Amendment to the Polish Sanctions Act: Key changes and new obligations
An act amending the Polish Sanctions Act will enter into force on 26 February 2025. It introduces significant changes to improve the enforcement of sanctions in Poland. But it also poses new compliance challenges for companies. Below we discuss the key points of the amendment.
Criminal liability for violation of sanctions
Taking into account the changes introduced by successive packages of European Union sanctions, the catalogue of restrictive measures whose violation will result in criminal liability has been expanded. The amendment does not automatically cover future restrictive measures, however, meaning that further legislative changes will be needed if new sanctions packages are introduced.
An offence of “lesser gravity” is introduced, providing for sentences of 3 months to 5 years for violations of sectoral sanctions which cause only moderate social harm.
Extension of the period of administration
The duration of administration over sanctioned entities has been extended from 24 to 36 months. This will give the administrator more time to achieve the aim of disposing of the funds and other economic resources under administration.
New company obligations
The amendment introduces special obligations for companies involved in exporting sanctioned goods to third countries. The key changes include:
Additional required declarations
Exporters must attach declarations to customs paperwork, including:
- Confirmation that transit through Russia or Belarus is only part of the route for the goods, which begins and ends outside those countries
- A declaration that the goods will not be resold, processed or stored in Russia or Belarus
- Information on the end user and final destination, which cannot be in Russia or Belarus.
The declarations must include a clause stating that the declarant is aware of the potential criminal liability for submitting false information.
Additional documentation requirements
Within 45 days of the goods leaving the EU customs territory, the exporter must submit proof of customs clearance from the country of destination. If it fails to meet this obligation, it faces a fine of up to PLN 500,000 and the possibility of seizure of the goods by the National Revenue Administration.
High risk of circumventing sanctions
If a risk analysis by the National Revenue Administration indicates a high risk of circumvention of the EU’s restrictive measures against Russia or Belarus by:
- Export of goods to states at risk of being involved in circumventing restrictive measures, or
- Carriage in the transit procedure through the Russian Federation or Belarus
then the customs and tax authorities may demand additional documents, such as the manufacturer’s declaration that it has taken measures to determine whether the goods will be used by end users in a manner consistent with the conditions stated in the EU provisions and can document these activities.
Conclusions
The amendment to the Polish Sanctions Act responds to the growing challenges of sanctions enforcement. The changes are part of a trend of strengthening due diligence mechanisms to counter circumvention of sanctions, as reflected in successive sanctions packages. However, while any initiative by the parliament tightening the imposed sanctions should be viewed positively, the adopted proposal raises questions on several levels.
First, if the National Revenue Administration identifies an increased risk, companies may be required to provide additional supply-chain declarations. Obtaining such documents may be particularly difficult if they do not maintain a direct business relationship with the manufacturer. This means that distributors exporting to high-risk countries should consider obtaining such a statement at the stage of establishing a business relationship with the manufacturer and also with other entities having a direct business relationship with the manufacturer. The lack of direct access to information may significantly impede fulfilment of the obligations imposed on businesses, which calls into question the effectiveness of the proposed solutions.
Second, the opportunity was missed to fix with a single amendment the flaws in the original text of the act, which requires an amendment each time a new package of sanctions is introduced. This leads to a situation in which a number of EU sanctions packages are not currently effectively enforced under Polish law. As a result, Poland lags behind in implementation of EU regulations, which may undermine the effectiveness of sanctions at the national level and create legal uncertainty for businesses.
Third, the amendment does not meet all the demands of Directive (EU) 2024/1226 on the definition of criminal offences and penalties for the violation of Union restrictive measures (we wrote about the directive in our report “Sanctions Enforcement in Poland”). By 20 May 2025, the member states must transpose the objectives of this directive into national law. In practice, this means a need for further legislative changes to introduce stricter regulations and sanctions for circumventing restrictive measures.
It will be crucial for businesses to stay abreast of the upcoming changes, as they may affect their compliance obligations and the scope of criminal liability for sanctions violations.
Anna Olejniczak-Michalska, attorney-at-law, Dispute Resolution & Arbitration practice, Wardyński & Partners
