> So as you see even Bajtek chief had to have a license to own mere C64.

This was not the experience of Poles in general in 1985 according to [1][2].

> "There is a wide range on offer at the Warsaw bazaar. There is everything from microcomputers and peripherals through software to services like repairs and hardware modifications. There is no problem with the availability of literature. [...] Among computers for sale the most popular are ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64. [...] Certainly, software is also available.

The above quote is taken from the writing of Patryk Wasiak from 2014, with the title "Playing and copying: social practices of home computer users in Poland during the 1980s" [3].

In [3] there is also mentions of the frequent import of electronics by Poles visiting West Berlin. I find no one mentioning that the equipment bought on the Bazaars should be registered.

Finally, both Poland, and the Soviet Union, in the 80s allowed limited private enterprises in the realm of electronics. All sorts of clones of 8-bit computers, like the ZX Spectrum were available, including a rich ecosystem of peripherals. However, they were generations behind their western counterparts. Surely they were late in the game, but they did not lack creativity.

[1] Roman Poznański, “Informatyka na Perskim,” (Informatics on the Persian Bazaar) Bajtek (October 1985): 24-25.

[2] Link to scan of Bajtek October 1985 https://archive.org/details/bajtek_85_02/page/n23/mode/2up?v...

[3] (PDF) https://atarionline.pl/forum/?PostBackAction=Download&Attach...

We seem to be talking past each other. This was THE experience of everyone in Poland who didnt straight up smuggle computers _pre_ 1985. Your examples are from 1985, yes in 1985 things finally changed when COCOM modified its stance towards 8-bit machines and Lucjan Daniel Wencel (of LDW/P.Z. Karen/California Dreams fame) negotiated a deal between Atari and Pewex.

>I find no one mentioning that the equipment bought on the Bazaars should be registered.

Neither anyone mentioned paying taxes or import duty :) because it was all _smuggled_, either hidden from customs or smoothed over with bribes. Another example is Bajtek Atari clan chief editor Wojciech Zientara personally smuggled 600XL from West Germany during one of his commercial cruises, perk of being a sailor.

Computer fairs were extremely illegal from every angle possible. Smuggled goods, illegal goods (printers), no taxes, no registered businesses, no license for commerce, renting the place under the umbrella of a Tourist Club „Pod Kamykiem” haha, illegal hard currency exchange https://spidersweb.pl/plus/2021/04/gielda-komputerowa-prl-la...

>„Bajtka” napisał o ultimatum. Redakcja odbierze giełdzie patronat, jeśli w ciągu dwóch miesięcy nie zostaną wprowadzone pewne zmiany. Chodziło m.in. o ukrócenie handlu walutami

[3] contains a lot of inaccuracies:

>COCOM ... obtaining an export license was a mere formality

not really, according to my examples 'only if the computer was necessary for the citizen's professional or scientific work'

>Moreover, 8-bit home computers were excluded from the list

only in 1985

> Pewex in cooperation with state-owned company Karen

Karen was a private company, or more accurately Polish subsidiary of American one http://atariki.krap.pl/index.php/P.Z._Karen

> Atari was sold in Pewex at the same price as the Commodore C-64 in computer bazaars but became more popular despite a smaller choice of software.

Pewex Atari required hard currency while computer fairs accepted plain zlotys. Bajtek/Top Secret/Secret Service own surveys showed ~2x more C64 than Atari in reader hands.