Legal changes for fuel licensees – Check if they apply to your business!

In December, the Ministry of Industry presented draft regulations related to the implementation of changes resulting from Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2522 of September 23, 2024, which provides for the replacement of the existing code:

• CN 2710 19 43 – diesel fuel with a sulfur content not exceeding 0.001% by weight to two new codes, viz:

1. 1. 1. CN 2710 19 42 – diesel fuel with a biogenic carbon content of at least 80% by weight;
      2. CN 2710 19 44 – other diesel fuel (with a sulfur content not exceeding 0.001% by weight).

The changes that occurred in EC Regulation 2024/2522 affected several key regulations in force in Poland, viz:

1. 1. 1. Regulation of the Minister of Assets of November 27, 2019 on the detailed list of liquid fuels whose production, storage or handling, transmission or distribution, trading, including trading with foreign countries, requires a license and whose import requires entry in the register of importing entities (Journal of Laws 2021.2336 t.j. of 2021.12.17) (details in our publication available at the Link);
      2. Regulation of the Minister of Climate of August 7, 2020 on the detailed list of raw materials and petroleum products covered by the system of intervention stocks and the list of fuels constituting the basis for calculating the reserve fee (Dz.U.2020.1373 as of 2020.08.12);
      3. Regulation of the Minister of Economy of March 25, 2010 on methods of testing the quality of liquid fuels (OJ.2017.247, dated 2017.02.14).

In connection with the above, legislative work is underway on the following legal acts:

Amendments to the Regulation on the detailed list of raw materials and petroleum products covered by the system of intervention stocks and the list of fuels forming the basis for calculating the reserve fee

The Regulation amending the Regulation on the detailed list of raw materials and petroleum products covered by the intervention stock system and the list of fuels constituting the basis for calculating the reserve fee (list no. RCL 6) provides for the following amendments:

1. 1. 1. § 2 point 10(a) – which lists the CN codes for which the obligation to determine the required quantity of intervention stocks arises;
      2. § 4 point 8(a) – which shows CN codes for which the obligation to establish intervention stocks arises;
      3. § 6 point 7(a) – which shows CN codes for which the obligation to calculate the reserve fee arises.

The changes involve replacing CN code 2710 19 43 with CN 2710 19 42 and CN 2710 19 42.

It is worth mentioning that despite the fact that the amendment to the regulation on the detailed list of raw materials and petroleum products covered by the intervention stock system and the list of fuels constituting the basis for calculating the reserve fee will enter into force as early as January 1, 2025, it will still be possible to use CN code 2710 19 43 until July 31, 2026.

More information on the draft regulation, available at the following link: https://legislacja.rcl.gov.pl/projekt/12392252/katalog/13098950#13098950

Amendments to the Regulation on methods for testing the quality of liquid fuels

The regulation amending the Regulation on Methods for Testing the Quality of Liquid Fuels (List No. RCL 8) provides for modifications, in § 1(2) of the Regulation on Methods for Testing the Quality of Liquid Fuels, by removing CN code 2710 19 43 and replacing it with CN codes 2710 19 42 and CN code 2710 19 44. This means that the new CN codes will be covered by the test methods specified in the annex to the amended regulation. In addition, the regulation will amend Annex I (Methods for testing the quality of motor gasoline used in particular in vehicles and recreational craft equipped with spark-ignition engines, with regard to the individual parameters of these gasolines) in point 6.1 where the temperature of the test sample in the pressure bomb will be between 98°C and 102°C.

The Ordinance amending the Ordinance on methods for testing the quality of liquid fuels will enter into force on January 1, 2025.

More information about the regulation is available at the following link: https://legislacja.rcl.gov.pl/projekt/12392305/katalog/13099294#13099294

To summarize the most important information – it will be crucial for those affected by obligations under the Emergency Stocks Ordinance to correctly establish emergency stocks starting from January 1, 2025, as well as to correctly calculate the stockpile fee. We would like to remind you that the obligation to establish and maintain mandatory stocks is described in Articles 5 and 24 of the Act of February 16, 2007 on Stocks of Crude Oil, Petroleum Products and Natural Gas and the Principles of Handling Situations of Threat to the State’s Fuel Security and Disturbances in the Oil Market (Journal of Laws 2024 .1281 t.i.e. dated 2024.08.23), and failure to comply with this obligation, as well as the obligation to pay the reserve fee in the due amount and on time, entails a sanction in the form of a fine, according to Article 63.1.1a of the Law on Reserves.