Rail transport will be shortly a part of the monitoring system in Poland as a result of latest amendments to the Carriage of Goods by Road Act that have been approved by signature of President of Poland on 28 May 2018.
Work on the amendments to the Carriage of Goods by Road (Monitoring System) Act, which came into force on 17 April 2017 has been finalized. The amendments are principally designed to ensure, that the monitoring system in Poland catches also carriage by rail. Rail carriage notifications will be governed by the same rules as those applicable to carriage by road.
Polish monitoring system until now
Under the law of 9 March 2017 which entered into force on 17 April 2017, carriage of certain goods must be notified for registration with the Head of the National Revenue Administration via the Electronic Tax and Customs Services Platform (PUESC). The monitoring system was designed to collect and process road transport information and ensure compliance with the obligations under the new law. It provides a list of goods covered by the system. Among them are certain kinds of oil, alcohol, fuel or dried tobacco. There are additional duties to be complied with when transporting those goods, such as:
- Their carriage must be notified for registration.
- A reference number must be obtained for notification purposes.
- The reference number must be provided to the carrier.
- The reference number must be provided to a receiving entity (consignee) where a supply of goods is effected for VAT Act purposes.
A driver is required to have a reference number, a document replacing the notification and a confirmation of receipt of either that document or a document confirming inter-warehouse transfer.
If a transport inspection shows any irregularities (e.g. a missing reference number), a vehicle or goods may be detained or a fine may be imposed. The validity of a reference number, which is only 10 days, is another constraint. Once it has expired, carriage may only be resumed after a new reference number is obtained.
Polish monitoring system in the future
According to the latest amendments to the Carriage of Goods by Road Act, the monitoring system will not only be extended to rail transport, but is also expected to provide that:
- obligatory monitoring covers further goods: medicinal products, medical devices and foodstuffs for particular nutritional uses, which are in danger of being in insufficient supply in Poland due to illegal exports,
- several kinds of goods may be reported in a single notification,
- the notification must set out the registration number (for road vehicle) or the train and carriage number (for train),
- the train driver will not be liable for starting carriage without a notification number assigned.
On May 28, 2018 the President of Poland has signed the amendment. It shall come into force in the mid of June 2018 – after 14 days from the day of announcement which shall take place within next few days.
If you would like to know more about the Polish monitoring system, please visit the homepage of WTS&SAJA Sp. z o.o., the exclusive representative for Poland of WTS Global.
