Poland

Status

Adopted

Explanatory note re status

A bill implementing the Omnibus Directive into Polish law came into force on 1 January 2023. 

The act has introduced the following laws:

• the Act on Consumer Rights;
• the Act on Competition and Consumer Protection;
• the Act on Combating Unfair Commercial Practices; and
• the Act on Informing about Prices of Goods and Services. 

Implementation Act

The Act of 1 December 2022 Amending the Act on Consumer Rights and Certain Other Acts (Ustawa z dnia z dnia 1 grudnia 2022 r. o zmianie ustawy o prawach konsumenta oraz niektórych innych ustaw).

(Envisaged) Implementation Date

The new rules have entered into force on 1 January 2023.

Approach to implementation

Amendments to existing laws (see "Implementation Act" section).

Next steps

N/A

A. Amendment to Unfair Contract Terms Directive (Directive 93/13/EEC)

What penalties can be imposed for infringements of consumer rights related to consumer contracts? 
Has the option to limit the penalties been implemented? 

Polish law currently provides penalty provisions for infringements of the national provisions adopted pursuant to the Unfair Contract Terms Directive.

Under Art. 23a of the Act on Competition and Consumer Protection it is prohibited to use in standard contracts concluded with consumers prohibited contractual terms and conditions referred to in Art. 3851 Sec. 1 of the Act of 23 April 1964. - Civil Code. Further, pursuant to Art. 23b of the Act on Competition and Consumer Protection, the relevant enforcement authorities (the President of the Office for Competition and Consumer Protection) shall issue a decision declaring the provisions of the standard contract forbidden and prohibiting its use, if it finds a violation of the prohibition specified in Article 23a.

In such a decision the relevant consumer protection authority may determine measures to remove the continuing effects of the breach and in particular oblige the trader to:

1. inform consumers who are parties to contracts, in the manner specified in the decision, of the fact that a provision of that contract with the trader has been declared prohibited; or
2. make a single or multiple declarations with the contents and in the form specified in the decision.

The relevant consumer protection authority may also order the publication of the decision in whole or in part, with indication whether the decision is legally valid, in the form specified therein, at the entrepreneur's expense.

According to Article 106 Sec. 1(3a) of the Act on Competition and Consumer Protection, the relevant enforcement authorities (the President of the Office for Competition and Consumer Protection) may impose on an enterprise a fine up to 10% of the enterprise's turnover. This is a financial penalty amounting to no more than 10% of the turnover generated in the financial year preceding the year in which the penalty is imposed - even if the enterprise unintentionally violated the prohibition against the use of unfair contractual terms.

Art. 106 of the Act on Competition and Consumer Protection will be supplemented with Sec. 8, adding that, if it is not possible to determine the amount of the turnover achieved generated by the enterprise in the financial year preceding the year in which the penalty is imposed due to the unavailability of financial data, the President of the Office may impose a financial penalty in an amount of up to EUR 2,000,000.

In addition, if an enterprise violates the prohibition against the use of unfair commercial practices, a manager of such enterprise may be subject to a financial penalty of up to PLN 2,000,000 (or up to PLN 5,000,000 in case of managing person in an entity subject to financial market supervision) if such person intentionally enabled the enterprise to commit the above violation as part of performing their function at the time of the identified violation (Art. 106b Sec. 1 and 2 of the Act on Competition and Consumer Protection).

The criteria for imposing penalties set out in Art. 111 of the Act on Competition and Consumer Protection will be supplemented with the additional criterion of sanctions imposed on a seller or supplier for the same infringement in other Member States in cross-border cases, if information on such sanctions is available under the mechanism established by Regulation (EU) 2017/2394 of the European Parliament and of the Council.

Poland has refrained from implementing the option given by the Directive to set higher maximum fines.

B. Amendments to Price Indications Directive (98/6/EC)

I. What obligations must traders now comply with when advertising price reductions to consumers?

At the place of retail sale and provision of services, the trader must display the price and the unit price of the good (service) clearly and without ambiguity and allow to compare the prices.

When announcing a price reduction, a trader must indicate the lowest price of the goods or services within 30 days prior to applying the price reduction.

The Polish legislator has implemented two exceptions, and so the above does not apply to:

• goods or services that have been on sale for less than 30 days (then the lowest price since the start of the sale must be indicated); and
• goods that are liable to deteriorate or expire rapidly (then the information on the price from before the first application of the price reduction must be indicated).

