The Agricultural and Food Quality Inspectorate in Lublin imposed a record fine of PLN 1.5 million on an importer who introduced adulterated articles to the Polish market. agri-food from Ukraine. This concerns technical rapeseed and feed wheat. Przemysław Rzodkiewicz and Stefan Krajewski announced this during a joint press conference. The decision is not final.
– GIJARS carries out inspections of agri-food products. Due to recent events, strikes at the borders, conversations with farmers who pointed out that there is a lack of control, today we would like to tell you what we have managed to do in recent months, because it is extremely important to us that products enter Poland first. not subject to embargo, secondly, meeting quality standards. That is why we have put inspections on high alert, said Stefan Krajewski during the Thursday conference.
Krajewski emphasized that due to the intensified work of the inspection, the highest penalty in history was imposed on an entity importing rapeseed from Ukraine. The fine amounts to over PLN 1.5 million and its amount also has a preventive effect to prevent unfair commercial practices in the future.
Thousands of tons of rapeseed and wheat from Ukraine
The entity on which the fine was imposed introduced 3,882 tons of technical rapeseed from Ukraine and then sold it in Poland as consumer rapeseed from the province. Lublin Province. The same importer placed on the market 7,670 tons of feed wheat from Ukraine, which was placed on the market in Poland as domestic consumption wheat.
As a result of these gross irregularities, the Lublin branch of IJHARS issued a decision on March 25, 2024 for PLN 1,526,000. zloty.
The name of the company was not provided because the decision is not final.
Without the name of the company importing the products
The decision was issued on March 25, 2024 and is related to identified cases of placing on the market agri-food products of significant value, falsified as to their origin and properties, which constitutes a violation of Art. 40a section 1 point 4 of the Act of December 21, 2000 on the commercial quality of agricultural and food products. The case is also subject to criminal proceedings under the supervision of the Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Rzeszów.
They did not want to talk more about the scale of this practice, where and how these raw materials were “used”. It was emphasized that there is no Inspection does not have such knowledge, and the import itself took place in 2022.
– We also conduct inspections in other plants, so I wouldn’t really like to mention certain issues. When it comes to providing the name of a given company, unfortunately we cannot do so because the decision is not final – said Agnieszka Jarosińska, Lublin Provincial Inspector of Trade Quality of Agricultural and Food Products.
People were asked whether the imposed fine is really severe for the company that receives it, or just the opposite. It was reported that the penalty may amount to a maximum of 10%. revenue generated by a given company in the previous year.
What other penalties for importing from Ukraine?
As reported during the conference in recent months, in connection with irregularities in the trade of goods from Ukraine, IJHARS also issued administrative decisions resulting in penalties for dishonest entrepreneurs, including:
- PLN 3,70,645.12 – fine imposed for placing 3,937.62 tons of technical wheat on the market, sold for consumption purposes, with the simultaneous falsification of the country of origin from Ukraine to Poland,
- PLN 1,00,512.38 – penalty for placing 108.88 tons of feed wheat on the market, sold for consumption purposes,
- PLN 5,71,027.37 – penalty for placing 2,350.69 tons of feed wheat on the market, sold for consumption,
- PLN 63,461.50 – penalty for obstructing the inspection,
- PLN 16,437 – fine for placing 53.51 tons of feed barley on the market, sold for consumption purposes,
- PLN 50,000 – fine for placing 107 batches of adulterated poultry meat on the market, with respect to the country of origin from Ukraine to Poland.
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