In a series of articles, the authors present the current situation regarding the functioning of Free Trade Zones in Poland and their links to logistics activities. They draw attention to lost opportunities for increasing the volume of logistics work, resulting from the current legal status regarding the collection of customs duties and VAT, and also point out possibilities for improvement and potential benefits for enterprises and the economy.
Goods intended for the single Community market or sent from it outside the European Union, through the eastern external customs border of the Union, are transported through Poland predominantly under the transit procedure, and the benefits from the collection of customs duties and VAT related to imports and exports are reaped by other members of the European Union. Also, a significant portion of goods intended for domestic enterprises is declared for final customs clearance in Germany or the Netherlands. In both cases, we lose 25% of customs duty revenue. Similar to imports, also in exports from Poland to recipients outside the eastern, external border of the European Union (of which Poland’s borders with Russia are a part)
goods produced in Poland and sent to Russia are first exported to one of the German Free Trade Zones, and then, under the transit procedure, travel again through Poland to the recipient in Russia (Fig. 1).
This seems improbable, but it happens. Why? What logic compels companies to incur additional transport costs and carry goods twice over our not-so-great roads? It is certainly not a matter of bad legislation. Tax reliefs related to exports made via FTZs exist in the Polish legal order