Poland is moving closer to a long-awaited overhaul of its road transport rules, with a proposed 35-day statutory payment term for road haulage services among the most closely watched measures for the sector. The draft amendment, published on the government’s legislative portal in late February, would also tighten checks on carriers and freight intermediaries and expand documentation duties across the market.
The changes have been in the pipeline for more than two years. Polish haulage organisations had pushed for action during one of the most difficult periods for the sector in recent years, arguing that carriers were being squeezed by rising costs, weak profitability and long payment terms.
Transport i Logistyka Polska said the amendment had originally been expected to take effect in 2024, but the legislative process was significantly delayed.
Shorter payment terms and tighter checks on carriers
One of the key measures in the draft is the introduction of a 35-day statutory payment term for road haulage services. The industry has long argued that extended payment periods are one of the main causes of cash-flow pressure for transport companies.
The proposal would also require companies awarding transport work — including freight forwarders, shippers and subcontractors — to verify whether a carrier holds the necessary licences and permits. According to the government, this is intended to reduce unfair market practices and prevent transport work from being entrusted to operators that lack the required authorisations.
New obligations for intermediaries and transport organisers
The draft would also introduce wider compliance and organisational changes across the market. These include a formal definition of freight intermediation, stricter financial-capacity requirements for intermediaries, limits on how many companies one person may serve as transport manager for, and a ban on forwarding transport orders to operators from outside the EU or EEA that do not hold the necessary permits.
In addition, the new rules would require transport tasks to be documented and records to be retained for five years so they can be presented to inspection authorities. The draft also provides for the use of an electronic consignment note and broadens the range of financial penalties for breaches of the new obligations.
Some industry demands remain unmet
Not all of the sector’s demands have been reflected in the draft. Transport i Logistyka Polska says the proposed changes do too little to reduce driver-related labour costs.
The Ministry of Infrastructure has proposed increasing the so-called virtual allowance for each day a driver spends abroad from €60 to €90, but the organisation argues that this would not significantly reduce employers’ costs, as it does not offset the continued rise in the benchmark used to calculate social insurance contributions for international drivers.
Poland also aligns its rules with EU law
The amendment would also remove the requirement for heavy goods vehicles to return to base at least once every eight weeks. This would bring Polish law into line with the ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union, which struck down that part of the Mobility Package.
What happens next
According to the draft timetable on the government portal, the Council of Ministers could adopt the package in the first quarter of 2026. Until then, however, the proposal remains a draft and could still be amended during the legislative process.