The above is stipulated in Art. 4 of the Act on Informing about Prices of Goods and Services.

The Polish legislator chose not to implement the exception concerning gradual price reductions.

Under Polish rules, new obligations on price reductions apply not only to goods but also to services.

II. What penalties can now be imposed for infringements of consumer rights related to the indication of the prices of products offered to consumers? What criteria have been established for the imposition of the fines?

If an entrepreneur fails to perform the obligations referred to in Art. 4 of the Act on Informing about Prices of Goods and Services, the Provincial Inspector of the Commercial Inspectorate may impose a fine, by way of a decision, of up to PLN 20,000.

If the entrepreneur has failed to comply with the obligations referred to in Art. 4 of the Act on Informing about Prices of Goods and Services at least three times within 12 months from the date when the first violation of these obligations was found, the authority may impose a financial penalty of up to PLN 40,000.

According to the amended Art. 6 of the Act on Informing about Prices of Goods and Services, when establishing the amount of the fine, the following criteria are taken into account:

1. the degree of the breach of the obligations, its nature, gravity, scale, and duration,
2. the previous activity of the enterprise, including actions taken to mitigate or remedy the damage suffered by consumers,
3. previous breaches of the obligations and obtained by the entrepreneur pecuniary gains or losses in connection with the breach of obligations,
4. the enterprise’s turnover and income,
5. sanctions imposed on an entrepreneur for the same infringement in other Member States in cross-border cases, if information on such sanctions is available under the mechanism established by Regulation (EU) 2017/2394 of the European Parliament and of the Council.

Further, if the infringement related to the indication of the prices constitutes an unfair market practice within the meaning of the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (as implemented in Poland), then further fines under the Act on Competition and Consumer Protection may apply.

C. Amendments to Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (2005/29/EC)

I. What are the implications of "digital services and content" now being considered "products" under the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive?

The terms "digital service" and "digital content" have been introduced into the Act on Combating Unfair Commercial Practices. This means that the provisions of the Act will also apply to digital services and content.

The relevant changes are described further in this section C.

II. What changes for traders who offer goods and services of different traders or consumers on their website that are displayed in a certain order when searched by a consumer ("rankings")?

Traders who operate such a search function have to inform the consumer, at the latest when the consumer expresses his will to be bound a distance contract, in a clear and comprehensible manner, appropriate to the means of remote communication used, about the main parameters used to rank products in online searches and about the relative importance of these parameters compared to other parameters.

This results from an addition of Art. 12a to the Act on Consumer Rights.

Failure to provide information on parameters that determine the ranking or providing such information improperly may constitute a misleading omission within the meaning of Act on Combating Unfair Practices.

Further, providing search results without explicitly disclosing paid advertising or payments made specifically to obtain a higher ranking of products within the search results (in response to an internet search by a consumer) constitutes unfair market practice in all circumstances (Art. 7(11a) of the Act on Combating Unfair Commercial Practices).

III. What are the transparency obligations that traders who operate online marketplaces where other traders and consumers can sell goods and services must comply with now?

Traders who operate online marketplaces have to inform consumers at the latest when the consumer expresses his will to be bound a distance contract, in a clear and comprehensible manner, appropriate to the means of remote communication used, about whether a given item is purchased from another consumer or another trader and that, in the case of transactions with other consumers, the consumer will not benefit from EU consumer protection rules.

There is also an obligation to inform consumers about the sharing of obligations related to a contract concluded by a consumer on an online trading platform, between the third party offering the goods, services or digital content and the provider of the online trading platform (Art. 12a has been added to the Act on Consumer Rights).

The provision of the above information by the trader is mandatory.

IV. Are there any new provisions for consumer protection against unfair practices in doorstep selling and commercial excursions?

Under Polish law, doorstep selling constitutes an aggressive commercial practice in all circumstances if the trader ignores the consumer's request to leave the consumer's premises or the consumer's request to cease paying such visits (Art. 9 (1) of the Act on Combating Unfair Commercial Practices).

Poland has not introduced any further rules on door-to-door selling or shopping trips (i.e. trips organised by a trader with the aim or effect of promoting or selling products to consumers) under the Act on Combating Unfair Commercial Practices.

However, under the new Art. 27 of the Act on Consumer Rights, if a consumer has entered into an off-premises contract during a door-to-door selling or commercial excursion, the withdrawal period is 30 days.

V. What transparency obligations must traders who publish consumer reviews now comply with?

Traders are obliged to inform consumers about whether and how they ensure that reviews originate from consumers who are actual users/buyers.

