As of 17 March 2026, the clothing, footwear, e-commerce and transportation industries must face completely new SENT compliance requirements. Clothes and footwear shipments will have to be reported once certain weight or quantity thresholds are exceeded while serious penalties are provided for non-compliance.
SENT (from Polish System Elektronicznego Nadzoru Transportu) is a system used by the Polish tax administration to monitor rail and road shipments of what are called sensitive goods. Implemented in Poland in 2017, the system is designed to, among other things, limit tax abuse and tighten the supply chain. Previously SENT applied to such goods as fuels, alcohols, certain waste, and chemicals.
As of 17 March 2026, SENT will also apply to certain categories of clothing and footwear, including:
- articles of apparel and clothing accessories, knitted or crocheted (61 CN),
- articles of apparel and clothing accessories, not knitted or crocheted (62 CN),
- worn clothing (CN 6309 00 00),
- footwear (basically 64 CN).
Transport monitoring will apply to shipments with a gross weight of more than 10 kilograms and comprising more than 20 items (10 pairs) of footwear, or with a total weight of more than 10 kilograms for combined shipments (clothes + footwear).
The following shipments will be monitored:
- domestic shipments except where they are accompanied by an invoice,
- shipments into Poland,
- shipments out of Poland except where they are accompanied by an invoice,
- transit shipments through Poland.
The new law does offer some exceptions, though, e.g. for AEOs (Authorised Economic Operators) and for goods transported by postal operators as parcels.
Non-compliance with SENT requirements will be subject to a fine of:
- up to 46% of the gross value of the goods, or
- at least PLN 20K for failure to report or incorrect reporting.
To avoid penalties, you may wish to move quickly with appropriarte preparations to ensure SENT reporting compliance, including by focusing on data availability, proper classification of goods and implementation of robust procedures. Foreign companies sending goods to Poland may also fall within the ambit of SENT, in which case they will have certain reporting obligations as well.
If this issue pertains to your business, we will be happy to support you in duly ensuring compliance with the new SENT requirements, please contact us.
This blog post is provided for general information purposes to keep you up-to-date with changes in tax law, tax rulings by authorities, case law of courts and interesting commentaries. Doradztwo Podatkowe WTS&SAJA shall not be held legally liable for any acts or omissions resulting from reliance on such information.