Publication date: March 16, 2026
The concept of import tax
According to Article 2, point 7 of the Polish Value Added Tax Act of 11 March 2004, the import of goods should be understood as “the import of goods from a third country into the territory of the European Union.” Generally speaking, import taxes are charged by the customs authority of a given country or region for shipments originating abroad. However, this does not mean that a fee must be paid for every international shipment. Many countries and organizations (primarily the European Union) apply de minimis threshold. This is the minimum order value, determined in a given country, below which import taxes are not charged. For example, in the European Union, pursuant to Article 23, paragraph 1 of Regulation 1186/2009 establishing a Community system of customs duty reliefs, shipments from third countries containing goods of negligible value are exempt from customs duties. According to Article 23, paragraph 2 of that regulation, these goods do not exceed a value of EUR 150 per shipment.
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Publication date: March 16, 2026
The U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has introduced a new regulation called the 50% Rule, requiring every exporter to verify the ownership of parties to a transaction before shipping products. Previous name verification is no longer sufficient. BIS has expanded its end-user screening regulations to an unprecedented range of (and opaque) product and business relationship categories. If at least 50% of a company’s shares are owned by one or more entities on the BIS List or the Military End-User List (MEU), the company is automatically subject to the same restrictions as the owner. The BIS Entity List includes individuals, businesses, government organizations, and addresses subject to specific licensing requirements for the export, re-export, and transfer of goods within a given country. Previously, entities legally distinct from those on the list were not subject to licensing requirements, and the current expanded list includes thousands of subsidiaries, parent companies, and sister companies. This rule is intended to prevent situations where companies affiliated with sanctioned entities continue to operate freely because they are not named. This regulation is intended to fill a significant gap in the restricted entity lists and strengthen the overall control system in the United States. Furthermore, the introduction of this regulation significantly expands the licensing requirement; a recipient not listed on any of the above lists may still be subject to an export ban. Furthermore, if a company fails to verify the ownership of its contractors, it risks sanctions and loss of export privileges. Current tools are no longer sufficient, and an analysis of the ownership structure has become necessary. This regulation is similar to the 50% Rule of the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). BIS also introduced a new “red flag”: if there’s uncertainty about a potential counterparty’s ownership structure, the transaction cannot proceed without additional verification or licensing. This requires firms to obtain ownership information, document their arrangements, and halt the transaction if there’s a lack of transparency.
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Publication date: March 16, 2026
The Polish Ministry of Health has published an official announcement (January 30, 2026) in which it explains its interpretation regarding aesthetic and remedial medicine procedures (i.e. treatments such as Botox, hyaluronic acid, mesotherapy, lasers, etc.).
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Publication date: March 11, 2026
Regulation of concluding a sales contract by auction according to the Civil Code
Pursuant to Article 701 of the Polish Civil Code, a contract – including a sales contract – may be concluded through an auction or a tender. These two distinct contract-formation methods are distinguished by their specific characteristics, which include the multilateral and eliminatory nature of the procedure. Both procedures allow for the conclusion of a contract with the participant offering the most favorable terms from among many potential contractors, on equal terms and in compliance with the principles of free competition.
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Publication date: March 11, 2026
Since January 1, 2012, a complete ban on advertising pharmacies and pharmacy outlets has been in effect in Poland. Information limited to the location of a pharmacy or pharmacy outlet and its opening hours is not considered advertising. Consequently, this ban covers not only advertising the pharmacy itself but also advertising its activities. This regulation was introduced in Article 94a of the Pharmaceutical Law Act.
The justification for banning advertising of pharmacies and pharmacy outlets was the legislature’s assumption that pharmacies play a special role in the public health system, and therefore their operation should not be subject to mechanisms specific to the consumer goods market. It was argued that pharmacy advertising could lead to, among other things, excessive consumption of medicinal products, a weakening of the principles of rational pharmacotherapy, and an undesirable influence of economic factors on patient decisions.
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