is lower than 15%. The tax will be remitted to the country where the parent company in the group is headquartered. If that country has not implemented the minimum tax-compensation provisions, then the tax is paid in the country where the subsidiaries are headquartered. Importantly, a member state may establish exclusive jurisdiction to collect the tax.
In Poland, the regulations regarding this tax have not yet been implemented. It is important to note that the minimum tax introduced in the Corporate Income Tax Act does not constitute an implementation of Pillar 2.
Pillar 2 in Poland in 2024 therefore applies only to companies that meet the criteria and have their group headquarters in a country that has implemented Pillar 2, e.g. Germany, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Hungary.
Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism
For over a decade, companies producing energy-intensive products have been required to hold emission allowances for every tonne of carbon dioxide produced during production (EU ETS). However, this system encouraged relocating operations outside the European Union to avoid paying CO2 emissions costs. To equalize the situation between companies producing in EU countries and those importing energy-intensive products into the EU, the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) directive was introduced.
Until the end of 2025 (transitional period), the only obligation is to report on the import of goods. Reporting applies to imports of cement, fertilizers, electricity, iron and steel, chemicals, and aluminum. To check whether a given product is reportable, check the Combined Nomenclature (CN) code from customs documents against the codes specified in the directive. Until then, there is no obligation to account for emissions. This obligation will arise after the transitional period.
The directive entered into force on October 1, 2023. Obliged entities must submit quarterly reports within one month of the end of the quarter. This means that the first report is due by January 31. Reports must be submitted electronically through the special CBAM transitional register maintained by the Directorate General for Taxation and Customs Union (TAXUD).
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
Legal status as of January 15, 2024
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