This only covers traders who make consumer reviews accessible.

This follows from the planned addition of a provision to Art. 6 in Sec. 4(7) to the Act on Combating Unfair Commercial Practices.

Moreover, new categories of market practices that are deemed unfair in all circumstances will be added to Art. 7 of the same act, i.e:

• a claim by a trader who provides consumer reviews of a product that the product reviews have been posted by consumers who have used or purchased the product, without the trader having taken reasonable and proportionate steps to verify that the reviews originate from such consumers; or
• posting or causing another person to post a false consumer opinion or recommendation, or distorting or causing another person to distort a consumer opinion or recommendation, in order to promote a product.

VI. What must traders who market a good, in one Member State, as being identical to a good marketed in other Member States, while the goods have a different composition ("dual quality"), consider now?

Any marketing of goods in one or more Member States as identical to goods marketed in other Member States, where the goods differ materially in their composition or properties, will be deemed to be misleading unless it is supported by legitimate, objective factors.

This has been added as point 5 to Art. 5(2) of the Act on Combating Unfair Commercial Practices.

VII. Under what conditions and with what effects are legal remedies now available to consumers who have been harmed by unfair commercial practices?

Currently, where the use of an unfair market practice is found, under article 3(1) of Act on Combating Unfair Commercial Practices, a consumer whose interest has been threatened or infringed may demand:

1. that the practice be discontinued;
2. that the effects of the practice be removed;
3. that the offender make a one-time or repeated statement of appropriate content and form;
4. that the offender redress the damage caused in accordance with general principles, and in particular may demand the cancellation of the agreement with the obligation of a mutual return of benefits and reimbursement by the trader of the costs associated with the acquisition of the product; and
5. the award of an appropriate sum of money for a specific social purpose related to the promotion of Polish culture, the protection of national heritage or consumer protection.

Point 3a has been added to this catalogue, which will stipulate that a consumer may also request, where appropriate, a price reduction.

VIII. What penalties can be imposed for infringements of consumer rights by unfair commercial practices?

Polish law currently provides penalty provisions for infringements of the national provisions adopted pursuant to the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive.

According to Art. 106 Sec. 1(4) of the Act on Competition and Consumer Protection, the relevant enforcement authorities (the President of the Office for Competition and Consumer protection) may impose on an enterprise a financial penalty amounting to no more than 10% of the turnover generated in the financial year preceding the year in which the penalty is imposed - if the enterprise even unintentionally violates the prohibition against the use of unfair commercial practices.

Art. 106 of the the Act on Competition and Consumer Protection will be supplemented with Sec. 8, adding that, if it is not possible to determine the amount of the turnover generated by the enterprise in the financial year preceding the year in which the penalty is imposed due to the unavailability of financial data, the President of the Office may impose a financial penalty in an amount of up to EUR 2,000,000.

Poland has refrained from implementing the option given by the Directive to set higher maximum fines. In addition, if an enterprise violates the prohibition against the use of unfair commercial practices, a manager of such entrepreneur may be subject to a financial penalty of up to PLN 2,000,000 (or up to PLN 5,000,000 in case of a manager in an entity subject to financial market supervision) if such person intentionally enabled the enterprise to commit the above violation as part of performing their function at the time of the identified violation (Art. 106b Sec. 1 and 2 of the Act on Competition and Consumer Protection).

The criteria for imposing penalties set out in Art. 111 of the Act on Competition and Consumer Protection will be supplemented with an additional criterion of sanctions imposed on a seller or supplier for the same infringement in other Member States in cross-border cases, if information on such sanctions is available under the mechanism established by Regulation (EU) 2017/2394 of the European Parliament and of the Council.

D. Amendments to Consumer Rights Directive (2011/83/EC)

I. What are the implications of "goods with digital elements" and "digital services and content" now falling within the scope of the Consumer Rights Directive? Must traders consider any new information requirements?

Goods with digital elements, as well as digital content and digital services, will be subject to the same rules as all other goods and services covered by the Consumer Rights Directive.

However, the following additional information obligation must be fulfilled in the case of goods with digital elements, digital content or digital services:

a) information on the trader's legal responsibility for the conformity of the performance with the contract;

b) information on the functionality of goods with digital elements, digital content or digital services and the technical means for their protection; and

c) information on relevant compatibility and interoperability of goods with digital elements, digital content or digital services (the above is implemented in Art. 8 point 5, 8 and 9 of the Act on Consumer Rights and in Art. 12 Sec. 1 point 13, 19 and 20 of the Act on Consumer Rights).

