Stricter Environmental Penalties as of May 2025: New Rules for Corporations and SMEs

The Government of Hungary expects all investments to comply with the strictest environmental standards. Should companies fail to meet these requirements, fines will be imposed under the "polluter pays" principle. The new penalty regulation distinguishes between private individuals, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and large corporations. As of 1 May 2025, under the amended rules of Government Decree No. 314/2005 (XII.25.) on Environmental Impact Assessments and the Unified Environmental Use Permit Procedure, the amounts of environmental fines have significantly increased – at minimum doubling, but depending on the severity of the violation, potentially increasing up to fortyfold.

If an investor commences or continues an activity subject to an environmental or unified environmental use permit without having obtained such permit, the daily fine will range from HUF 100,000 to HUF 1 million. If the investor has obtained the necessary environmental or unified permit but carries out the activity in a manner that deviates from the prescribed conditions, the fine imposed on SMEs may increase to between HUF 500,000 and HUF 20 million. For large corporations, the maximum fine is 5% of the previous year’s net turnover, up to a maximum of HUF 2 billion.

Another significant change is that companies committing major environmental violations will be made public. In such cases, the environmental authority will record the violation in the Administrative Sanctions Register and notify the minister responsible for environmental protection. Specified data of companies committing serious environmental infringements will be published on the ministry’s website, and the environmental authority will prohibit the company from continuing the activity until the violation is resolved.