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Poland: EU Compliance Guide for PrestaShop Merchants

By Compliance Editorial Team Updated July 4, 2026 4 min read

Overview

Poland is one of Central Europe’s largest e-commerce markets, and PrestaShop merchants selling to Polish consumers must satisfy both harmonised EU rules and a set of national requirements layered on top of them. As an EU member state, Poland applies the same core product-safety, consumer-protection and packaging directives as the rest of the single market, but it enforces them through its own authorities and administers packaging and waste obligations through national registers.

This guide summarises the main compliance touchpoints for an online shop shipping into Poland: who regulates the market, which EU laws apply, the national specifics you cannot ignore, and a practical checklist to work through before and during trading.

Consumer & market-surveillance authorities

The principal authority is UOKiK — the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (Urząd Ochrony Konkurencji i Konsumentów). UOKiK oversees consumer rights, unfair commercial practices and general product safety at national level.

  • UOKiK — competition and consumer protection, general product safety and market-surveillance coordination.
  • Trade Inspection (Inspekcja Handlowa) — the regional inspection bodies that carry out on-the-ground checks on goods and traders.

Sector-specific goods (for example cosmetics, electrical equipment or toys) may fall under additional supervisory bodies, so confirm which inspectorate covers your product range.

Applicable EU laws

The following EU frameworks apply to distance sellers reaching Polish consumers and form the backbone of your compliance work:

National specifics

Language

Consumer-facing information — product descriptions, safety instructions, warranty terms and pre-contractual disclosures — should be available in Polish. Even where EU law does not universally mandate the local language, Polish consumer-protection practice expects clear communication in Polish for goods marketed to Polish buyers.

Packaging EPR registration

Extended producer responsibility for packaging in Poland is administered through the BDO register — the national database on products, packaging and waste management (Baza Danych o Odpadach). Businesses that place packaged goods on the Polish market are generally required to register in BDO and to meet their recovery and recycling obligations, in many cases by contracting a producer-responsibility organisation.

Notable national law

Poland’s Consumer Rights Act transposes EU distance-selling rules and sits alongside the Civil Code provisions on conformity and guarantees. Merchants should ensure withdrawal-right notices and complaint-handling procedures reflect these national implementations.

Penalties & enforcement

Enforcement can range from administrative decisions requiring a trader to cease an unlawful practice, through corrective advertising and product-withdrawal orders, to financial penalties for serious or persistent breaches. UOKiK can investigate unfair commercial practices and impose fines, while the Trade Inspection can act on unsafe or non-conforming goods. Failure to register or report under the BDO packaging regime can also trigger administrative sanctions. Treat the specific level of any penalty as something to confirm with the authority, as it depends on the breach and the circumstances.

Merchant checklist

  • Provide product, safety and contract information in Polish.
  • Confirm whether you must register in the BDO waste database and arrange packaging-recovery obligations.
  • Meet GPSR traceability and responsible-person requirements for your goods.
  • Align pricing, reviews and disclosures with the Omnibus rules.
  • Review your PrestaShop store against accessibility obligations.
  • Ensure withdrawal-right and complaint procedures match Polish consumer law.

Related & next steps

Start with the horizontal EU frameworks linked above, then map each to your product range and packaging setup. If you sell into neighbouring markets, expect similar EU obligations but different national registers and authorities.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Please confirm the current requirements and any registration or reporting details directly with UOKiK and, where relevant, the Trade Inspection (Inspekcja Handlowa) before you rely on them.