What is SENT? Electronic Transport Surveillance System - Principles and responsibilities

What is SENT? Basic information on the Electronic Transport Supervision System

SENT (System for Electronic Surveillance of Transport) is a ICT system run by the National Revenue Administration, which serves to to monitor the transport of selected goods and the circulation of fuel oils on the territory of Poland. It allows the collection and processing of data on the transport of so-called sensitive goods, which are subject to close monitoring due to the increased risk of tax fraud.

The purpose of introducing SENT in Poland was to tighten the tax system, eliminate the grey market, create space for legitimate business activities and moving away from control of transport documentation to real-time transport control. The rules for the operation of the SENT system and the obligations of those involved in the trade and transport of sensitive goods are contained in the Act of 9 March 2017 on the monitoring system for road and rail transport of goods and trade in heating fuels.

How does the SENT system work?

The essence of the SENT system is GPS monitoring, which allows the precise location of vehicles transporting sensitive goods and the tracking of the route taken by them. Therefore, any road and rail means of transport carrying sensitive goods must be equipped with a geolocaliser, which will transmit up-to-date data on the vehicle's location (geographical coordinates), the date and time of acquisition of the coordinates, speed and azimuth. The geolocaliser should be active at all times during transport. the driver is obliged to put it into operation before the start of the transport and not to switch it off until after the goods have been delivered to the consignee or after leaving the territory of Poland.

Road and rail transport of sensitive goods taking place on Polish territory shall be monitored in SENT, thus:

• transports beginning and ending on the territory of Poland,
• transports starting in the territory of Poland and ending in the territory of another country,
• transports starting in the territory of another country and ending in the territory of Poland,
• transit transports that do not begin or end on Polish territory.

Each carriage is marked with an individual reference number, which is a unique code that allows the identification of the transported goods and the control of the entire transport. To obtain it, the consignor, the consignee or the carrier must declare a shipment in the SENT system via the PUESC platform (Fiscal and Customs Electronic Services Platform). After receiving the code, the entity concerned is obliged to pass it on to the other entities involved in the carriage of goods. Then transporter supplements the SENT declaration with the vehicle data (e.g. registration number) and the dates of carriage and provides the reference number to the driver performing the service.

The reference number is valid for 10 days from the date of posting. If the carriage lasts longer, a new declaration must be lodged and a new reference number obtained after the expiry of the 10-day period. If the reference number expires during the carriage, the declaration can be made by both the consignor and the consignee or the carrier of the goods.

Who is obliged to notify transport in SENT?

Depending on where the transport starts and ends, the obligation to declare in SENT may lie with the transport company (transporter), with the entity sending or receiving the sensitive goods.

• National transports notifies the entity consignor.
• Exports from Poland notifies the entity consignor.
• Imports into Poland notifies the entity receiving goods.
• Transit carriages shall be declared by the carrier.

Notification must be made before the start of transport on Polish territory and, in the case of transport starting abroad, before the vehicle enters Poland.

What goods are covered by SENT?

Only goods listed in the Regulation of the Minister of Finance of 25 April 2022 on goods, the carriage of which is covered by the monitoring system for road and rail transport of goods and trade in heating fuels (Journal of Laws of 2024, item 1218, as amended) are subject to mandatory declaration in SENT. These are products that may be subject to VAT and excise duty violations.

This group includes, among others (as at 1 January 2026):

• tobacco products (e.g. tobacco, cigarettes, cigars, e-liquids) and cigarette papers,
• alcoholic products (e.g. ethyl alcohol, methyl alcohol and products containing ethyl alcohol),
• fuels (e.g. coal, briquettes and the like, coke and semi-coke, petroleum and mineral oils, propane, butane and propane-butane, biofuels),
• lubricating and anti-knock preparations,
• certain chemicals (e.g. polycarboxylic acids),
• selected foods and cereals (poultry meat, bird eggs, natural honey, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, wheat, maize, rapeseed, concentrated apple juice),
• edible fats (e.g. margarine, oil, soya, palm, rapeseed, coconut, peanut, sunflower, safflower and cottonseed oils),
• hazardous waste (some group 8 waste).

A detailed catalogue of sensitive goods subject to monitoring in SENT and the quantities of transported goods obliging to make a declaration can be found in the Ordinance of the Minister of Finance of 25 April 2022 on goods whose transport is covered by the system for monitoring road and rail transport of goods and trade in heating fuels (consolidated text: Dz.U.2024.1157 t.j., as amended).

