Changes in sanctions on Russia and Belarus – new obligations for entrepreneurs

From 26 February 2025, an amendment to the Act 0 on special solutions for counteracting support for aggression against Ukraine and protection of national security, as well as regulations on the National Tax Administration and counteracting money laundering and terrorist financing (the so-called sanctions act), signed by the President of the Republic of Poland Andrzej Duda, has been in force. This amendment introduces significant changes and new obligations to the existing sanctions regulations.

Articles 14a-14d have been added to the existing version of the Act, m.in.

Pursuant to Article 14a of the Sanctions Act, persons or entities that export goods subject to the European Union’s restrictive measures established in connection with the aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine to countries that are at risk of being involved in circumventing restrictive measures or transporting these goods in transit through the territory of the Russian Federation or Belarus shall attach to the customs declaration a statement,  in which they declare that:

1. transit through the territory of the Russian Federation or Belarus is only a part of the route of transport of goods, and the beginning and end of this route is outside the territory of the Russian Federation and Belarus,
2. during transport in the procedure of transit of goods through the territory of the Russian Federation or Belarus, the goods will not be subject to resale, processing, storage and services provided by entities subject to restrictive measures of the European Union established in connection with the aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine,
3. destination of the goods is a third country other than the Russian Federation or Belarus
4. and provides the details of the end user of the goods.

Importantly, the above-mentioned statement will be made under pain of criminal liability.

Moreover, if the results of the risk analysis carried out by the National Tax Administration indicate a high risk of circumvention of the European Union’s restrictive measures established in connection with the aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine by:

1. exports of goods to countries at risk of circumvention or circumvention of restrictive measures
2. carriage in the transit procedure through the territory of the Russian Federation or Belarus

– the head of the customs and tax office may require the person or entity referred to in paragraph 1 to submit a statement from the manufacturer of the goods that he has taken steps to determine whether the goods will be used by end users in a manner consistent with the conditions provided for in the European Union regulations and can document these actions.

In addition, within 45 days from the date of departure of the goods outside the customs territory of the European Union, a document confirming the customs clearance of the goods from the country of destination must be submitted to the head of the customs and tax office.

The list of goods subject to restrictive measures (goods subject to sanctions) can be found in Annex Va of Council Regulation (EC) No. 765/2006 of 18 May 2006 concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Belarus and the participation of Belarus in Russia’s aggression against Ukraine (OJ L.2006.134.1, as amended). This annex indicates the so-called dual-use goods. 

This appendix is very extensive and lists many different goods m.in.

• rubber, tires;
• gaskets, washers;
• wooden poles and beams;
• textiles and other types of fabrics;
• pipes, pipes;
• cast iron and steel;
• aluminum containers, nails;
• and many other goods.

At the same time, restrictions are imposed on the export of goods that will be subject to transit operations through Russia or Belarus or that are exported to “countries that are at risk of being involved in circumventing restrictive measures”. There is no precisely defined list of these jurisdictions.

Further amendments to the sanctions act are introduced, m.in, by Article 14b, which specifies that the authorities will be able to seize the goods and apply for a ruling on their forfeiture to the State Treasury in the event of a violation of the European Union regulations establishing restrictive measures in connection with the aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine.

Failure to comply with the above regulations is associated with sanctions. Entities that fail to present to the head of the customs and tax office a document confirming the customs clearance of goods from the country of destination on time are subject to a fine of up to PLN 500,000.00.

Next, Article 14d of the Sanctions Act applies to the import of an explicitly indicated group of goods marked with CN code 44 (wood and articles of wood). Such operators will be required to submit to the customs authority proof of the country of harvest or the country of harvest of the timber used to manufacture the timber product, which includes information on the region of harvesting in the country, the details of the timber supplier or the manufacturer of the timber product.