Poland: Foreign trade in fuels now requires a separate concession and considerable expense for the security that needs to be deposited
At the end of July this year a considerable amendment to the Polish Energy Law came into force. Under the new rules foreign trade in fuels from now on requires a separate concession. This will be issued as a supplement to the regular fuel trade concession (which has to be obtained beforehand or at the same time).
The term “foreign” comprises any country other than Poland, whether within the EU or not. The procedure for obtaining the new concession is very similar to the old one, with some exceptions:
– the concession fee amounts to PLN 4 244 (approximately EUR 1 000)
– the entrepreneur must deposit security amounting to PLN 10 000 000 (approximately EUR 2 500 000).
Security may be in the form of a:
– bank or insurance guarantee
– bank warranty
– promissory note with bank warranty
– check certified by a national issuing bank
– registered pledge on securities issued by the State Treasury or by the National Bank of Poland
– written irrevocable authorization for the authority (URE) to dispose of financial means deposited at a bank (certified by that bank).
Apart from the above, if the concession is obtained in addition to the old one, all paperwork must be attached to the application, regardless of whether it had been provided to URE in the first place (old documentation is generally considered outdated here). It is also vital to consider the technical side of the enterprise, e.g. whether enough petrol stations and fuel tanks can be assigned for delivery of fuel from abroad, especially given the large sum of security. It is no secret that the security and new regulations are supposed to eliminate grey import of fuels. At the same time they constitute a market entry barrier for smaller fuel industry entrepreneurs. Official authority guidelines can be found at www.ure.gov.pl . The authority has also prepared a recommended (but not mandatory) specimen form of bank guarantee that may serve as security.
Source: Act on Amendment of the Act on Crude Oil, Oil Products and Gas Reserves and on Procedures in Cases of Fuel Supply Emergency, and on the Amendment of Other Laws of 30 May 2014 (J.L. 2014, item 900)