The above information must be provided at the latest at the moment when a consumer expresses his/her will to be bound by a distance or off-premises contract.

II. Do the national provisions that transpose the rules under the Consumer Rights Directive also apply when consumers "pay" for the provision of digital content or services with personal data?

Yes.

In Poland the rule set out in Art. 3 Sec.1a of the Consumer Rights Directive will be transposed through the amendment of the Act on Consumer Rights by adding Art. 3 Sec. 1 point 11 to the Act on Consumer Rights pursuant to which, the provisions of the Act on Consumer Rights do not apply to the contracts for the supply of digital content or a digital service where there is no obligation on the consumer to provide anything other than the supply of personal data in exchange and those data are processed by the trader for the sole purpose of:

(a) the supply of digital content or a digital service; or

(b) fulfil a legal obligation.

Hence, all contracts that fall outside the scope of the criteria above will be governed by the provisions of the Act on Consumer Rights.

III. What new information obligations and formal requirements must traders comply with for distance or off premise contracts with consumers?

When concluding a distance or off-premise contract, a trader will have to provide the consumer with the trader's address, email address and telephone number to enable the consumer to communicate with the trader quickly and effectively. The obligation to indicate a fax number is no longer applicable.

In addition, the trader will have to provide the consumer with information about other means of communication that:

a) guarantee that written correspondence between the consumer and the enterprise is preserved, including the date and time of such correspondence;

b) meet the requirements of a durable medium;

c) ensure quick and effective contact between the consumer and the trader

if such a measure is additionally made available by the enterprise. In addition, a trader will have to inform the consumer about whether the trader has personalised the price of a specific product/service on the basis of automated decision-making.

Before concluding a contract, the trader will have to inform the consumer about the following:

• the liability of the trader for the performance of the contract;
• the functionality of goods with digital elements or digital products, including the applicable technical protection measures; and
• where material, the compatibility and interoperability of the goods with digital elements or digital products, to the extent that this information is known or ought to be known by the trader.

These amendments will be introduced in Art. 12 of Act on Competition and Consumer Protection.

Where there is only limited space or time to display the information, the main characteristics of the goods or services, the identity of the trader, the total price, the right of withdrawal, the duration of the contract and the conditions of termination of indeterminate contracts will must be indicated. However, the trader will must still provide the other mandatory information, including the model withdrawal form, in an appropriate manner.

IV. Which additional specific information requirements apply for contracts concluded on online marketplaces?

Pursuant to the new Art. 12a of Act on Consumer Rights, information obligations apply to operators of online marketplaces. These information obligations, inter alia, include information concerning:

• the main parameters for determining the ranking presented to the user;
• whether or not the third party offering their goods, services or digital product is a trader;
• the non-applicability of consumer protection law if the third party offering the goods, services or digital product is not a trader; and
• how the obligations related to the contract are shared between the third party offering the goods, services or digital product and the operator of the online marketplace.

The Polish legislator has not used the option provided in the Omnibus Directive to impose additional information requirements for providers of online marketplaces.

V. In case of a withdrawal by the consumer: What must traders consider with regard to the use of content (other than personal data) created or provided by the consumer when using digital products provided by the trader?

In the case where a consumer withdraws from an agreement, the trader must refrain from using content that is not personal data and that was provided or created by the consumer when using the digital content or services provided by the trader, unless that content:

1. has no use outside the context of the relevant digital content or digital services;
2. is related exclusively to the activity of the consumer when using the relevant digital content or the digital service;
3. has been aggregated by the trader with other data and cannot be disaggregated, or can only be disaggregated with disproportionate effort; or
4. was created by the consumer together with others and other consumers may continue to use the content.

Upon request, the trader must also provide the consumer with the content provided or created by the consumer (unless the first three exceptions (1-3) above apply). This must be done free of charge, within a reasonable period of time, and in a common and machine-readable format.

In the case where a consumer withdraws from a contract, the trader can prevent the consumer from continuing to use the digital content or digital service, in particular by preventing the consumer from accessing the digital content or digital service or by blocking the user's account. This provision does not affect the consumer's rights referred to above.

This will be added as Art. 32a of the Act on Competition and Consumer Protection.

