Legislative Changes ✓ Members only

After the era of emergency decrees — expected legislative reorganisation in the private sector

One hundred ninety-five emergency decrees in force await termination. We review which areas are most affected within the TaxHungary readership.

T
Tamás Farkas
economist, tax advisor
April 26, 2026 · Updated: June 21, 2026 10 min read
After the era of emergency decrees — expected legislative reorganisation in the private sector
Hungarian economic regulation has, since 2020, increasingly relied on the legal instrument of emergency government decree. These decrees in force broadly affect the everyday operations of the private sector, and in the first four months of 2026 alone, nearly thirty new decrees were published — covering taxation, energy, construction, insolvency, employment and general corporate matters. The new political cycle following spring 2026 foreshadows a return of weight to parliamentary legislation. In the medium term it promises a more predictable regulatory environment, while at the same time bringing a substantial volume of concrete legislative changes. This article reviews which areas are most affected and where it is worth focusing attention in the second half of 2026.

The weight of emergency-decree regulation

In the Hungarian legal system, the emergency government decree was originally an instrument designed for the constitutional system's exceptional situations. Its essence is that it enters into force immediately upon publication, has the force of statute, and does not require the long preparation and debate procedure of parliamentary legislation. Owing to the pandemic that began in 2020, and then the energy crisis and wartime environment that has persisted since 2022, this exceptional regulatory channel has become the defining instrument of economic regulation directly affecting the private sector. The imposition and modification of special levies, the introduction and removal of price caps, the in-year adjustment of tax legislation, and the reshaping of construction and tender conditions have all reached the affected enterprises in this form, often with short preparation time and on a schedule not always aligned with the financial year.

The number of emergency decrees currently in force amounts to one hundred ninety-five, and in the first four months of 2026 alone nearly thirty new decrees were published. The new political cycle following spring 2026 foreshadows the gradual retreat of this regulatory pattern. On the one hand, a portion of the emergency decrees in force will likely be elevated to statutory level, codified and in some cases with refined content. On the other hand, a significant volume of rules expressly meant to be transitional will be phased out or substantially restructured.

Taxation and special levy package

The area with the greatest economic weight is occupied by the special levies. In the practice of recent years, sector-specific surtaxes have been introduced for the banking sector, insurers, retail trade, energy companies, telecommunications providers and pharmaceutical distributors, mostly with content renewed or modified annually. The government decree governing the divergent application of the Advertising Tax Act, which entered into force in April 2026, illustrates the dynamics of this area well — yet another transitional modification of an already existing tax type became part of corporate planning within days of its publication.

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