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SENT - everything you need to know.

System for Electronic Transport Supervision (SENT) is an IT system to register and monitor road and rail transport of the so-called "sensitive goods" as well as trading in heating fuels.

Such as motor fuels, biodiesel, lubricating oils, diluents, dehydrated tobacco, paint waste, sludges containing adhesives or agricultural products. It is worth mentioning that sensitive goods are subject to the necessity of transport monitoring only if their quantity exceeds the limits set by the Act.*

In the SENT system the following is monitored:

transport and turnover of goods beginning and ending on the territory of Poland and outside the territory of Poland,
carriage and turnover of goods beginning and ending outside the territory of Poland,
transport of goods beginning and ending outside the territory of Poland and ending in the territory of Poland.

The Ministry of Infrastructure wants to accelerate the changes in the SENT system by six months.

A draft amendment to the Act on Posting Drivers in Road Transport has been received, which presupposes the obligation to register in the SENT system foreign carriers performing international road transport as from 1 July 2024, instead of as originally assumed - from 1 January 2025. The amendments are intended to contribute to more effective control of foreign permits required by the provisions of international agreements binding on the Republic of Poland concerning road transport. Inspections of the above mentioned entities show that there are cases of repeated use of the permit authorizing a single journey through or on the territory of the country, including by not filling in the permit form.

Who is obliged to submit notifications in the SENT system?

Sending entity/consignor of goods,
carrier,
and the recipient/receiver of the goods.

Before purchasing the goods, the buyer must generate a transaction code from the system and confirm with it the receipt of e.g. heating fuel, otherwise, it will refuse to deliver the goods.

The consignor - in the case of carriage of goods starting on the territory of the country - is obliged to:

send a notification to the register and obtain a reference number for that notification and give that number to the carrier,
in the case of a supply of goods within the meaning of the Act of 11 March 2004 on Goods and Services Tax, hereinafter referred to as “the supply of goods”, the consignor is also obliged to provide the reference number to the consignee.

The carrier - in the case of transport of goods between other EU Member States through the territory of Poland - is obliged to:

send a notification to the register and obtain a reference number for that notification.
The driver must have a reference number or a document replacing the declaration at the time of commencement of the transport.

The consignee - in the case of carriage of goods from the territory of a Member State or the territory of a third country into the territory of the country - is obliged to:

send a notification to the register and obtain a reference number for that notification and give that number to the carrier.

All entities involved in the carriage of goods are obliged to:

complete and/or update the information contained in the declaration without delay, to the extent that they are required to do so (excluding quantity and type of goods).

SENT is accessed via the e-Transport service on the Platform for Electronic Tax and Customs Services (PUESC).

Who can open an account on PUESC?

Only individual. In the case of economic entities obliged to perform activities in the SENT register, it may be, for example, an employee of the entity with the appropriate power of attorney.

For sending and receiving entities that send or update notifications, it is necessary to have an advanced level of access to PUESC – this requires creating an account on PUESC, registering the data of a natural person, registering the data of the entity and registering the representation.

On the other hand, carriers who send, supplement or update notifications can only have basic access to PUESC – this only requires creating an account on PUESC. In addition, he must ensure that up-to-date geolocation data of the means of transport are transmitted throughout the journey covered by the notification.

What information should be included in the SENT notification?

The first step is registration of the intention to transport sensitive goods by filling in the form by the consignor. After logging in to PUESC, select the appropriate service in the group "Transport of goods subject to monitoring (SENT)" and then the appropriate form.

The registration provides information about the entity sending and receiving, the goods, and the route (place of loading, delivery of goods, date of departure from Poland if any).

After completing and sending the form to the registry, a SENT number (valid for 10 days) and 3 authentication keys are generated for each of the participants in the process (sender, carrier, and receiver).

The notifier shall transmit the reference number to the carrier (for domestic sales, this number shall also be transmitted to the consignee). The next step is the completion of the registration by the carrier. He must add his details, vehicle registration number, license information, start date and planned end date of the transit. Transport may start after receipt of confirmation.

The final stage of processing notifications in the SENT system is to complete the registration with information about receipt of goods, no later than the next working day after delivery. The consignee shall close the declaration by completing the information on receipt of the goods and by entering the date of completion of the transport.

For violating the obligations regarding monitoring goods, severe penalties may be imposed of up to 46% of the gross value of the transported goods, but not less than PLN 20,000.