In addition, in the SENT system the transport of medicinal products, foodstuffs for particular nutritional uses and medical devices at risk of non-availability is monitored on the territory of the Republic of Poland, a list of which is regularly updated and published in subsequent notices from the Minister of Health.

From 17 March 2026. to the catalogue of sensitive goods covered by SENT will include clothing and footwear covered by the codes:

• 61 CN - knitted or crocheted articles of apparel and clothing accessories, if the gross weight of a consignment of goods of this chapter exceeds 10 kg,
• 62 CN - articles of apparel and clothing accessories, other than knitted or crocheted, where the gross weight of a consignment of goods of this chapter exceeds 10 kg,
• CN 6309 00 00 - second-hand clothing and other second-hand articles if the gross weight of a consignment of goods under this code exceeds 10 kg,
• 64 CN - footwear, excluding CN heading 6406 (parts of footwear), if a consignment of goods of this chapter contains more than 20 pieces of footwear (making 10 pairs of footwear or, for example, 20 right-hand shoes),
• 61 or 62 of the CN (knitted or crocheted articles of apparel and clothing accessories other than knitted or crocheted) or Chapter 64 of the CN (footwear), excluding CN heading 6406 (parts of footwear), if the gross weight of the consignment that includes goods from two or more of these chapters exceeds 10 kg.

Waste in SENT

From 12 January 2024. the transport of certain hazardous waste is also subject to compulsory notification in the SENT system, mainly waste from paints, solvents and oils. According to the regulations, any transport of waste with codes must be reported in SENT:

• 08 01 11* - waste paint and varnish containing organic solvents or other dangerous substances,
• 08 01 13* - Sludges from paint or varnish removal containing organic solvents or other dangerous substances,
• 08 01 15* - aqueous sludges containing paint or varnish containing organic solvents or other dangerous substances,
• 08 01 17* - wastes from paint or varnish removal containing organic solvents or other dangerous substances,
• 08 01 19* - aqueous suspensions of paints or varnishes containing organic solvents or other dangerous substances,
• 08 01 21* - Paint or varnish remover,
• 08 03 12* - waste ink containing dangerous substances,
• 08 03 14* - ink sludges containing dangerous substances,
• 08 04 09* - waste adhesives and sealants containing organic solvents or other dangerous substances,
• 08 04 13* - hydrated sludges of adhesives or sealants containing organic solvents or other dangerous substances,
• 08 04 15* - waste liquid adhesives or sealants containing organic solvents or other dangerous substances.

NOTES: The obligation to notify in SENT only applies to shipments of the above waste equal to or greater than 1000 kg or 1000 l. Smaller shipments are exempt from monitoring in SENT.

The following are also subject to monitoring in SENT carriage of waste oils. Such carriage should be declared in SENT every time, when the quantity of oil transported is equal to or greater than 500 l or 500 kg.

How do I create a declaration in SENT?

In order to declare a transport in SENT, the following are necessary registration on the platform of electronic fiscal and customs services (PUESC)) i completion of the relevant form accessible from the user account.

• Sender reports a carriage starting in the Republic of Poland by filling in the appropriate form of the 100 series.
• Receiver declares a carriage ending in the territory of the Republic of Poland by completing a form in the 200 series.
• Carrier declares a carriage that neither begins nor ends in the territory of the Republic of Poland (transit) by completing a form in the 300 series.

Each form should be completed with, inter alia, the planned date of commencement of transport, details of the consignor and consignee (including their tax identification numbers/PESEL numbers), details of the goods transported (type, CN code, quantity, gross weight or volume), the address of the place of loading and additional information depending on the specific nature of the goods transported.

Request collection of SENT waste

At Interzero We offer professional collection and transport of all types of waste subject to notification in the SENT system. We have many years of experience in waste logistics, including the transport of hazardous waste. We also have a fleet of vehicles equipped with geolocalisers, as required by the regulations, allowing real-time tracking of the route. All vehicles used to transport hazardous waste subject to SENT also have valid ADR vehicle certificates.

We guarantee compliance with regulations, punctuality and full control over transport. Contact us and get the best offer for waste collection from SENT!

Find out more about the SENT reportable waste collection and transport service >>.