Polish Sejm Approves Emergency Legislation to Cap Fuel Prices Amid Middle East Conflict

Poland's Sejm passed a package of laws to cap fuel prices and cut excise duty on Friday, with 428 members voting in favor and 12 against, as the government moved to shield consumers from rising costs driven by the conflict in the Middle East.

The legislation amends the act on crude oil, petroleum products and natural gas stocks and the act on the National Revenue Administration, introducing official maximum prices for gasoline and diesel fuel. Under the formula written into the law, the maximum retail price will be calculated as the average wholesale fuel price on the domestic market, plus excise duty, the fuel fee, a sales margin of 0.30 zloty per liter according to Radio Zet and the wnp.pl portal, though web search results indicate that price drops at petrol stations are expected to reach approximately 1.20 zloty per liter. The maximum price will be announced by Minister of Energy Miłosz Motyka in the form of an official notice and will take effect on the day following publication. If announced before public holidays, the rate will remain in effect until the next working day. Fuel retailers will be obliged to apply the maximum price during the period in which reduced VAT rates on fuels are in force.

428 (votes in favor) — Sejm majority backing the fuel price cap law

Poland's fuel pricing has historically been shaped by global crude oil markets and European Union energy policy. The current legislative push follows the outbreak of the US-Israel military operation against Iran, which began on February 28, 2026, disrupting regional oil supply chains and pushing wholesale fuel prices higher across Europe. The government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk, according to the Niezalezna.pl portal, waited nearly a month before submitting the bills, which were then fast-tracked through parliament in an accelerated procedure.

Excise cut gives finance minister new powers until June The Sejm also passed a separate amendment to the excise duty act, giving Minister of Finance and Economy Andrzej Domański the authority to reduce the excise duty rate on fuels by regulation until June 30, 2026. The reduction is intended to be applied for the time necessary to limit the effects of the war in the Middle East, according to the draft legislation. The two bills were submitted to the Sejm as government proposals and processed under an accelerated parliamentary procedure. Web search results indicate that the government's package also includes a reduction of VAT on fuels from 23 percent to 8 percent, though this figure was not confirmed in the source articles reviewed. The combination of a price cap formula and a discretionary excise reduction gives the executive branch two separate levers to manage retail fuel costs.

Fuel price regulation — before and after the legislation: Maximum retail price (before: No statutory cap, after: Formula: wholesale price + excise + fuel fee + 0.30 PLN margin + VAT); Excise duty rate (before: Fixed by statute, after: Minister of Finance may reduce by regulation until June 30, 2026); Price announcement authority (before: No designated mechanism, after: Minister of Energy via official notice, effective next day)

Senate vote and presidential signature expected same day The Senate was scheduled to take up both bills on Friday at 14:00, with the legislation expected to reach President Karol Nawrocki for signature on the same day, according to the wnp.pl portal. Nawrocki, who has held the presidency since August 2025, would need to sign the bills before they could enter into force. The rapid legislative timeline — from government approval to presidential signature within a single day — reflects the urgency the Tusk cabinet has attached to the measures. The government framed the package as a direct response to the price surge caused by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. No confirmed information is available on the precise date the maximum prices would first be published in an official notice following presidential assent.