The Sejm has passed changes to the sale and promotion of alcohol. For a restaurant owner, though, the most important question is not “will there be a night-time ban?” but what kind of sales it is meant to cover. Ordering a glass of wine with dinner, selling a sealed bottle to take away and delivering to a given address are different situations. It is worth separating them before you change your menu or your team’s instructions.
Status as of 19 October 2026: the Sejm passed the act on 8 October, with 400 deputies in favour, 29 against and 4 abstaining. The progress of work on print no. 2007 covers the Sejm part of the legislative process. The act went to the Senate (Senate print no. 877), and on 12 October it was referred to the Health Committee and the Local Government and State Administration Committee. Work in the Senate is still ongoing. These are not yet binding changes.
Late-night sales: check what the customer does with the alcohol
The text passed by the Sejm, published as Senate print no. 877, provides for a nationwide ban on selling alcohol between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. if it is intended for consumption away from the place of sale. According to media reports, the ban does not cover serving drinks in food service venues, and municipalities could extend the hours of restriction. It is still worth confirming this in the final wording of the act.
Imagine a venue open until midnight. At 10:30 p.m. one guest orders a beer with dinner, and another wants to take a sealed bottle home. For the planned night-time regulation, what matters is the purpose of the sale. That is why you should review table service, in-person pickup and your takeaway offer separately. If you run more than one location, check each of them: they may have different permits and different ways of handing over orders.
Also check the municipal resolution currently in force for the location of your venue. Only comparing today’s rules with the final text of the new act will show whether, and when, you need to change the hours at which products are available.
Promotions: look beyond social media posts
The Sejm text provides for a ban on advertising and promoting alcoholic beverages, including beer. According to available analyses, certain exceptions to it are foreseen, including for promotions at selected points of sale. Their scope has to be assessed against the final wording of the act, not against a bare headline about a “promotion ban”. The full text passed by the Sejm lets you check the definition of promotion and the proposed exceptions.
Review the places where you communicate your offer: your website, social media, paid ads, boards outside the entrance, the menu and ordering screens. A line such as “second drink cheaper”, a graphic encouraging people to buy beer and a plain mention of drinks on the menu do not serve the same function. For each campaign, note where it is visible, who it reaches and whether it encourages the purchase of alcohol. Such a list will make it easier to assess your messaging later, without a frantic search across every channel.
According to media reports, advertising beer under the current rules would be allowed until the end of 2027. This is a deadline from an act still in the legislative process, not a reason to launch new campaigns today without checking the current rules and the Senate’s further decisions.
Permits and fees: look at your venue’s documents
The Biznes.gov.pl service distinguishes between permits for selling alcohol intended for consumption at the place of sale and away from it. A restaurant owner who wants to add takeaway bottles to the offer should first check what type of permit they hold for the given location. Holding a permit to serve alcohol at tables does not by itself settle the rules for takeaway sales.
The bill also changes the fees for using permits. According to media reports, the basic fee of PLN 525 (drinks up to 18% alcohol) would rise to PLN 1,050, and PLN 2,100 (drinks above 18%) to PLN 4,200. Before you enter the new amounts in your budget, check your permit type, how the fee is calculated for your venue and the transitional provisions. These figures may still change during the legislative work.
Ordering by QR also needs a clear process
A QR code makes it easier for a guest to choose and pay at the table, but it does not replace the rules for serving alcohol. Decide who checks age when in doubt, when staff may refuse to serve a drink and how you mark dine-in and takeaway orders in the system. The Sejm text provides for an obligation to ask for a document confirming age when there is doubt about the buyer’s majority, and for refusing the sale if the document is not shown. Check the rules for distance selling in Senate print no. 877, and do not automatically equate it with an order placed by a guest at the table.
What to do before the rules change?
Prepare a short map of your current sales: which drinks you offer, at which locations, under which permits, at what hours and how you hand them to guests. Next to it, collect the active promotions and the materials that appear outside the venue. Then appoint a person who will check the final text of the act, the dates on which individual provisions take effect and any changes to local rules. According to media reports, the main provisions are to take effect on 1 January 2027, but this date also needs to be confirmed once the work is complete.
If you run a restaurant and want to put your orders and QR payments at the table in order, get in touch with ForkTable. Let’s talk about a free pilot tailored to how your venue works.