VI. What are the new provisions for the expiry of / exceptions from the consumer's right of withdrawal?

The right of withdrawal will expire with respect to contracts:

• for the provision of services for which the consumer pays a price, if the services have been fully performed and the consumer expressly consented to the performance of the service before the expiry of the withdrawal period and acknowledged the expiry of the right of withdrawal.
• for the provision of digital content which is not supplied on a tangible medium for which the consumer pays a price, if the trader started the service with the express consent of the consumer and the consumer expressly consented to the performance of the service before the expiry of the withdrawal period and acknowledged the expiry of the right of withdrawal, and the trader provided the consumer with confirmation of receipt of consent.
• for the provision of services for which the consumer pays a price and for which the consumer expressly requested that the trader come to him to carry out a repair and the service has already been fully performed with the consumer's prior expressed consent. This has been added as Art. 32a of the Act on Consumer Rights. 

VII. What penalties can be imposed for infringements of consumer rights?

Polish law provides penalty provisions applicable to infringements of the national provisions adopted pursuant to the Consumer Rights Directive. Amended Art. 24 of the Consumer Rights Directive is currently implemented in the following provisions of the Act on Competition and Consumer Protection (in force): Art. 24, Art. 106 Sec. 1 point 4, Art. 111 Secs. 1(1), 2, 3(1a-d)-(2), 4(2), 8.

Under Art. 24 Sec. 2 (2) of the Act on Competition and Consumer Protection practices harmful to collective interest of consumers shall be understood as conduct of an enterprise to the detriment of the said collective interest, which is contrary to law or morals, and in particular a breach of the obligation to provide reliable, correct, and complete information to consumers. Further, pursuant to Art. 26(1) of the Act on Competition and Consumer Protection, where an infringement of the prohibition referred to in Article 24 is found, the President of the Office issues a decision to consider a practice to be harmful to the collective interests of consumers and to impose an injunction against that practice.

The relevant consumer protection authority may also order the publication of the decision in whole or in part, with indication whether the decision is legally valid, in the form specified therein, at the enterprise's expense. According to Article 106 Sec. 1(4) of the Act on Competition and Consumer Protection, the relevant enforcement authorities (the President of the Office for Competition and Consumer Protection) may impose on an enterprise a fine up to 10% of the entrepreneur's turnover a financial penalty amounting to no more than 10% of the turnover generated in the financial year preceding the year in which the penalty is imposed if the enterprise even unintentionally violates the prohibition against the use of unfair commercial practices.

Art. 106 of the Act on Competition and Consumer Protection will be supplemented with Sec. 8, adding that, if it is not possible to determine the amount of the turnover achieved generated by the enterprise in the financial year preceding the year in which the penalty is imposed due to the unavailability of financial data, the President of the Office may impose a financial penalty in an amount of up to EUR 2,000,000.

In addition, if an enterprise violates the prohibition against the use of unfair commercial practices, a manager of such an enterprise may be subject to a financial penalty of up to PLN 2,000,000 (or up to PLN 5,000,000 in case of a manager in an entity subject to financial market supervision) if such person intentionally enabled the enterprise to commit the above violation as part of performing their function at the time of the identified violation (Art. 106b Sec. 1 and 2 of the Act on Competition and Consumer Protection).

The criteria for imposing penalties set out in Art. 111 of the Act on Competition and Consumer Protection will be supplemented with an additional criterion of sanctions imposed on a seller or supplier for the same infringement in other Member States in cross-border cases, if information on such sanctions is available under the mechanism established by Regulation (EU) 2017/2394 of the European Parliament and of the Council.

Poland has refrained from implementing the option given by the Directive to set higher maximum fines.

E. Optional Provisions and Deviations

Has the Member State transposed a provision which is optional under the Omnibus Directive or made use of a deviation possibility provided for therein?

Optional provisions/deviations:

