Important legislative changes in 2020
Below, we present a summary of changes introduced in 2019, with a material impact on everyday life of entrepreneurs in 2020. The importance of each of the changes described below is significant, even revolutionary, and is associated with a complete change in the approach of the legislator.
Civil procedure – reinstatement of separate proceedings in economic cases
In order to ensure faster and more efficient examination of cases involving entrepreneurs, the legislator has reinstated separate proceedings in economic cases. These changes are revolutionary, e.g. due to the fact that:
- the admissibility of the right of set-off is now limited,
- the ‘one case – one claim’ rule has been adopted,
- it will be possible to schedule a preparatory session.
One of the purposes of the above is the settlement of the case at the first hearing. Currently, entrepreneurs should take into account that all facts and evidence must be presented in the statement of claim and in the obligatory response to the statement of claim; otherwise, they will be disregarded. The legislator intends to facilitate the proceedings by way of their digitisation; therefore, the parties are required to provide their electronic mail address in their first pleading. The proceedings are streamlined by shifting the burden of proof onto documents, as witness evidence may only be admissible when – after taking all other evidence – some facts of the case still remain to be clarified. The legislator has also introduced regulations to discipline the parties, which may result in charging them with the costs of the proceedings regardless of the outcome of the case, as well as a possibility to impose a fine. In addition, the practice of filing motions for a settlement conference has been limited – currently, the fee for each motion amounts to 20% of the filing fee. Civil proceedings are more expensive – the maximum filing fees have increased from PLN 100,000 to PLN 200,000.
Waste Database (BDO)
The fight for the climate is conducted in many ways, also with legislative activity. The abbreviation ‘BDO,’ i.e. a database of products and waste, has become crucially important for many entrepreneurs. The aim of the database is to counteract irregularities in the waste management sector. The obligation of entry into the BDO applies to those entrepreneurs (also sole traders) who:
- generate waste and keep records of waste (in addition to municipal waste),
- place the following on the domestic market: packaged products, vehicles, oils, lubricants, tyres, batteries or accumulators, as well as electrical and electronic equipment,
- manufacturers, importers and intra-Community purchasers of packaging.
Such entrepreneurs should have handled the registration formalities at the Marshal Office by the end of 2019. As of January 2020, those entrepreneurs who fail to comply with the registration obligation will be subject to penalties of up to PLN 1 million, a custodial penalty, or a fine imposed by the court.
Changes in public procurement in 2021 – an opportunity for small and medium-sized enterprises
This year is a good time to get ready for the revolution that 2021 is going to bring in the public procurement sector. The aim of the changes is e.g. to discontinue the price criterion in favour of quality, competitiveness, and the most extensive response to the needs of the ordering entities, to introduce a regime of agreements with contractors and subcontractors, and to address the problems related to the financial liquidity of businesses, by providing for the possibility of advance payments and the obligation of partial payments. Also, the principles of preparation of public procurement have been modified in order to increase the share of the private sector in the correct preparation of public procurement procedures. Before preparing the Terms of Reference, the ordering entity will need to obtain an analysis to verify the needs and the solutions available on the market. In addition, it will be possible to conduct wide market consultations which will help the ordering entity in drafting the Terms of Reference.
Payment gridlocks
Limitation of payment gridlocks, i.e. payment delays – this is the aim of the Act to counteract gridlocks. The main solutions of this Act are:
- shortening the payment deadlines (30 days for public entities, 60 days for larger companies in their relations with smaller ones), with a possibility to withdraw from an agreement, if the deadline exceeds 120 days,
- authorising the President of the Office for Competition and Consumer Protection to prosecute enterprises that cause the gridlocks,
- obligating the largest companies to report their payment practices to the Ministry of Entrepreneurship and Technology,
- a PIT and CIT relief for companies which do not receive timely payments (similarly to the VAT relief),
- increasing the interest for late payment in commercial transactions from 9.5 to 11.5%,
- higher compensation for the costs of debt collection (compensation in the range of EUR 40 – 100),
- unjustified extension of the payment deadlines has become an act of unfair competition, which is associated with a risk of liability as provided for in the Act on combating unfair competition.
Transparency of joint-stock companies
The beginning of 2020 has brought new obligations for limited joint-stock partnerships and joint-stock companies in terms of dematerialisation of shares and the requirement to maintain a website. The website address will be subject to mandatory disclosure and update in the National Court Register. Dematerialisation is a conversion of the form of shares – from a document (paper) to an entry in an ICT system. This will apply to bearer shares and registered shares of joint-stock companies and limited joint-stock partnerships which are not traded on a stock exchange. From the beginning of March 2020, all applications concerning entities subject to registration in the National Court Register may only be submitted through an ICT system. These changes concern the form of submitted applications. The digitisation of the National Court Register proceedings will not result in a requirement of provision of all documents in the electronic form. As before, they can be submitted to the registration files as original documents or officially certified copies or excerpts.
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