SENT for freight forwarders: who notifies when you organise transport
Obligations depend on the direction of carriage. Below is what the Act says about your role in each of the three cases, with the provision in brackets. Whether the goods are subject to SENT at all, check in the tool.
Carriage starts in Poland (domestic sale, intra-Community supply, export): Art. 5 of the Act
Notifies: consignor (sending party) (SENT100).
- The Act does not impose a separate obligation on the forwarder. If you notify as a proxy, the effects fall on the party represented. Agree in writing who sends the notification and who completes the carrier data. (Art. 9(3))
Penalties for this role: Art. 21(1): 46% of the gross value of the goods, not less than 20,000 zł. Art. 21(2): 46% of the difference in gross value between the goods notified and carried, not less than 20,000 zł. A discrepancy of up to 10% in quantity, mass or volume is not an error (Art. 23). Art. 22(2): 10,000 zł Art. 22(2a): 10,000 zł. The authority waives the penalty if the cause was the register being unavailable (Art. 22(2b)). Art. 22a(1): 100,000 zł, unless it is established who acquired or holds the goods or where the carriage ended. Art. 24(1): 10,000 zł. For an obvious error and goods from a tax warehouse with taxes paid: 2,000 zł (Art. 24(1a)).
Carriage into Poland (intra-Community acquisition, import): Art. 6 of the Act
Notifies: consignee (receiving party) (SENT200).
- The Act does not impose a separate obligation on the forwarder. If you notify as a proxy, the effects fall on the party represented. Agree in writing who sends the notification and who completes the carrier data. (Art. 9(3))
Penalties for this role: Art. 21(1): 46% of the gross value of the goods, not less than 20,000 zł. Art. 21(2): 46% of the difference in gross value between the goods notified and carried, not less than 20,000 zł. A discrepancy of up to 10% in quantity, mass or volume is not an error (Art. 23). Art. 22(2): 10,000 zł Art. 22(2a): 10,000 zł. The authority waives the penalty if the cause was the register being unavailable (Art. 22(2b)). Art. 22a(1): 100,000 zł, unless it is established who acquired or holds the goods or where the carriage ended. Art. 24(1): 10,000 zł. For an obvious error and goods from a tax warehouse with taxes paid: 2,000 zł (Art. 24(1a)).
Carriage through Poland between other countries: Art. 7 of the Act
Notifies: carrier (SENT300).
- The Act does not impose a separate obligation on the forwarder. If you notify as a proxy, the effects fall on the party represented. Agree in writing who sends the notification and who completes the carrier data. (Art. 9(3))
Penalties for this role: Art. 22(1): 20,000 zł Art. 22(2a): 10,000 zł. The authority waives the penalty if the cause was the register being unavailable (Art. 22(2b)). Art. 22a(1): 100,000 zł, unless it is established who acquired or holds the goods or where the carriage ended. Art. 24(1): 10,000 zł. For an obvious error and goods from a tax warehouse with taxes paid: 2,000 zł (Art. 24(1a)).
The authority may waive a penalty where justified by an important interest of the party or by the public interest, on application or of its own motion (Art. 21(3), Art. 22(3), Art. 22a(2), Art. 24(3)). A waiver is only possible if it is not State aid or falls within de minimis aid or aid meeting the conditions of the implementing provisions (Art. 26(3)). This is the authority’s decision, not a rule you can rely on. The penalty for failing to update the notification or to transmit geolocation data is waived if the cause was the register being unavailable (Art. 24(2), Art. 22(2b)).
This is information with its legal basis, not legal advice. The result depends on the data you provide: CN code, quantity, route, transaction and procedure. The provisions and the position of the authority (KAS) are binding.
Frequently asked questions
Freight forwarder: what applies under Art. 5?
The Act does not impose a separate obligation on the forwarder. If you notify as a proxy, the effects fall on the party represented. Agree in writing who sends the notification and who completes the carrier data.
Freight forwarder: what applies under Art. 6?
The Act does not impose a separate obligation on the forwarder. If you notify as a proxy, the effects fall on the party represented. Agree in writing who sends the notification and who completes the carrier data.
Freight forwarder: what applies under Art. 7?
The Act does not impose a separate obligation on the forwarder. If you notify as a proxy, the effects fall on the party represented. Agree in writing who sends the notification and who completes the carrier data.