The government wants to adopt a draft law on the tax on extraordinary profits from the production of certain liquid fuels and their trade in 2026 by the end of June – according to the government's list of legislative works.
“The new levy enables the redistribution of part of the above-average profits of oil sector enterprises – which would not be achieved under normal market conditions – by using them, among others, to finance protective measures currently burdening the state budget,” we read in the entry included on Tuesday in the list of legislative and program works of the Council of Ministers.
This concerns the “Fuel Prices Lower” (CPN) package of regulations in force since the end of March, which includes a reduction in the VAT rate and excise duty on gasoline and diesel oil, as well as maximum retail fuel prices announced daily.
The authority responsible for developing the project is the Ministry of Finance. The planned date of adoption of the project by the Council of Ministers is the second quarter of 2026.
According to the assumptions, the tax is to cover entrepreneurs who produce certain liquid fuels or import them from abroad in the period from March 1, 2026 to December 31, 2026. The tax base is to be the surplus of revenues achieved by the taxpayer from the sale of liquid fuels over the amount of revenues in this respect that would be achieved by this taxpayer using its average sales margin of liquid fuels from 2025 increased by 20 percent
“The value determined in this way will constitute the so-called reference margin. The proposed structure guarantees that the introduction of the new levy will be carried out without prejudice to the entrepreneur's normal profitability or burdening the profits resulting from the standard development of the business,” we read.
According to the Ministry of Finance, the tax rate is 75%. the tax base proportionally reflects the scale of the unexpected benefits, while leaving the taxpayer the opportunity to dispose of the remaining part of the extraordinary profit.
“The levy collection system will be based on a self-calculation mechanism, including monthly advance payments and annual settlement via a dedicated tax declaration, which ensures ongoing funding of the budget without generating excessive administrative burdens on the part of the taxpayer and the tax authorities,” it was also reported.
In the report on the implementation of the medium-term budgetary and structural plan for 2025-2028, the Ministry of Finance indicated that the tax on excess profits is intended to compensate for the loss of budget revenues resulting from the implementation of the “Lower Fuel Prices” package.
At the end of April, Minister Andrzej Domański announced that revenues from the tax on excess profits should exceed PLN 4 billion, and one of the companies that may be subject to such a tax is Orlen. Earlier, at the end of March, Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced that the government would introduce a tax on excess profits of fuel companies.
The article is being updated
