On April 15, 2023 the Regulation of the Minister of Development and Technology on the ban on import of agricultural products from Ukraine entered into force in Poland. The regulation introduces a ban on the import until June 30, 2023 of certain products originating in or imported from the territory of Ukraine to territory of Poland (including cereals, sugar, fruit and vegetables).

The prohibition covers agricultural products listed in the relevant parts of Annex I to Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 establishing a common organisation of the markets in agricultural products including:

  1. Cereals, part I;
  2. Sugar, part III;
  3. Dried fodder, part IV;
  4. Seeds, part V;
  5. Hops, part VI;
  6. Flax and hemp, part VIII;
  7. Fruit and vegetables, part IX;
  8. Processed fruit and vegetable products, part X;
  9. Wine, part XII;
  10. Beef and veal, part XV;
  11. Milk and milk products, part XVI;
  12. Pigmeat, part XVII;
  13. Sheepmeat and goatmeat, part XVIII;
  14. Eggs, part XIX;
  15. Poultrymeat, part XX;
  16. Ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin, part XXI;
  17. Apiculture products, part XXII;
  18. Other products, part XXIV.

According to the explanations on governmental website (https://www.gov.pl/web/kas/zakazu-przywozu-z-ukrainy-produktow-rolnych - available only in Polish) the import ban applies to agricultural products listed in the Annex to the Regulation of the Minister of Development and Technology originating in or imported from the territory of Ukraine, as a consequence the following are also prohibited:

  • imports to Poland referred to in this Regulation of goods originating in or exported from the territory of Ukraine, including when they are imported to Poland from other countries of the European Union,
  • transit through the territory of Poland of the goods originating in or exported from the territory of Ukraine.

Legal basis: https://www.dziennikustaw.gov.pl/DU/2023/717 (available only in Polish).

The scope of the imposed ban is wide, both in terms of the catalog of goods covered by it (not only cereals, but also other agricultural products including fruits, vegetables or meat) and may apply to many transactions (not only import form Ukraine, but also transport from other EU member states, if the products will be of Ukrainian origin). At the moment, there are no regulations clarifying or regulating transitional issues of the introduced ban. According to the information we have, despite the fact that the introduced regulation raises doubts as to its compliance with EU law, it is being applied by Polish customs and tax authorities.

If you would like to discuss the possible consequences of the ban on your Company, please contact:

Anna Getka-Juśkiewicz - Manager in Crido Indirect Tax Team (tel: + 48 532 414 289; e-mail: anna.getka-juskiewicz@crido.pl) or

Alex Węklar - Associate at Crido Legal (tel: + 48 602 768 568; e-mail: alex.weklar@crido.pl)