There is a chance of obtaining, at least partially, the consent of the European Commission to lower the VAT rate on basic foodstuffs from 5% to 0%, believes Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki. He said that he spoke to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the Commissioner for Economic Affairs, Paolo Gentiloni.
“I asked the European Commission to reduce VAT, VAT on all foodstuffs from 5% to 0%. And I am after talks with President von der Leyen with the head of DG [Directorate-General] for the Economy, Paolo Gentiloni. There is a chance that we will get at least a partially positive answer,” said Morawiecki in the Sejm before the vote on the budget act for 2022.
At the end of November, Morawiecki announced that if the European Commission agreed to lower the VAT rate on foodstuffs to 0%, Poland would decide to make such a move in the first half of the year. 2022
Due to the inability to lower the VAT rate on food to 0%, the government proposed the introduction of the so-called a cover allowance, paid in two installments, which is to reach 6.8 million families. The law on the shielding allowance has already been adopted by the Sejm.
