Recently, the parliamentary club Kukiz `15 came up with a very interesting proposal, which provides for major changes in the existing tax law. The proposed changes concern the functioning of excise duty, or rather some of its elements. It is an exemption from the so-called excise security, which is intended to apply to certain traders in tobacco. However, it is difficult to say whether such changes will actually come into effect.

The proposal was put to the reading in the Sejm, where, however, it was criticized quite strongly by most of the other parliamentary clubs. The proposed amendments are intended to apply to the Excise Duty Act, which was passed in 2008. Members of the Kukiz `15 club noted that the latest amendment to the Act came into force in 2015, but created additional difficulties in tobacco trade, including the imposition on intermediaries involved in the distribution of such goods the obligation to provide a so-called excise security. This significantly increased the cost of running the related activities and caused additional problems. It is estimated that the amount of such excise security is between 2 and 30 million zlotys, which is of course a huge cost and sometimes makes it simply unprofitable to do business with tobacco products.

As MEPs Kukiz `15 argue, the aim of their proposed changes is primarily to protect entrepreneurs from such difficulties and to make it easier for them to do business normally. According to the authors of the proposed changes, the current state of affairs is too burdensome, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises, which are often unable to cope with such fees. What is more, it significantly favours large corporations, which are practically always foreign entities. They, in turn, can afford to pay such fees and this does not cause them much of a problem. Members of the Sejm directly asked whether it was in their interest to introduce such regulations and whether the Polish law really favours the development of our own national entrepreneurship. It has been argued that if the changes are not implemented quickly enough, the current rules could lead to the complete destruction of a huge number of small and medium-sized enterprises in the hands of Polish entrepreneurs who are intermediaries in the sale of tobacco products. Something like this can lead to hundreds or even thousands of people losing their jobs in Poland.

All these arguments were aimed at convincing Members from other parliamentary clubs that there is no point in having such regulations. Moreover, Poland is the only country in Europe where the obligation to pay such collateral has been introduced, which has a negative impact on the conditions for business development in our country and makes us less attractive for both domestic entrepreneurs and foreign investors. However, the proposed amendments do not foresee the complete abolition of the obligation to pay excise duty for all without exception. It concerns only those entrepreneurs who act as intermediaries in the production or sale of tobacco products from Polish raw materials.

Such changes would greatly help our domestic businessmen and would provide them with better conditions for the development of their business. As MEPs Kukiz `15 argue further, such changes would greatly help the existence of Polish companies involved in buying and processing tobacco from Polish growers. This would make the situation on the market much better, and the Polish business itself would become much more competitive in relation to foreign business. This could lead to a significant growth of the tobacco industry in our country. Polish tobacco growers and buyers would be in a better position to create many additional jobs. Under the proposed amendments, exemption from excise duty security could only be granted to those economic operators who fulfil several basic conditions attached to it. The condition would be primarily to have a head office in Poland and buy at least 100 tonnes of dried tobacco from Polish growers. Such a company must also have suitable conditions for storing and possibly processing the tobacco already purchased.

There have been many doubts among Members of other clubs about the validity of the proposed amendments, so it is difficult to say whether they will actually come into force. Others have said, first and foremost, that the tobacco industry is 'harmful' or even 'criminogenic' and that any changes to support its development are therefore highly controversial. Some also disagreed with the claim that the current regulations are so harmful and so much hamper the development of small and medium-sized enterprises. Despite numerous doubts, the amendment of the law was not rejected by the Sejm, which is why its fate is still important. One of the most sensible voices was the one who said that, above all, we need to consult closely with the industry in order to determine which solutions would be best for it.