Environmental fees and the BDO register
— what every business owner needs to know
Do you run a business? Is a car registered to your company? Do you generate waste? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions — this article is for you.
Environmental obligations apply to a far wider group of businesses than most people assume.
What is the BDO?
BDO, the Database on Products, Packaging and Waste Management, is an electronic system that collects information on waste generated, collected and processed in Poland. Its integral part is the BDO Register — the list of entities required to register. The register is maintained by the Marshals of the voivodeships.
Who has to register in the BDO?
The obligation to register applies, among others, to entities that:
• generate waste and keep records of it (e.g. workshops, production plants, medical practices),
• place products in packaging on the market,
• run shops or wholesalers providing customers with plastic bags subject to the recycling fee,
• import or place on the market electrical equipment, batteries, accumulators or tyres,
• transport, collect or process waste.
Registration fee and annual fee
The registration fee and the annual fee apply only to selected groups of businesses entered in the BDO — among others, those placing on the market products in packaging, electrical and electronic equipment, batteries, accumulators, vehicles, tyres or lubricating oils. They do not apply to ordinary waste generators. The deadline for the annual fee is the end of February each year (in 2026, by 2 March).
The amount of the fee depends on the size of the company:
Micro-enterprises 200 zł
Other entities 800 zł
Please note: the annual fee is not payable in the year in which the registration fee was paid.
Fees for the use of the environment
This is a separate category of obligations, which applies to businesses whose activity involves:
• releasing gases or dust into the air (including from the operation of company vehicles!),
• landfilling waste,
*discharging sewage into water or into the ground - since 2018, fees for sewage and water abstraction have been governed by the Water Law Act — they are charged by the State Water Holding Polish Waters, not by the Marshal's Office.
Important: if your company owns company cars — you are using the environment through exhaust emissions and you are required to calculate the environmental fee. In practice, however, a business with one or several vehicles will most often not exceed the threshold of 800 zł per year.
Key deadlines
KOBiZE report (emissions) by 2 March 2026
Annual BDO fee by 2 March 2026
Annual BDO report by 16 March 2026
Statement of environmental fees + payment by 31 March
When do you not have to pay?
- You do not have to pay the fee for the use of the environment if the calculated annual amount for a given type of use does not exceed 800 zł. This does not, however, release you from the obligation to file the annual statement.
- You do not have to file statements and information if the calculated annual fee for one type of use of the environment does not exceed 100 zł.
Penalties for neglect
Running a business without the required entry in the BDO carries an administrative fine from
5 000 zł to 1 000 000 zł. For breaching record-keeping and reporting obligations, a court may impose a fine from 100 zł to over 1 million zł, and even a penalty of detention.
Environmental obligations are a subject that many business owners underestimate. It is worth checking whether your company should be entered in the BDO, whether you file your reports on time and pay the fees. If you have any doubts — get in touch with us. We will help you verify your obligations and keep track of the deadlines.
source: Biznes.gov.pl
Fengo Sp. z o.o. | Accounting Office | Cieszyn
www.fengo.pl | biuro@fengo.pl
