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Country Commercial Guides for FY 2000:
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CHAPTER VI: Trade Regulations, Customs and Standards
A. Trade barriers, including tariff and non-tariffs barriers
Poland complies with the Harmonized Tariff System. Tariff rates are subject to change once a year (January). Depending on the country of origin, products are divided into three categories:
- Developing nations
- Members of the World Trade Organization
- Countries with which Poland has a bilateral or multilateral customs agreement (e.g., free trade agreements, CEFTA)
In 1992, Poland signed an Association Agreement with the European Union (EU) that lowered or eliminated tariffs on many EU produced goods imported into Poland, while tariffs on U.S. products did not change. At that time, the U.S. managed to negotiate more favorable rates for some product categories, but many U.S. products are still at a disadvantage compared to EU competitors.
For some luxury and strategic products (e.g. alcohol, cosmetics, cigarettes, sugar confectionery, video cameras, satellite antennas, passenger cars, gasoline, and oil) an excise tax is also applied. Excise tax is levied on top of the customs tariff.
Duty free quotas have been applied within certain industries including the automotive, computer, and pharmaceutical sectors in Poland. U.S. and foreign firms have benefited from these quotas. In some instances the quotas are targeted on products originating from specific export regions (e.g. cars from the EU as a result of the Association Agreement), and in others they have been assessed to help protect local industry (e.g. pharmaceutical), to help develop industries (e.g. computer parts and components), or to protect the environment.
Refunds are possible for customs duty paid on raw materials, semi-finished goods, and products used in the manufacture of goods for export within thirty days, contingent on documentation certifying customs duty was paid on the goods when they were imported.
Agricultural Tariffs
Poland implemented its Uruguay Round requirements in 1995. This established for the first time bound tariffs for all products in the Polish tariff schedule and replaced variable levies for import-sensitive agricultural products with tariff rate quotas.
Tariff rate quotas represent significant import protection for products such as beef, pork, poultry meat, wheat and rye flours, rapeseed oil, some processed food products, yeast, sauces, alcohol, tobacco, and tobacco products. For U.S. agricultural trade, tariff rate quotas have had the largest impact on access for poultry meat. The tariff rate quota for poultry meat, which will be adjusted upward annually as Poland's domestic output expands, is estimated at 36,460 for 1998. The above-quota tariff is presently set at 60%, which is one-half the maximum rate that Poland may apply under the Agreement.
B. Customs regulations
Customs rates (duty) are based on the CIF value of the product. The import tax and excise tax, if applicable, are levied on CIF plus duty, and VAT is levied on CIF and the duty. Customs officials are extremely strict with regards to proper documentation. It is essential that exporters take care to fill out documents properly to avoid costly delays in customs clearance.
C. Tariff rates
Customs duties apply to all products imported into Poland. Tariffs range from 0 (zero) to nearly 400% (strong specialty sprits). The Polish tariff schedule has different rates for the same commodities depending on their country of origin. The most recent revision of the Polish tariff rate schedule took place on January 1, 1999, and is done annually. The average rate of duty in this new customs tariff is 2.1% for industrial products and 15.8% for agricultural and food products.
D. Import Taxes
Poland rescinded its import tax in 1997. As in much of Europe, a Value Added Tax (VAT) is also assessed. There are three VAT rates: 0%, 7%, and 22% depending on the product. VAT is levied on the CIF value of the product plus duty plus excise tax (if applicable). There is also an excise tax on certain goods, including alcohol and cigarettes. On imported goods, this is collected at the border on the basis of the CIF value.
E. Import License Requirements
In general, the trade of goods and services is not restricted in Poland. In some areas, including imports of strategic goods (e.g. police and military products, radioactive elements, weapons, transportation equipment, chemicals) a license or concession is required. Imports of beer, wine and strong alcoholic beverages, gas, and certain agricultural and food products (including dairy, poultry, and tobacco products) are also licensed. A permit is necessary to sell imported alcoholic products. A phytosanitary import permit issued by Plant Quarantine Inspection Service is required for the import of all live plants, fresh fruits, and vegetables into Poland. Several common weed seeds have quarantine status which hampers U.S. grain and oilseed exports to Poland.
