The Polish government has decided to postpone the implementation of the new retail tax until 1 July 2020, reports suggest.
The decision was taken at a government meeting led by Polish prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki.
This postponement is favourable to the Portuguese group Jerónimo Martins, which obtains most of its revenues in Poland, where it operates under the Biedronka brand, according to a report in the daily, Jornal de Negocios.
The Dispute
Poland decided to impose the tax on retailers' revenues in 2016, which resulted in a dispute between regulators and the European Court of Justice.
In September 2016, the European Commission opened an investigation into whether the new tax - which only applied to companies with a monthly turnover over PLN 17 million (€3.97 million) - would not violate state aid rules.
It ordered Polish authorities to immediately suspend the application of the tax "until the Commission adopts a decision on compatibility with the internal market".
In June 2017, Brussels confirmed its opposition to the new tax as constituting 'state aid', thus violating EU rules.
However, the decision was overturned by the Court of Justice of the EU which, in May 2019, found that the European Commission had committed an error in its assessment of the measure.
The Court annulled the Commission's decision, opening the door for the Polish authorities to reintroduce the tax.
However, this reintroduction has not yet happened because EU regulators appealed in July against the decision of the EU Court of Justice and there is still no final verdict.
© 2019 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Branislav Pekic. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
