Facilitating the construction of farm buildings, e.g. grain silos, by farmers, as well as allocating PLN 445 million for agricultural loans for the purchase of e.g. agricultural products. fertilizers and plant protection products – provides for the amendment of the law on the management of agricultural property of the Treasury and the construction law passed on Tuesday.
Sejm for the law on loans to farmers
429 deputies voted in favor of the amendment, two opposed and 14 abstained. The bill now goes to the Senate for consideration.
Earlier, the amendments proposed by the opposition deputies to the amendment did not win the majority. The KO wanted to specify the provisions of the law so that they could only be used for the construction of storage facilities. The Polish coalition, in turn, proposed to keep the building permit, which, however, would be issued within 7 days.
Poland 2050, on the other hand, wanted the provisions related to rail transport, not agriculture, to be removed from the law – such provisions were proposed by the government as part of the self-amendment of the draft law. As explained during the work on the law, the self-amendment was introduced in connection with the need to implement one of the KPO components, assuming that the accessibility of transport is increased, as well as in connection with the need to Polish law to align with EU regulations on the rights and obligations of rail passengers. The justification for the self-amendment indicated that the EU provisions cover, inter alia: towards solutions regarding the compensation of passengers for delayed trains, passenger information, etc. However, it was noted that according to the EU regulation, Member States may restrict certain rail passenger services exempt from the application of this Regulation. This was also fixed by the autocorrect.
The amendment adopted on Tuesday provides for an exemption from the permit requirement for the construction of above-ground silos for bulk solids with a capacity of up to 250 cubic meters. and a height of not more than 15 m, as well as single-storey outbuildings and sheds of simple construction, related to agricultural production, with a built-up area not exceeding 300 square meters, with a construction span of not more than 7 m and a height of not more than 7 m, the area of impact of which is entirely on the plot or plots on which they are designed. This also applies to construction facilities used for grain storage with a maximum capacity of up to 5,000 tons. tons located entirely within the administrative boundaries of seaports fundamental to the national economy. These investments will fall under the reporting obligation.
The new regulations also stipulate that the amount of PLN 445 million of excess funds from the stock of agricultural land of the state treasury in 2023 will not be paid to the state budget, but will be allocated to the implementation of tasks related to the provision of loans for the purchase of agricultural inputs, including fertilizers and plant protection products or for the purchase, storage or processing of agricultural products.
The Sejm passed an amendment that increases the refund of excise taxes included in the price of agricultural fuel
The Sejm on Tuesday passed without any changes an amendment to the law on the refund of excise duties included in the price of agricultural fuel. For example, the new regulations provide producers of pigs, sheep, goats and horses with yields and an increase in the refund to PLN 2 per litre.
447 delegates voted to pass the amendment without amendments, and one was against.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Sejm’s public finance and agriculture and rural development committees tabled amendments that clarified and removed doubts of interpretation.
The law introduces a limit on the consumption of diesel fuel for producers of pigs, sheep, goats and horses. This will apply to those producers who are also entitled to a refund of part of the excise duty included in the price of the fuel purchased for this production on an area of at least 1 ha of agricultural land.
According to the law on pig farmers, the tax refund limit is calculated as four times the tax refund rate per liter of diesel fuel, which is PLN 1.20 in 2023, and the average annual number of pigs owned by the agricultural producer in the year preceding the year in which it was submitted Request a tax refund.
In the case of sheep, goat and horse producers, the limit of the refund amount is 40 times the tax refund rate per liter of diesel in 2023 – PLN 1.20 and the average annual number of so-called. large converted units of sheep, goats or horses kept by the agricultural producer in the year preceding the year in which the refund application is submitted.
In addition, the law stipulates that for excise duty refund applications submitted from 1 to 31 August, the tax refund rate is PLN 1.46, while agricultural producers receive an additional aid of PLN 0.54. This additional support still requires the approval of the European Commission.
The solutions provided for by the law are to cost the budget PLN 1.11 billion in 2023-2032, of which PLN 616 million in 2023.
Sejm for the Law on the Agricultural Protection Fund
On Tuesday, the Sejm passed the Agricultural Protection Fund Act, which provides for the creation of a guarantee fund that pays compensation to farmers who have not received payment from entities that purchase, store or process agricultural products. The bill is sent to the Senate.
236 deputies voted in favor of the bill, 4 deputies voted against it and 207 deputies abstained.
The opposition’s amendments were rejected, including KO’s proposals for the law to enter into force on January 1, 2024 for tax reasons, and the Polish coalition’s amendments, which would remove the contributions to the fund paid by entities purchasing agricultural products , are abolished. According to KP, these payments would in practice be passed on to the farmers. In return, KP proposed providing the fund with a subsidy from the KOWR, in addition to resources from the national budget.
The Government Agricultural Protection Fund Act assumes that the fund will pay compensation to agricultural producers in case of non-payment of agricultural products sold to an entity engaged in activities of purchasing, storage, processing or processing of agricultural products, which is bankrupt gone.
The fund will be a separate bank account managed by the National Agricultural Support Center (KOWR), which will be authorized to manage the funds. KOWR will also provide legal, technical and office services to the Agricultural Protection Fund, prepare a financial plan and report on its implementation.
For payments to FOR in the amount of 0.125 percent. value of agricultural products purchased excluding VAT are imposed on entities purchasing agricultural products for storage, processing or processing.
The law provides for co-financing of the fund from the state budget during the first two years of its operation, ie in 2023 for an amount of up to PLN 50 million and in 2024 for an amount of up to PLN 100 million. The project has been notified to the European Commission as a state aid scheme.
The law is due to take effect on July 1, 2023, but payments to the fund must be collected from the second quarter of 2024.
kk/PAP
Source: wPolityce