Poland's Ministry of Energy has issued its latest notice setting maximum retail prices for liquid fuels, and the figures apply to Sunday, 1 November and Monday, 2 November, according to INFOR.PL. Energy Minister Miłosz Motyka described the new rates as a substantial reduction, saying they are 1.2–1.3 zł per litre lower than recent pump prices depending on the fuel type. The notice follows the president's signature of a windfall tax law on fuel company profits, which took effect after publication in the Journal of Laws.
Why it matters
The notice is the operational core of the third instalment of the government's CPN anti-price-shock package. Under the mechanism, the ministry publishes a ceiling price for petrol and diesel, and stations may not charge above it. Motyka said the caps will be updated and published daily, which gives drivers a predictable reference point and turns the package from a political promise into a visible number at the pump.
The minister also framed the timing as a missed opportunity. According to his remarks, if President Karol Nawrocki had signed the windfall tax law in July, drivers would have been paying less for weeks already. Motyka said the president gave way under pressure from Polish motorists.
How the price notices work
The ministry's announcement sets an upper limit for each grade of fuel sold at Polish stations. INFOR.PL reported that the current notice covers 1 and 2 November, and that the previous notice had set the ceiling for Friday, 30 October. A further notice is due around midday on 2 November and will fix prices for 3 November.
Motyka said the published figures match the government's earlier declarations of a cut of 1.2–1.3 zł per litre, and he put the drop against pre-package pump prices at 1.30–1.40 zł per litre. He argued the CPN package guarantees that tax reductions reach the forecourt rather than being absorbed upstream.
The legislative path was quick. The windfall tax bill was published in the Journal of Laws on the evening it was signed, and Motyka said the Finance Ministry moved immediately to draft the implementing regulations, with the price notice to follow so that lower prices could apply nationwide from the next day. The law is the second attempt at a windfall levy on fuel firms; an earlier version never took effect because Nawrocki sent it to the Constitutional Tribunal for preventive review in August, citing constitutional concerns.
Demand, borders and the limits of forecasting
Motyka said the third stage of the package has not produced a sharp jump in fuel sales. Weekend volumes were higher than a few days earlier, he said, but not enough to threaten supply. He added that the ministry will spend the coming days examining sales in border regions for signs of so-called fuel tourism, in which drivers cross into Poland to fill up.
On that point he said Poland's neighbours have signalled they may introduce their own support packages, which he expects to ease price pressure and reduce cross-border buying.
The minister was cautious about the outlook. Fuel prices worldwide, he noted, are driven by a volatile geopolitical situation, and he said nobody can reliably predict how they will move in the coming days, weeks or months. He also listed factors such as fuel exports to Europe and possible restocking as reasons for caution.
Motyka defended the CPN approach as a tested instrument built partly on market mechanisms, contrasting it with alternatives he called a dangerous experiment that could destabilise the market and leave stations without fuel. He said the government does not seek to work against business or the market, and that funding for the package through the end of the year is secure.
The president, in his Thursday address, said he had signed the excess-profits law and expected immediate reductions at stations. He also said he would send the law to the Constitutional Tribunal for subsequent review and criticised the government's record on fuel costs, recalling campaign pledges of petrol at 5.19 zł per litre and arguing that the prime minister had once presented a VAT cut as the simple answer. Nawrocki said he was not withdrawing his constitutional objections.
Next to watch: the notice due around noon on 2 November, which will set the caps for 3 November and show whether the daily publication rhythm holds.
