Environmental tax - what is it and when to pay it?

Most entrepreneurs use the car for business. However, not every taxpayer knows that if he has a car in the company, he is obliged to prepare and submit a list containing information and data on the use of the environment. In addition, therefore, it is obliged to regulate the so-called environmental fee. By when should the application be submitted and to which office should it be submitted? How much is the environmental fee? We discuss in the article!

Who does the environmental fee apply to?

Environmental fee in accordance with Art. 273 paragraph. 1 of the Environmental Protection Law Act is binding on every entity using the environment, and the use is understood as:

• the introduction of gases or dust into the air (e.g. by motor vehicles),

• storage of waste,

• emission according to the principles specified in the Act of 12 June 2015 on the greenhouse gas emission allowance trading system (with the granted allowance).

In conclusion, the environmental fee applies to every entrepreneur who uses both a company car and a private car in his company. Regardless of whether it is a private car or a company car, it introduces the same amount of gases and dust into the atmosphere that are produced by burning fuel. This, in turn, is connected, as indicated above, with the use of the environment. Pursuant to Art. 3 sec. 20 above of the Act, the entity using the environment is:
- an entrepreneur within the meaning of the Act of March 6, 2018 - Entrepreneurs' Law (Journal of Laws item 646);
- a foreign entrepreneur within the meaning of the provisions of the Act of March 6, 2018 on the principles of participation of foreign entrepreneurs and other foreign persons in economic turnover in the territory of the Republic of Poland (Journal of Laws, item 649);
- persons engaged in production activities in agriculture in the field of agricultural crops, animal husbandry, horticulture, vegetable growing, forestry and inland fishing;
- an organizational unit that is not an entrepreneur within the meaning of the Act of March 6, 2018 - Entrepreneurs Law (e.g. schools or offices);
- a natural person who is not an entity referred to in point (a) and, using the environment to the extent that the use of the environment requires a permit.

The list and the environmental fee

Each entrepreneur who uses the environment (e.g. uses a car in the company or stores waste) is required to submit a list of the amounts and types of gases or dusts released into the air. The template of the list containing a collective statement of information on the use of the environment and the amount of fees due is set out in Annex 1 to the Regulation of the Minister of the Environment on lists containing information and data on the use of the environment and the amount of fees due.

Environmental fee - how to determine its amount?

The amount of the environmental fee is determined by the entrepreneur on his own using the fuel consumption list, by multiplying the amount of fuel burned during the year by the unit fee rate. Data on the amount of fuel burned is usually taken from fuel purchase invoices (this can be easily calculated as the amount of fuel purchased is expressed in liters). On the other hand, the amount of the unit environmental fee should be found in the notice of the Minister of the Environment of August 31, 2017 on the amount of environmental fees for 2018. The aforementioned unit rates are given in megagrams, therefore the entrepreneur should convert the consumed liters of fuel into Mg according to the conversion factors included in the ordinance of the Minister of the Environment on lists containing information and data on the use of the environment and the amount of fees due.

Example 1.

Entrepreneur Michał in his business uses a car that was registered for the first time after September 30, 2009. Due to the obligation to calculate the environmental fee for 2017, he prepared a list containing information and data on the scope of the environment used by him. In 2017, it reported that it used 1,350 liters of diesel fuel. How should he calculate the environmental fee?

The environmental fee should be calculated according to the following formula:

amount of fuel burned (in Mg) x unit fee rate = environmental fee

First of all, for the correctness of calculations, the amount of fuel used should be converted into megagrams. To make the conversion, assume that 1 liter of diesel fuel equals 0.84 kg. Then the amount of fuel burned (in Mg) will be:

1,350 liters x 0.84 = 1,134 kg
1134 kg x 0.001 = 1.134 Mg

Then we move on to the announcement of the Minister of the Environment on the amount of environmental fees for 2018 and check how much the unit fee will be. In this case, according to the announcement, it will amount to PLN 6.04 / kg.

Finally, we calculate the environmental fee, i.e. adding to the above-mentioned pattern:

1.134 Mg x PLN 6.04 / kg ≈ PLN 6.85

It follows from the above that the environmental fee amounted to PLN 6.85. However, due to the fact that it is below PLN 800, there is no obligation to pay it.

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By when should the environmental tax be paid?

Currently, the environmental fee is payable once after the end of the year for which it is due, by March 31 for the previous year. Importantly, in accordance with Art. 289 of the Environmental Protection Law Act, entrepreneurs whose value of the environmental fee for a given year does not exceed PLN 800 are exempt from this obligation.

The above-mentioned list on the use of the environment must also be submitted to the marshal's office by the indicated date. It should be remembered that even if the environmental fee turns out to be lower than the mentioned PLN 800 and you do not have to pay it, the entrepreneur is still obliged to send a report in which he must show to what extent he used the environment.