President Karol Nawrocki signed on 1 October a bill imposing a 60 percent taxation on extraordinary profits on fuel manufacturers and importers. Denmark will cover the period from 1 March 2026 to 31 March 2027. For Poles, the stakes are simple: the government got the instrument and now has to lower the prices at the stations.
Signature, but with the control of the Constitutional Court
Karol Nawrocki announced his decision in the evening message on 1 October. The president signed the bill, but at the same time announced that it should be referred to the Constitutional Court under follow-up control. The law is to enter into force on 1 November 2026, with the exception of a provision allowing the Minister of Finance to reduce excise duties, which will apply the day after the law is announced.
It's an crucial distinction. The signature launches the bill and does not remove any serious objections to its constitutional compatibility. The president justified his decision with the request to end a political game in which the government made action for cheaper fuel dependent on the signature of the head of state. Now Donald Tusk's office can no longer cover the Presidential Palace.
The dispute didn't start today. The first version of the taxation went to the Constitutional Court, and the next task retained the reverse solution. The fresh tribute is expected to cover gross achieved from 1 March, although the provisions enter into force 8 months later. This way of legislating undermines business assurance in the state and creates a dangerous taxation precedent.
Who will pay 60 percent of the tribute
Act of September 18, 2026 indicate 2 groups of taxpayers. They are companies producing liquid fuels in Poland and companies trading in fuels on the basis of a concession to trade liquid fuels with abroad. The taxation does not so cover any gas station or any trader selling fuel. The kind of activity specified in the Act counts.
The rate is 60 percent, but not from the full company's income. The basis is the excess actual fuel sales gross over hypothetical revenues, calculated utilizing the mention margin. The mention point is the average fuel sales margin of 2025, increased by 20%. If the margin so calculated would be lower than 2%, the Act requires a threshold of 2 percent.
Additional fuses are provided for abroad trade operators who do not produce fuels themselves. Their taxation must not exceed 50% of the income or net profit per period covered by the tax. The first advance will cover months from March to October 2026, and the companies are due to deposit it by 25 November. The final message must be made by 31 December 2027.
Money will go to the budget, not to a separate fund
Here is simply a major problem of the full structure. taxation gross will become the gross of the state budget. The Act itself does not make a separate fund intended exclusively for lowering fuel prices. The Minister of Finance receives only the anticipation of temporarily reducing excise duties. There is no statutory warrant for all collected buck to return to drivers, farmers and transport companies.
The President's office pointed to this absence before signing. She proposed a special-purpose fund, regular reports to the Sejm and the legislature and a clear link of influence with price cuts. Parliament has not introduced these guarantees. The president so put a political condition on the government: the money obtained from the tribute is intended to reduce the bills at the stations.
The government task originally estimated revenues for the period from March to December 2026 at PLN 4 billion. This was a calculation based on the sector concerned, including the results of Orlen, alternatively than a certain amount of revenue. The final bill extended the taxation period until the end of March 2027, which is why the actual income of the budget will depend on the margins and performance of companies throughout the full period covered.
The bill for Poles will settle at stations
Taxing an extraordinary margin can be justified erstwhile the crisis benefits the companies at the expense of the full economy. The State has the right to react. However, it must act in accordance with the constitution and show citizens what it is spending the money on. The Act lacked both safeguards: a ban on retroactive action and a hard warrant of price reduction.
The cost of fuel hits the full economy. The driver pays for the distributor, the farmer during field work and the entrepreneur delivering the goods to the store. The higher burden on the fuel sector besides creates force on prices and reduces investment resources. Therefore, the government must simultaneously reduce indirect taxes and defender margins, alternatively of treating the fresh tribute as an easy way to fix the budget.
Karol Nawrocki's signature takes the government's convenient excuse. Now the consequence of this operation will be measured on the distributor. If prices do not fall, Poles will see that the taxation called a shield has become another origin of gross for the state. National interest requires cheaper energy, a certain right and full control of all public gold.
Source: Message of the president of the Republic of Poland of 1 October 2026., text of the Act in legislature Printing No 843, NRP communication of 22 September 2026.
