The provisions of the Act on consumer rights will become applicable six months after its publication in the Journal of Laws of the Republic of Poland. The new Act extends the withdrawal period for distance contracts and off-premises contracts to 14 days.

On 30 May, the Parliament finished its work on the Act on consumer rights. In response to numerous queries and inaccurate information in press publications, we would like to explain that the new Act, after having been signed by the President of the Republic of Poland, will come into force within 6 months of its publication in the Journal of Laws, most probably at the end of the year.

Until that happens, businesses, consumers and organizations protecting weaker participants of the market have time to adjust to the new legislation. The six-month vacatio legis (i.e. the time between the publication of the Act and its entry into force) will ensure its better application in practice. To raise the awareness of the new provisions among market participants, UOKiK is planning to carry out an information campaign in autumn.

The Act transposing the Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council into the Polish legislation was drafted by the Ministry of Justice. The rights of buyers and the obligations of sellers will be identical throughout the EU.

Here are a few examples of the forthcoming changes:

The Act will strengthen the protection of consumer rights. The most important changes are intended to ensure better protection of weaker participants of the market. They include: extension of the withdrawal period for distance contracts and off-premises contracts from 10 to 14 days and the requirement to obtain express consent of the consumer for any additional payments. On-line shopping will thus become safer.

Submitting a complaint, a consumer who has bought a defective product will have the right to choose between a repair, replacement, price reduction or rescission (termination) of the contract.

Additional information for the media:

Małgorzata Cieloch, Spokesperson for UOKiK
Department of International Relations and Communication
pl. Powstańców Warszawy 1, 00-950 Warszawa
Tel. 22 827 28 92, 55 60 106, 55 60 314
Fax 22 826 11 86
E-mail: malgorzata.cieloch@uokik.gov.pl