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: February 25, 2026
Importing goods is a key element of modern business operations, particularly in the small and medium-sized enterprise sector, which increasingly builds its competitive advantage based on access to foreign raw materials, components, and finished products. At the same time, importing carries a significant increase in legal, financial, and operational risk, stemming from differences in legal systems, significant geographic distance between contractors, and limited control over the production and transport of goods. Therefore, importing is not considered a complex legal and organizational process, solely as a commercial activity, but as a complex legal and organizational process requiring conscious risk management at every stage of implementation.
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Publication date: February 16, 2026
Notarial deposit is one of the most important institutions of notarial law, serving as an instrument to protect the interests of parties to legal transactions that, due to their nature, value, or complexity, require a higher level of security. Its primary role is to create a mechanism enabling the safekeeping of specific items—most often cash—by a notary until strictly defined conditions are met.
The importance of notarial deposits extends far beyond traditional real estate transactions. Today, this institution is increasingly used in professional transactions, particularly in commercial, corporate, investment, and restructuring transactions, where it is essential to ensure the neutrality of the intermediary and full transparency in the execution of obligations.
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Publication date: February 16, 2026
The European Green Deal has been the subject of much discussion in public debate since its announcement. As part of this ambitious project, the European Commission aimed to achieve, among other things, climate neutrality for the entire European Union by 2050. One of the key aspects of this economic transformation was to focus on more sustainable products and, in particular, a transition to a circular economy. Sustainable products were considered a prerequisite for implementing such an economic model.
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