August 25 is the fifth Sunday this year without a trade ban. This means that more shops will be open
August 25 is the fifth Sunday this year without a trade ban. This means that larger stores and shopping malls will be open. How many more such Sundays will there be in 2024?
On Sunday (25.08) is the fifth shopping Sunday this year. In 2024, as in the previous one, there are seven of them, with two more pre-holiday ones left – December 15 and 22.
Meanwhile, the government is currently holding talks on the possible reintroduction of Sunday shopping in Poland, for now to two Sundays a month. The idea has both supporters and opponents.
Let us recall that the law on the ban on Sunday trading came into force at the beginning of March 2018. The ban on trading does not apply, among others, to bakeries, confectioneries, ice cream parlors, flower shops, petrol stations, souvenir shops, newspaper shops, shops selling public transport tickets, tobacco products, lottery and mutual betting coupons, and post offices. It also does not apply to retail outlets at railway stations, sea ports and harbours, airports, duty-free zones, public transport, bus, rail, river, sea and air transport.
Shops on Sunday can be opened by, among others, owners, provided that they stand behind the counter themselves. However, this does not apply to shops operating on the basis of a franchise or agency (e.g. Żabka or Euro). Here, the owner can open a branch on Sunday, when he conducts sales “in his own name and on his own account”.
Violating the Sunday trading ban is punishable by a fine of PLN 1,000 to PLN 100,000, and persistent violations of the act can result in a penalty of restriction of liberty.
(MG)