Certain goods are subject to import quotas in Poland. These include: gasoline, diesel fuel and heating oils; wine and other alcohol; and cigars and cigarettes.
The Ministry of Economy issues import permits and concessions and regulates quotas. However, other Polish ministries have special jurisdiction over products such as tobacco (Ministry of Agriculture); permits related to air, sea, or road transport (Ministry of Transportation); or natural resources (Ministry of Environmental Protection). The list of products requiring import certification in Poland is always subject to change, and appears to be growing. U.S. exporters should ascertain whether their product requires import certification before shipping.
In most cases, before an issuing ministry grants import permission on a product, the product must be reviewed and recommended for import into Poland by one or more inspectorates or technical associations, depending on the nature of the product. This can be a costly, lengthy, and confusing process for the U.S. exporter and the Polish importer alike. It is often necessary to submit samples of products or equipment for testing, regardless of the issuance of previous U.S. or international certificates. The presentation of detailed documentation on a product is a must, and all requests by relevant inspection agencies should be strictly adhered to in order to speed-up certification procedures.
Once an application and supporting materials have been submitted, the inspecting agency will make a positive or negative recommendation for import to the appropriate Polish ministry. When the import of a specific product is approved, further imports of that product are free from additional regulation. U.S. companies with several lines of like products (e.g. pharmaceutical, food preparation, or chemical products) should begin the approval procedure on all products as early as possible.
Some products, once imported, also require registration. This is particularly true of products that come into contact with or can affect the health of the consumer. In the case of hazardous materials the importer must receive permission to use the product before applying for a concession to import the product into Poland.
Importers of meat, meat products, and offal must obtain a veterinary permit and each consignment must be accompanied by the health certificate issued by USDA's veterinary authorities. Veterinary permits are also required for the import of live animals, semen, and embryos. Veterinary permits for breeding livestock, semen, and embryos are not issued unless approval for the importation is received from the Central Animal Breeding Office.
Polish regulations require imported products, including food and agriculture products, to be inspected for compliance with Polish standards. The inspection agency, Centralny Inspektorat Standardyzacji (CIS), is charged with ensuring the "quality" of products offered on the Polish market.
F. Temporary Entry
A license is also required for temporary import of goods, which takes place under the supervision of Polish customs officials. Written confirmation is required, stating that the goods will be sent out of Poland on specific dates. A deposit is required for the import of the goods subject to clearance, which must be equal the value of the goods to be exported or the total import customs duty and taxes. Commercial samples of zero or low value can usually be imported free of customs duty by means of a written statement to Polish customs confirming the value of the sample and that it will stay in the possession of the importing entity. Temporary imports may also enter Poland under an ATA Carnet. Promotional materials must be clearly marked "no commercial value" in order to clear customs.
G. Special Import/Export Requirements and Certifications
Import documentation in Poland is compiled under a "Single Administrative Document" (SAD) and includes a customs declaration and certificate of origin. The SAD contains 56 questions about the goods, importer, the place of origin, and method of payment. A completed customs value declaration is attached to the SAD. An original invoice or pro forma invoice proving the value of the goods is also required.
H. Labeling requirements
As noted above, certificate of origin documents are required for importation. Labeling and packaging requirements also vary depending on the product. Consumer goods require a product description in Polish somewhere on or inside the package. Packaging should clearly indicate the country of manufacture. Packaged or canned food products require Polish language labels containing: the product composition, nutritional value, an outdate, the name and address of the producer, and the product weight. The Polish government is considering requiring food products using Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOS) to be so labeled. Some U.S. companies have found that using the English language somewhere on the packaging (e.g. product name, promotional slogan) helps give the product additional prestige or value in the eyes of the Polish consumer.
