In April 2025 new provisions amending the Act on the Military Property Agency (AMW) went into force enabling the Agency more effective and faster realization of tasks to protect the defense and state security. The powers of the Agency as to the disposal of assets of the State Treasury were extended and specified in particular to organize International Air Shows promoting Polish aircraft and air capabilities.
New amendments were also introduced to the act on protection of the recipients of electricity due to the current situation on the electricity market. This new bill aims at the protection of private households against excessive rises of prices for electricity. The main change concerns the postponement of the deadline from 1st July 2025 to 1st October 2025. The postponement applies also to the date of fulfilling tariff requests by energy entrepreneurs from 30th April to 31st July 2025. This is to better reflect the market conditions in the tariff calculation.
We should also draw your attention to the Polish bill from 20th March 2025 regarding the ratification of amendments of the President of Poland to the Maritime Labor Convention 2006 (MLC, 2006) that sets standards for decent working and living conditions of seafarers. It provides a comprehensive framework covering various aspects of their employment, including working hours, wages, leave, repatriation, and medical care, as well as accommodation and food. The MLC, 2006 also aims to create a level playing field for countries and shipowners who adhere to decent work standards, protecting them from unfair competition by those who operate substandard ships.
Significant changes were introduced in April 2025 to the Act on the Common Court System and Court Martial System in particular subject to terms under which the minister of justice is allowed to delegate a judge of the ordinary court and a judge of the marital court to perform duties as a judge at another court and the announcement of such delegation (and later its cancellation) in the Public Information Bulletin.
April 2025 saw also changes to the Act on Development Cooperation and other Acts aiming at the supplementing of the tasks of the National Development Bank (Polish abbreviation: BGK) within the scope of so – called Development Cooperation. Measures taken by the BGK designated at the aid to development countries or their societies will be deemed the “Development Cooperation” within the international solidarity involving promotion and supporting of democracy, developing of parliamentarism, respecting for human rights and social and business developing.
New provisions were also introduced to the Spatial Planning and Development Act. Its goal is directed at the extension of the deadline for applicability of the studies of conditions and directions of special development in the municipalities. This deadline has been extended from 31st December 2025 until the 30th June 2026, by six months. That means that all municipalities must elaborate and pass such studies and directions by the end of June 2026 at the very latest.
At this point we should also mention the revisions of the provisions of the Polish Tax Code in the light of the implantation of the Case C-322/22, subject to the Judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union (Seventh Chamber) of 8 June 2023 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Supreme Administrative Court — Poland) — v. Director of the State Administration Chamber in Wrocław concerning the principle of sincere cooperation and of effectiveness. According to the judgment principle of effectiveness, in conjunction with the principle of sincere cooperation, must be interpreted as precluding a piece of national legislation which, when a request for a refund of an overpayment of tax is submitted more than 30 days after the publication in the Official Journal of the European Union of a ruling of the Court of Justice from which the finding that the tax at issue is contrary to EU law is derived, limits the running of the interest on the overpayment due to the taxable person concerned to the thirtieth day following that publication, or even excludes interest entirely in a situation where that overpayment was incurred by the taxable person after that thirtieth day.
In April we have also experienced changes to legal provisions about the admissibility of work by foreigners in Poland. Their purpose is especially to limit misconduct, to facilitate the procedures regarding the entrusting of work to foreigners and its acceleration and digitalization.
