Mateusz Morawiecki, the prime minister, has said that Poland will keep a zero VAT rate on food in the first half of 2023.
The Polish government introduced a shield, which brought in a number of VAT cuts on food and fuel, at the end of 2021 to combat rising inflation but in its present form had failed to get the approval of the European Union.
Under the shield, VAT on food products was cut to 0% from the standard 5% rate, while VAT on fuels went down to 8% from the standard level of 23%.
“Let me say today that the shield will continue in its current form, at least throughout the first six months of next year,” Morawiecki told reporters on November 29.
“This means PLN 8 billion (around EUR 1 billion). And this is the cost, which will have to be borne by the state budget,” the prime minister said. (The First News/Business World Magazine)