I. Prohibited imports
The import of some products is prohibited. These include: two-stroke engine cars; automobiles, racing cars, and vans older than ten years; trucks older than six years; and automobiles with no proof of the year in which they were manufactured.
J. Warranty and Non-warranty repairs
Items sent for repairs under warranty do not have duties placed on them when they are returned to Poland. The same applies to parts imported under warranty for repairs in Poland.
K. Export Controls
A U.S. export license is required on shipments of certain commodities to Poland, as provided under the U.S. Bureau of Export Administration's Commodity Control List. Poland is a member of the Wassenaar Arrangement and has established its own export control regime for munitions and dual use items.
L. Standards
(1) "B" Safety Certificates
Beginning January 1, 1999, about 1,400 different products will probably require a "B" mark certificate (for "bezpieczenstwo," "safety" in Polish) to clear customs (domestically produced products also require certification). This requirement was expected to be introduced beginning in 1995, 1996, 1997, and then 1998, but was postponed for each of the last four years. The list of goods that require the certification, originally published in 1994, has been modified every year since. Testing for the "B" mark is performed by the Polish Certificate and Testing Center (PCBC) or one of the fifteen specialized institutes authorized and supervised by the PCBC. Firms selling goods without the B mark or manufactured inconsistently with the mark are obligated to pay fines amounting to 100% of the value of the goods sold.
These new standards are intended to protect the Polish consumer, as there is currently no umbrella legislation in Poland covering product safety or product liability, although legislation is pending. The list of products is extremely diverse, from wire rods, steel pipes and castings to auto parts, bicycles, personal computers, fertilizers, cellophane, and shampoo.
Poland still does not have a product liability law. The Ministry of Justice is currently working on its draft, but it is expected that it still might be two years before the law is passed. The law is key to certification issues because it would provide for third party certification for a large group of products. This law would also allow a manufacturer's self-certification of adherence to quality standards to be sufficient proof of product quality. Until the law is passed, however, it is not possible to rely on manufacturers' statements, and products must be tested in order to be certified.
Foreign certificates, such as the European CE mark and ISO 9000, accelerate the current certification process. However, the law is not clear and guidance from the PCBC and testing centers is vague. Information regarding prices for testing products is also inconsistent and sometimes vague or unavailable. In most cases testing procedures are lengthy. The Commercial Service advises U.S. exporters to contact CS Warsaw at Warsaw.Office.Box@mail.doc.gov to determine whether or not their products would be subject to the requirements and for the latest information on the issue.
Poland is cooperating with the European Union to adopt similar standards and laws. The European Union will assist Poland with integrating Community legislation into the Polish legal system. The European Union and Poland have agreed that Polish testing laboratories and other institutions issuing certificates will be checked in view of their conformity with EU directives. After the testing bodies are checked and the results are positive, a list of these institutions will be published in the Official Journal of the European Community. All products then tested by these bodies will be automatically accepted in the European Union as well as in Poland without any additional procedures.
Poland will introduce changes into its legal system to achieve an EU-compatible certification system. Before the new legislation is introduced all products originating from the European Union and subject to third party certification there will be admitted into Poland. The testing reports and certification documents produced by notified bodies in the European Union will be reviewed, and if the tests adhere to the tests obligatory in Poland, then the certification process will be considerably shortened.
Products which do not require any certification in the European Union and for which certifications are required in Poland, will be eliminated from the list of products subject to mandatory certification. This process will be introduced gradually and completed through the end of this year.
(2) Other Polish Standards: PN and BN
Polish standards describing a wide range of products have been developed by a central institution, the Polish Standards Committee (PKN), over the years. These standards have a PN prefix. The Government of Poland, through its ministries, decides which of them are obligatory. Ministerial regulations clarify what standards a particular product must meet to be admitted into Poland. Standards developed by industry branches or industrial associations are marked BN. They define products of a particular industry branch and initially they were only valid for specialists in the particular branch of industry. Over the years they received national status and were listed together with the national standards. The prefixes PN and BN still exist.