• Art. 8b para. 2 of the Unfair Contract Terms Directive: Poland has not used the optional limitation of penalties for infringements of consumer rights related to consumer contracts.
• Art. 6a No. 3 to 5 of the Price Indication Directive: Poland has made use of two options to exempt certain products or practices from the obligation to indicate the prior price when announcing a price reduction
• Art. 3 para. 5 of the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive: Poland has not used the option to regulate new obligations for consumer protection against unfair practices in commercial excursions or doorstep selling.
• Art. 11a para. 1 and 2 of the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive: before implementation of the Omnibus Directive, Poland already had in place remedies under which the consumer has right to request: 1) that the practice be discontinued; 2) that the effects of the practice be removed; 3) that the offender make a one-time or repeated statement of appropriate content and form; 4) that the offender redress the damage caused in accordance with general principles, and in particular may demand the cancellation of the agreement with the obligation of a mutual return of benefits and reimbursement by the trader of the costs associated with the acquisition of the product; and 5) the award of an appropriate sum of money for a specific social purpose related to the promotion of Polish culture, the protection of national heritage or consumer protection. As a result of implementing Art. 11a of the Directive, Poland introduced additional remedy under which consumer may request price reduction (Art. 12(1)(5) of the Act on Combating Unfair Commercial Practices.
• Art. 13 para. 3 of the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive: No use has been made of the option to limit fines to breaches of certain provisions of the Directive. Poland has not used the option to regulate higher maximum fines than the ones provided for in the Directive.
• Art. 6a para. 2 of the Consumer Rights Directive: Poland has not used the option to regulate additional information obligations for online marketplace operators.
• Art. 9 para. 1a of the Consumer Rights Directive: Poland has used the option to extend the withdrawal period for consumer contracts concluded on the occasion of door-to-door selling or commercial excursions, extending that period to 30 days.
• Art. 16 para. 2 Consumer Rights Directive: Poland has used the option to derogate from some of the exceptions to the right of withdrawal set out in Article 16 para. 1 for contracts concluded in the context of door-to-door selling or commercial excursions.
• Art. 16 para. 3 of the Consumer Rights Directive: Poland has used the option to provide that, in the case of service contracts where the consumer has specifically requested a visit from the trader for the purpose of carrying out repairs, the consumer loses the right of withdrawal after the service has been fully performed, provided that the performance was begun with the consumer's prior consent.
• Art. 24 of the Consumer Rights Directive: Poland has not used the option to regulate higher maximum fines than the ones provided for in the Directive.

Noteworthy points arising from legislative changes

It is worth mentioning that there are rules that are in force since 01 January 2021, which are of purely local character.

Polish law grants certain rights, which are enjoyed solely by consumers, to self-employed persons. Such persons may exercise their new rights with respect to agreements directly related to their businesses, if the wording of such agreements shows that they do not have professional character for them.

As a result, provisions which have been reserved for consumers, i.e., provisions on abusive clauses, consumer rights under warranty (with restrictions) and rights of withdrawal from distance / off-premises contracts (with exceptions) will apply to self-employed persons.

Notable case law and/or enforcement action

The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection carried out extensive monitoring of online platforms, checking the correctness of practices related to extended information obligations. In 19 cases, violations were found and entrepreneurs were called upon to provide explanations and change the questioned practices. Most often, there was no information in the manner required by law that the entity selling on the platform was an entrepreneur (e.g. such information appeared only in the platform's regulations), and information about the division of responsibilities between the platform and sellers was scattered in several documents.

After the laws implementing the Omnibus Directive came into force in Poland (1 January 2023), the Polish regulator initiated intensive checkups of online and offline retailers aiming to verify whether the business is following new rules on price reductions and information obligations. As a result of these actions, numerous businesses were contacted by the regulator and requested to adjust to new rules, where failure to bring business practice in line with the regulator’s recommendations could result in initiation of formal proceedings.

Further, in May 2023, the Polish regulator issued a guidance on the new obligations regarding price reductions. The guidance presents rather a strict interpretation of the rules stemming from laws implementing the Price Indication Directive and in numerous places deviates from the guidance of the European Commission in this respect.

In July 2023, the Polish regulator informed that it has initiated formal proceedings against four traders whose practices are, in the regulator's opinion, not in line with new rules on price reductions.

Further actions were initiated in September 2023 and directed at three trading platforms offering its services to Polish consumers. The allegations concern failure to meet new information obligations imposed on platforms in the Omnibus Directive (i.a., obligation to provide information whether products are offered by an entrepreneur or a natural person etc.).

In 2022, the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection took significant actions in the e-commerce sector. Investigations were initiated into e-commerce businesses using deceptive interface designs, known as 'dark patterns', to manipulate user decisions.

One of the key cases involved the company Vinted which was fined over PLN 5.3 million for similar practices. Another e-commerce company, OLX, also faced charges. Allegro, another e-commerce platform, was fined nearly PLN 4 million for unlawfully granting itself the ability to change regulations, including those related to the Smart service.

The office also examined companies that potentially offer the creation of false reviews wholesale without any contact with the evaluated product or service.

These actions indicate a strong focus on consumer protection and transparency within the e-commerce sector.