Ladies and Gentlemen,
As of February 1, 2022, changes will be introduced to the rules governing Sunday trading. On that date, an amendment to the Act on Restrictions on Trading on Sundays, Public Holidays, and Certain Other Days (hereinafter referred to as the "Act on Restrictions on Sunday Trading"), adopted by the Sejm in October 2021, will enter into force.
The drafters point out in the justification that after the entry into force of the Act on Restricting Sunday Trading, a problem arose with entrepreneurs circumventing the established prohibitions by "invoking the status of a post office." Over time, large retail chains also began to exploit this legal loophole, which, in the opinion of the authors of the draft amendments, required necessary intervention.
The amendment introduces changes affecting, among other things, post offices. As of Tuesday, February 1, the Sunday trading ban will no longer apply only to post offices as defined in the Postal Law. This means that the predominant activity of a business wishing to rely on this exception will have to consist of providing postal services (e.g., receiving, sorting, and delivering mail).
Moreover, the amending act specifies in detail how the predominant activity should be interpreted. After the amendment enters into force, in the case of flower shops or retail establishments trading in souvenirs or devotional items, selling newspapers, public transport tickets, tobacco products, lottery tickets, post offices, bakeries, confectionaries, ice cream parlors, and catering establishments, the predominant activity will be considered if this type of predominant activity is indicated in the application for entry into the REGON register. Furthermore, this activity will have to be actually performed at the given retail establishment and constitute at least 40% of the monthly retail revenue. In the case of agri-food wholesale markets operated by commercial law companies that lease and manage real estate for the purpose of agri-food wholesale, this provision will apply accordingly.
To further hinder the exploitation of exemptions, the legislature introduced the requirement to maintain monthly sales revenue records, broken down into revenue from activities exempt from the Sunday trading ban and revenue from other activities. Unfortunately, this is yet another record that businesses will be required to maintain, in addition to, among other things, tax records. During inspections, labor inspectors will have the right to request the submission of this record. It should also be noted that a regulation containing a template for the record has not yet been published. This could lead to complications in applying exemptions from the trading ban after February 1, 2022.
The legislator also allowed sole proprietors who conduct business solely on a personal basis to utilize the unpaid assistance of their spouse, children, parents, stepmothers, siblings, grandchildren, and grandparents. This effectively legitimizes situations that have often occurred in reality.
It should also be recalled that until January 31, 2022, limits on the number of persons who may stay in commercial or service facilities with a sales or service area exceeding 2,000 m2 , in commercial establishments within the meaning of Art. 3 point 1 of the Act of January 10, 2018 on restricting trade on Sundays and public holidays and on certain other days, at liquid fuel stations and at places of sale at marketplaces (stalls), introduced on December 1, 2021, apply and amount to 1 person per 15 m2 .
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
Legal status as of January 25, 2022
