Today in the capital, entrepreneurs from the clothing and footwear sectors are protesting under the slogan “STOP SENT”. After marching through the streets of Warsaw, demonstrators are holding a picket outside the Sejm. Among the protest symbols is a coffin bearing the inscriptions “Sent – a burden too heavy to carry” and “The end of mobile trade”. Protesters are also holding numerous banners reading “stop SENT”.
“The protest is organized by the group ‘NO to SENT for clothing and footwear’. Entrepreneurs, employees, and individuals connected with the clothing and footwear market are invited to participate. The opposition concerns regulations that impose on sellers the obligation to report transports to the SENT system and provide for high penalties for formal errors. The industry emphasizes that the system does not take into account the realities of clothing and footwear trade. The problem particularly affects micro-entrepreneurs, who themselves handle sales, transport, storage, and formalities,” reports the portal transportwpraktyce.pl.
Since March 2026, the transport of textiles and footwear has been subject to monitoring under the SENT system, imposing new obligations on businesses in this sector.
The changes introduced on March 17, 2026, brought under the SENT system the transport of clothing and clothing accessories exceeding 10 kg, as well as footwear in quantities above 20 pairs. A subsequent amendment of May 12, 2026, introduced exemptions for transports not exceeding 500 kg of clothing or 700 pairs of footwear, carried out “from a fixed place of business activity, place of residence, or registered office of the entity to a marketplace and from a marketplace”.
The SENT system (Electronic Transport Supervision System) has been a mandatory IT system in Poland since 2017, used to monitor the transport of so-called sensitive goods and waste.
“SENT is basically a textbook example of regulatory evolution. It started with the National Revenue Administration tracking fuel trucks in real time. The idea is not stupid – it helped significantly in combating illegal fuel trade. For fuel tankers, it sounds reasonable. But someone came up with the idea that if it works, why not use it more broadly. And eventually decided that a system used for fuel tankers would be equally sensible for trading slippers,” commented lawyer Piotr Leonarski.
According to Cezary Kaźmierczak, president of the Związek Przedsiębiorców i Pracodawców, the government of Donald Tusk faces “a simple choice”.
“Either withdraw from some of the absurd regulations, or eliminate marketplaces,” he assessed.
During the picket outside the Sejm, Michał Kowalski, an MP from Law and Justice (PiS), addressed the gathered crowd.
“I am glad that so many of you have gathered here today. Just a few weeks ago there were dozens of people, today there are tens of thousands. We will not allow marketplaces to be shut down so that the administration of Donald Tusk’s government can persecute you, forcing you to weigh what you transport. These are your family businesses – we stand with you wholeheartedly, we will support you, submit parliamentary questions so that this disastrous regulation does not come into force,” said Kowalski.
“I am saddened that for a month we had to fight every day, that the Ministry of Finance treats us like thieves,” said Aleksandra Uznańska, representing entrepreneurs from the sector.