The information in each standard includes data on product requirements and appropriate ways and methods of testing product quality. It also lists institutions that prepared the standards. It does not list, however, for what purpose the standards are required.
(3) Introducing Building Products: Technical Approvals
No standards exist for many building products that are new to Poland. However, when introduced into the Polish market the products need to have documentation certifying that they are in conformity with existing standards. They must therefore receive technical approval, a document issued by designated research and development institutes.
The central institution performing these tests for the vast majority of building products and materials is the Institute for Building Technology (ITB) in Warsaw. It deals with products like siding, roof shingles and bricks.
Some building products, after receiving technical approval, or when PN or BN standards can be applied in their case, may still require the "B" Certificate. They must then go through the certification process designed by PCBC. The standards for the "B" Certificate are available only at the PCBC. This certification process takes time. However, the official regulations specify that this process should not exceed 3 months.
With the new regulations requiring a large number of products to have a certificate, the work load of the institutes conducting the tests increased immensely. As a result these institutes are unable to meet deadlines. Since time is often one of the most important factors for a marketing organization introducing new products, this is one of the most important problems that needs attention from the Polish authorities.
Conformity with ISO 9000 is relatively rare although over 60 Polish companies are in fact certified.
Useful contacts:
Instytut Techniki Budowlanej (ITB) ul. Filtrowa 1 00-950 Warsaw Tel: (48-22)825-04-71 Fax: (48-22)825-13-03 Centralny Osrodek Badawczo-Rozwojowy Przemyslu Izolacji Budowlanych ul. Korfantego 193 40-153 Katowice Tel/Fax: (48-32) 58-35-53 Centralny Osrodek Badawczo-Rozwojowy Technologii Instalacji ul. Ksawerow 21 (COBRTI) 02-656 Warsaw Tel: (48-22) 843-14-71 Fax: (48-22) 843-71-65 Panstwowy Zaklad Higieny (PZH) Zaklad Higieny Komunalnej (Urban Hygiene Dept.) ul. Chocimska 21 Warsaw Tel: (48-22) 849-40-51M. Free Trade Zones/Warehouses
Duty free zones can be established by the Council of Ministers and are managed by the authorities designated by the Council, which is usually the provincial governor who issues the operating permit for a given zone.
Bonded warehouses and customs and storage facilities are available. They are operated under permission issued by the President of the Central Office of Customs. They can be operated by commercial code companies.
Customs duties are repaid to the importer for re-exports of products within 12 months of the date of customs clearance in full or partially, depending upon their length of time in-country.
See the Investment Climate statement below for more details on this topic.
N. Membership in Free Trade Arrangements
EU Association Agreement: As mentioned above, Poland began implementing the trade provisions of the Association Agreement with the European Union in 1992. This has lowered or eliminated duties on most EU exports to Poland.
CEFTA and FTAs: Poland is a founding member of the Central European Free Trade Association, whose members include the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Slovenia, and Bulgaria. The CEFTA Agreement, signed in December 1992, allows for a staged reduction of customs duties on three separate lists of products among the member states through the year 2001. Poland also has free trade agreements (FTA) with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries (Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein) as well as with Israel, Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia. These agreements grant firms from these countries certain tariff preferences over U.S. competitors and give lower tariffs to Polish companies exporting to these countries. The Polish government is also negotiating an FTA with Turkey and Croatia, but signature of these agreements is not expected in 1999.
O. Customs Contact Information
Further information on Polish customs regulations, please contact:
Customs Information Ul. Swietokrzyska 12 00-916 Warsaw Tel: (48-22)694-4479, 694-3194
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[end of document] Note* International Copyright, United States Government, 1998 (or other year of first publication). All rights under foreign copyright laws are reserved. All portions of this publication are protected against any type or form of reproduction, communications to the public and the preparation of adaptations, arrangement and alterations outside the United States. U. S. copyright is not asserted under the U.S. Copyright Law, Title17, United States Code.
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