Biznes Fakty
Shopping Sunday. Are shops open on April 13?
Are stores open today? Yes. On Palm Sunday, larger shops and shopping centers will also be open for business. This is among the exceptions specified in the regulations that limit the operations of retail establishments.
On Sunday (April 13), all retail establishments are permitted to operate. This marks the second of eight designated shopping Sundays set for this year.
The upcoming shopping Sundays for this year include: April 27, June 29, August 31, December 7, December 14, and December 21.
Sunday shopping in 2025Sunday trading prohibition
The legislation gradually implementing a ban on Sunday trading took effect on March 1, 2018. As of 2020, this trading ban applies only to seven Sundays each year: the final Sundays of January, April, June, and August, along with the Sunday before Easter. Following the latest changes, the restrictions now also exclude three (previously two) consecutive Sundays leading up to Christmas.
The law that limits Sunday trading includes a list of 32 exemptions. The ban does not apply to postal services if the income from such services accounts for at least 40% of the sales revenue of the facility. Additionally, it does not cover confectioneries, ice cream shops, fuel stations, flower shops, newsstands, or cafes.
Breaking the Sunday trading prohibition can result in fines ranging from PLN 1,000 to PLN 100,000, and for repeated violations of the rules – a restriction of liberty penalty.
The new regulations are in effect
On February 1, an amendment came into effect that designates December 24 as a day off for all workers, including those in retail, who until now – according to the Act on Restrictions on Sunday and Public Holiday Trading – had to work on Christmas Eve until 2 p.m. Starting this year, the three Sundays before Christmas Eve will be designated for commerce. The amendment further stipulates that in December, a retail employee cannot work more than two Sundays.
At the end of December last year, President Andrzej Duda opted to refer the act on a free Christmas Eve to the Constitutional Tribunal for further review. The president’s concerns pertain to the addition of a third, extra working Sunday in December for retail employees.
