Polish development ministry: no work under way on legislation regulating franchise agreements

Poland’s Ministry of Economic Development and Technology (MRiT) is not currently working on legislation specifically regulating franchise agreements, according to its response to a parliamentary question, reported by the Polish Press Agency (PAP) on 28 September 2026. This does not, however, mean that no work is being done on business-to-business relationships. The ministry pointed to the activities of a working group and a separate team dealing with protection for the weaker party to a B2B contract.

What exactly did MRiT say?

The ministry’s response addressed MPs’ questions about analytical work and legislative plans relating to Poland’s franchise sector. It said it was monitoring the public debate and assessing whether some of the proposals raised could be implemented. At the same time, it clearly set out the status of its own work.

“At present, however, the ministry is not undertaking legislative work on the statutory regulation of franchise agreements,” MRiT said in the response quoted by PAP.

For franchisors and franchisees, the scope of this statement matters. It concerns the current activities of a particular ministry, rather than signalling a definitive end to the discussion about regulation. The response gave no date for starting work on specific legislation and no timetable for its possible adoption.

The announcement should therefore not be read as a sign that separate rules for franchise agreements will come into force soon. Equally, it would be unjustified to say that the government has stopped examining the issues raised in the debate altogether. MRiT drew a clear distinction between monitoring and assessing proposals and undertaking legislative work.

A separate track for protecting the weaker party to a contract

In the same response, the ministry highlighted work involving other institutions. The Ministry of Justice had informed the social policy committee of the Sejm, Poland’s lower house of parliament, that a working group had been established and had already begun its work.

Its members include representatives of the ministries of justice, finance, economic development and technology, and family, labour and social policy. However, the response quoted by PAP did not set out any finalised measures or implementation deadlines. The fact that the group has started work is therefore not equivalent to the presentation of a bill regulating franchising.

The second area of activity concerns the Civil Law Codification Commission attached to the Minister of Justice. A specialist team on protecting the weaker party to a B2B contract has been established within the commission. Its remit includes developing rules to protect the weaker party in business relationships and drawing up a framework for reviewing contractual terms between businesses.

This remit extends beyond franchising alone. Nevertheless, it is an important area for the franchise sector to monitor, as the work concerns contractual relationships between businesses. The information provided does not yet establish which specific contractual provisions future measures might cover or what form those measures will ultimately take.

The size of the sector: estimates rather than dedicated statistics

MRiT’s response also explains the availability of data. The ministry does not collect information specifically relating to franchising. Nor are such data collected through official statistics, because under current law franchising is not a separate legal form of business activity.

The ministry identified the Polish Franchise Organisation (POF) as the main source of information on the size of the franchise sector, while stressing that its figures are approximate estimates. According to the POF data cited, around 1,350 franchise systems and approximately 87,000 franchisees were operating in Poland in 2024.

For comparison, the ministry cited a figure of 2.82 million active businesses from Statistics Poland (GUS). Comparing these figures provides context, but does not change the nature of the franchise data: they remain an industry organisation’s estimates, rather than the results of a dedicated official survey of the franchise sector.

It is also important to distinguish between the number of franchise systems and the number of franchisees. The former describes the range of franchise structures available; the latter counts the entrepreneurs operating under this model. The response provides no basis for treating either figure as the number of outlets.

Retail and the concentration of agreements

According to the data cited by MRiT, around 1,080 franchise systems, or 80%, operate in retail. The ministry also highlighted the importance of food service and hotels, which account for nearly 20% of franchisors.

The ministry drew attention to the concentration of franchise agreements in retail. According to the information provided, three large franchisors, operating mainly in the small grocery shop segment, account for nearly half of all franchise agreements. They were named as Eurocash Group, Specjał Group and Żabka.

Among the brands associated with Eurocash Group, the ministry listed abc, Lewiatan, Gama, Delikatesy Centrum and Groszek. For Specjał Group, it named Nasz Sklep, Delikatesy Premium, Delikatesy Sezam, Livio and SPAR. These figures add detail to the picture of a sector with numerous franchise systems but a substantial concentration of agreements among a few large operators.

Practical takeaway: when considering a franchise partnership, assess the specific agreement rather than assuming that new legislation will take effect soon. Monitor MRiT announcements and the separate work on protecting the weaker party in B2B relationships.