NEWSLETTER
No. 23, October 2022
Malinowski & Associates. Legal Advisors. Partnership
Table of contents
Shorter proceedings in administrative cases.
Abolition of two-institutionality in cases where a party’s demand is granted in full.
Modification of the institution of waiver of the right to appeal.
Facilitation of civil proceedings.
NGOs will no longer benefit only individuals.
Notices in civil proceedings will be published in the MSiG.
Permission to sell off alcohol to an entrepreneur who has lost his wholesale license.
Increase in inheritance and gift tax-free amounts.
Increasing the threshold for unregistered activity.
Shorter proceedings in administrative cases
A bill amending the Code of Administrative Procedure in order to shorten proceedings in certain cases has reached the Parliament. The draft is currently headed for its first reading at the Sejm session.
Abolition of two-institutionality in cases where a party’s demand is granted in full
In a situation where the authority grants the applicant’s request in full in administrative proceedings, the applicant has no interest in appealing against such a decision. At the same time, a party will still have the opportunity to have such a decision overturned through court proceedings. As a result, the authority’s decision will be immediately final and the party will not have to wait for the deadline for appeal.
Modification of the institution of waiver of the right to appeal
As of the effective date of the amendment, a party will be able to waive its right to appeal a decision even before the time limit for such an appeal begins to run (which is controversial under the current state of the law). It is not difficult to imagine a situation in which a party receives a decision in person because he is anxious to settle the matter as quickly as possible. The amendment is intended to counteract doubts about the possibility of waiving the right to appeal when the decision is received in person.
Facilitation of civil proceedings
NGOs will no longer benefit only individuals
In the current state of the law, an NGO can bring an action in the interest of an entrepreneur only if the entrepreneur is also an individual. If the amendment to the law comes into effect, all entrepreneurs will be able to use the assistance of NGOs.
Notices in civil proceedings will be published in the MSiG
At present, in civil proceedings before the court, if an announcement is required (for example, in inheritance cases), then mostly such an announcement should be published in a periodical with national readership. Due to increasing computerization and declining demand for magazines, the originator of the amendment to the Code of Civil Procedure proposed that announcements be made in the Monitor Sądowy i Gospodarczy (MSiG). Given the widespread free access to the content of notices published in the MSiG via the Internet, the change should be viewed positively. Moreover, uniform rules for the publication of notices can benefit legal certainty. Making an announcement in the MSiG, due to the predetermined price list (payment from the sign in the body of the announcement) and also the new rule that the cost of the announcement can be up to 20% of the minimum wage (i.e., currently PLN 602), will be easier and cheaper for the participants in the proceedings.
It is worth remembering that when making announcements required by law, their content should comply with statutory requirements. Many times, it can happen that the absence of one element in an announcement means that the announcement will not have the specific legal effect that the person publishing it cares about. This is the case, for example, with the announcement of the opening of liquidation in a limited liability company. – if the announcement does not include information about the dissolution and opening of liquidation of the limited liability company, as well as a summons to creditors to report claims within a certain period, then even after the expiration of this period and payment of all creditors, the registry court will not strike the company from the register, indicating that the announcement was not formulated correctly. Then the act of announcement must be repeated, delaying the liquidation of the company for months.
In order to minimize the risks mentioned above, we suggest every time to consult the content of the announcement with a lawyer, who will additionally be able to formulate the announcement in such a way that the cost of its publication is as low as possible. For more information, please feel free to contact us.
Permit to sell alcohol to a trader who has lost his wholesale license
Entrepreneurs, engaged in the wholesale of alcoholic beverages, may lose their trading permits for various reasons. If they have goods in stock at the time, they are left with no small dilemma as to what to do with such goods. The draft amendment to the Law on Upbringing in Sobriety and Counteracting Alcoholism envisages the introduction of a permit to sell off alcohol to consumers and entrepreneurs who hold a marketing license. Such a solution can make it easier for many entities to make the difficult, but often right, decision to restructure or wind down their operations.
Increase in inheritance and gift tax free amounts
As of Jan. 1, 2023, there may be an increase in inheritance and gift tax-free amounts. The table below shows the current state of the law and the proposed changes:
|
Tax group |
UPDATE | AFTER UPDATE |
|
I (in-laws, son-in-law, daughter-in-law) |
PLN 9,637 |
36,120 zł |
|
II (extended family members) |
PLN 7,276 |
PLN 27,090 |
| III (immediate family members and unrelated persons) | PLN 4,902 |
PLN 18,060 |
Increase in the threshold for unrecorded activity
Interesting changes are in the pipeline for conducting unregistered business. Currently, in order to conduct such a small business without registering with the Central Registration and Information on Economic Activity, individuals cannot exceed a monthly income of more than PLN 1,505. If the amendment goes into effect, the income threshold will be increased to PLN 3,010. This regulation is scheduled to go into effect on January 1, 2023.
