The Council of Ministers adopted a draft amendment to the Sugar Fee Act

On Tuesday, September 22, the Council of Ministers adopted a draft amendment to the Public Health Act and certain other acts, which is intended to simplify and tighten the system of collecting the so-called sugar levy. According to the Chancellery of the Prime Minister, after the changes, the obligation to pay will be transferred to producers, importers and entities purchasing drinks from other European Union countries.

"The regulations clarify the rules for determining the fee and eliminate doubts in interpretation. Currently, the obligation to pay the fee may rest with various entities - a seller of beverages to a retail outlet, an entity conducting retail sales or ordering the production of a beverage. Determining who should pay the fee requires, in practice, an analysis of the entire supply chain," the Prime Minister's Office said.

The new solutions will cover not only sales, but also donations, issuance, transfer or use of drinks for business purposes, representation and advertising. Donations made to public benefit organizations for charitable purposes will remain excluded from the fee.

New rules and higher rates

The project also provides for changes in the method of calculating the fee. The basis will be the total amount of sugars - both added and naturally occurring - indicated on the drink packaging.

The fee will exclude:

drinks consisting of a mixture of water and fruit or vegetable juice, if no sugars, sweeteners, caffeine or taurine have been added to them,

nectars from highly acidic fruit, if the sugar content does not exceed 13 g per 100 ml and no sweeteners, caffeine or taurine have been added to them.

Another important change is the possibility of refunding the sugar fee on drinks exported from Poland as part of export or intra-Community delivery.

How much will sweet drinks cost?

The amendment assumes an increase in sugar levy rates.

The fixed fee (for drinks containing up to 5 g of sugar per 100 ml or sweeteners) is to increase from 50 gr to 70 gr per liter.

In turn, the variable fee (for each gram of sugar above the 5 g threshold) will increase twice - from 5 gr to 10 gr.

The maximum tax limit for one liter of drink will increase from PLN 1.20 to PLN 1.80.

The Ministry of Finance explains: "The current fee was adopted in 2020 and differs significantly from current beverage prices. Therefore, it is insufficient to influence consumer behavior and achieve the health goals adopted when introducing the fee."