A decision by the parliamentary Extraordinary Committee for Animal Protection effectively means the end of Poland’s legal fireworks industry.
A last-minute amendment to a Civic Coalition (Koalicja Obywatelska) parliamentary bill expands the ban to include F2-class products, covering around 95% of fireworks available for consumer sale. This will lead to the closure of thousands of businesses in Poland, multimillion-zloty losses for the state budget, and a real risk of the expansion of the so-called grey market.
Compromise rejected, restrictions tightened
During earlier meetings of the Extraordinary Committee for Animal Protection, MPs asked the fireworks industry to submit its own amendments and comments on the draft legislation. Through consultations and dialogue, the industry prepared a compromise legislative solution involving a temporary restriction on fireworks use during the pre-New Year period while preserving the right to use fireworks on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. This was intended as a genuine compromise between animal protection and social and economic interests. The government also supported such a solution in its official positions on parliamentary draft bills, calling for a regulation that would take into account the interests of the fireworks industry and its impact on the economy.
Despite this, during Tuesday’s committee meeting the Civic Coalition proposal was adopted in a completely new and far more restrictive form, bypassing the industry compromise. The amendment extends the fireworks ban to the most popular F2 class. This change effectively covers the vast majority of products available in legal sales and, in practice, amounts to the liquidation of the entire fireworks industry in Poland.
An entire industry eliminated by a single vote
F2-class fireworks account for the overwhelming majority of consumer products on the market. Banning them—together with F3-class products—means that approximately 95% of goods will be removed from legal trade. This represents a severe blow to a sector linked to around 25,000 companies and tens of thousands of jobs, including specialised workers, transport and logistics companies, warehousing businesses, and seasonal sellers.
The committee’s decision also implies serious losses for public finances—the loss of VAT, corporate tax, personal income tax and customs revenues that the sector generates each year at a level of hundreds of millions of zlotys. Last year alone, the fireworks industry recorded turnover exceeding PLN 1 billion. Eliminating the sector from the market will translate into a significant reduction in financial resources for both the national budget and local governments.
The association also points out that bans of this type do not reduce fireworks use but instead push trade online and foster the emergence of the grey market. Products of unknown origin, lacking proper certification, increase the risk of accidents and place additional burdens on emergency and law-enforcement services—producing effects opposite to those intended. Public opinion data show that Poles do not want to abandon the long-standing tradition of New Year’s Eve fireworks displays, but expect responsible and balanced regulation. According to surveys conducted, among others, on the Ariadna panel, a clear majority of Poles want to celebrate with fireworks: only 33% support a total ban, 17% believe additional restrictions are unnecessary, while as many as 50% favour partial restrictions limited to specific times and places.
Allegations of manipulation and breach of legislative standards
As the Association of Importers and Distributors of Pyrotechnics (SIiDP), representing the fireworks industry, we express outrage at the legislative procedure and the scale of changes introduced at the final session of the parliamentary committee on 10 February this year.
“Introducing such far-reaching amendments at the final stage of committee work, just before the bill is submitted to parliament, constitutes a blatant violation of legislative standards. The adopted amendment was never subject to consultation because it goes far beyond the original draft and completely ignores proposals submitted by both the industry and the government. No socio-economic impact analysis was conducted, despite repeated calls from the Council of Ministers. Such actions undermine trust in the state and violate fundamental principles of the Polish Constitution and the Business Constitution,” emphasises Marta Smolińska, President of the Association of Importers and Distributors of Pyrotechnics.
Ignoring the law and the government’s position
The version of the bill adopted by committee members violates core principles of the rule of law—from the constitutional principles of proportionality and economic freedom, to legal predictability and the internal rules of the Polish parliament. Among the ignored requirements were the obligation to conduct regulatory impact assessments, particularly for the SME sector, the principle of proportionality and minimising burdens, the obligation to analyse alternative means of achieving the legislative goal, and the principles of legal certainty and economic stability. Importantly, these standards apply equally to parliamentary bills, not only government legislation.
Once again, these rules appear purely theoretical and not binding in the practical creation of Polish law. Not only the fireworks industry but also the Council of Ministers clearly requested an assessment of the socio-economic consequences of the proposed legislation and consideration of the legitimate interests of the sector. The committee ignored this request entirely.
Liquidation of an industry instead of dialogue
The compromise solution proposed by the industry would have realistically reduced public nuisance, given animal owners time to prepare, and at the same time preserved the legal market and jobs. Unfortunately, the proposal was not even read aloud during the committee’s final meeting.
Instead of balanced regulation supported by dialogue and public consultation, lawmakers chose an administrative liquidation of an entire sector. As an association representing the fireworks industry, we call on parliamentarians to reject the Civic Coalition bill. At the same time, we appeal for the Sejm to adopt a temporary ban on fireworks use from 21 to 30 December each year—a measure that would improve public order and animal welfare without excessive interference in economic activity.
Source: https://ceo.com.pl/koniec-z-fajerwerkami-95-proc-asortymentu-objetych-zakazem-10084
