NEWSLETTER
No. 26, January 2023
Malinowski & Associates. Legal Advisors. Partnership
Table of contents
With the new year, it is also time for, for the second time since the beginning of the publication of the law firm newsletter, a summary of the topics we wrote about throughout the past year. We will also mention in passing their further fate and which of the bills have entered into force and which, however, have been abandoned in the course of legislative work.
February 2022 – No. 15
We began the publication of the 2022 newsletter by discussing: firstly, the amendments to the VAT law, introducing in particular the so-called “VAT Act”. “zero” rate of VAT and reducing other rates of VAT on selected goods and services, secondly, the proposed business arrangements related to the COVID-19 epidemic, and thirdly, the impediments to the transfer of a company to a so-called “zero” rate. “pole.”
The legislative process for the parliamentary bill on special solutions to ensure the possibility of conducting business during the COVID-19 epidemic. and the parliamentary bill on amendments to the Law on Notaries and the Law on the National Court Register is still pending. The bill has so far received substantive opinions from the Supreme Court and the National Notary Council, while it was referred to the Justice and Human Rights Committee for its first reading in December 2021.
March 2022 – No. 16
The March issue of the newsletter, for a change, was devoted mainly to criminal law topics in terms of the solutions proposed by the government in the draft amendment to the Criminal Code. We signaled, in passing, a one-time extension of the deadline for corporate taxpayers to file a return on the amount of income or loss for the tax year.
A draft amendment to the Penal Code, increasing minimum fines or abolishing the 25-year prison sentence, was signed by the President on December 2, 2022, despite the Senate’s resolution on a motion to reject the bill, and is awaiting entry into force.
April 2022 – No. 17
In April, we discussed two significant bills to amend laws. The first was essentially about criminal tax liability, and the most important of its consequences was to be the tightening of the tax system. However, due to the too frequent and significant changes in the tax law, which is closely related to criminal liability, further work on the project was abandoned and it was finally not submitted to the Sejm.
The second of the drafts provided for amendments to existing labor law regulations aimed at implementing into Polish law the Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council (EU) 2019/1152 on transparent and predictable working conditions in the European Union and Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council (EU) 2019/1158 on work-life balance for parents and guardians. The draft was submitted to the Diet on January 11, 2023.
May 2022 – No. 18
The topics of the May issue of the newsletter focused on finance and digitization in construction law.
We first discussed the draft law on crowdfunding for business ventures and borrower assistance. On July 14, 2022. The president has signed the law, which has already partially entered into force.
We went on to touch on the support for borrowers offered by the Borrower Support Fund and discussed what legislative work on this issue was being carried out by the Parliament at the time. In addition to the aforementioned. laws, a bill on protecting borrowers paying home loans from the effects of rising interest rates and a bill on a temporary method of setting the interest rate in variable-rate mortgage contracts – both of which are already after the first reading – are still under way in the Sejm.
We also mentioned the electronic construction log, the electronic construction book, and the “subscription” of information on registered applications and changes to the entity listed in the National Court Register.
June 2022 – No. 19
In June, we wrote about a draft amendment to the Labor Code, authorizing employers to conduct sobriety checks on employees under special circumstances, and introducing regulations on remote work. The bill, after being forwarded to the President and the Speaker of the Senate, was referred to the Extraordinary Committee for Amendments to the Codifications on December 16, 2022.
In addition, we discussed the draft law on social economy, which aimed at social activation of people at risk of social exclusion through the establishment of social enterprises. The President, after making amendments in the body of the law, signed it on August 10, 2022. The law, with few exceptions, went into effect on October 30, 2022.
We also mentioned the further fate of the FIT FOR 55 package – negotiations between representatives of the European Parliament, the European Commission and the EU Council have not yet been completed.
July 2022 – No. 20
The July edition of the newsletter covered issues related to the draft amendment of the Law on Consumer Rights and Other Laws, introducing a number of solutions aimed at raising the standards of consumer protection, and issues related to the amendment of the Restructuring Law concerning, in particular, the so-called “restructuring”. preventive restructuring.
The first of the indicated amendments was signed by the President on November 9, 2022, and came into full force at the beginning of this year. In contrast, the draft of the second amendment has not yet been approved by the Council of Ministers.
August 2022 – No. 21
In August, we first discussed the draft regulations, the fundamental purpose of which was to simplify administrative procedures and introduce single-instance administrative proceedings in certain cases. The amendment further provided for the expansion of the use of the form and electronic service in water law and patent cases. The law was finally signed into law by the President on October 21, 2022, and has already overwhelmingly entered into force. Importantly, however, some of the regulations introduced are retroactive.
Another amendment that caught our attention concerned the Goods and Services Tax Law. It will probably be associated by most readers under the name SLIM VAT 3. At this point, the draft amendments have not yet been referred to the Diet.
We also signaled that a draft law amending the Law on the National Court Register and certain other laws has been sent to the Parliament. The president on November 15, 2022, signed the law as amended. The law went into effect on December 15 last year.
September 2022 – No. 22
In the September issue of the newsletter, we continued the tax theme, this time concerning the amendment of the Law on Corporate Tax and Certain Other Laws (Polish Deal 3.0). In particular, we discussed changes to the minimum income tax, flipped income tax or withholding tax (WHT). The law was finally signed into law by the President on October 21, 2022, and the vast majority of it has already gone into effect, with some of the provisions applying retroactively.
The second issue discussed was the law on the principles of implementing programs to support entrepreneurs in connection with the energy market situation in 2022-2024. By design, it was aimed at specific groups of entrepreneurs to provide them with financial support related to the increase in electricity and natural gas prices. The law was signed on October 10, 2022 and came into effect on October 13, 2022.
October 2022 – No. 23
In October, we decided to take a closer look at the committee’s bill to amend laws to eliminate unnecessary administrative and legal barriers. The scope of the proposed law – nota bene with a puzzling name – is quite extensive and covers a wide variety of issues. The most important, in our opinion, relate in particular to: proceedings in administrative cases and the possibility of abolishing two-instance in certain cases; civil proceedings regarding the publication of notices in the Economic and Court Gazette; the permissibility of selling off alcohol by an entrepreneur who has lost his wholesale license; the amount of amounts free of inheritance and gift tax; and the amount of the threshold for unrecorded activities.
Work on the bill is still in progress.
November 2022 – No. 24
In the November issue of the newsletter, we tried to give you as detailed an overview as possible of the draft law on family foundations, since the family foundation is a novelty in the Polish legal system. The main purpose of the proposed law is to safeguard the interests of, in particular, those entrepreneurs who conduct business in Poland and additionally involve family members. Last December, the bill was forwarded to both the Speaker of the Senate and the President, with the bill yet to be signed into law.
We also mentioned the digitization of the hiring process, with the goal of facilitating the conclusion, amendment or termination of employment, assignment, service contracts (to which the provisions on assignment apply) and the activation contract between the employee and the employer specified in the law. The law, after being amended accordingly, was signed by the President on December 21, 2022. Some of the regulations, due to their retroactive effect, have already gone into effect.
The third issue raised concerned the directive, which is part of the FIT FOR 55 package and assumes that, in principle, all new buildings will be zero-emission by 2030. Negotiations on the directive are still underway.
December 2022 – No. 25
In the last edition of last year’s newsletter, we signaled at the outset about the minimum wage increases planned for 2023.
We then discussed proposed amendments to the Law on Real Estate Management and certain other laws aimed at facilitating entrepreneurs’ claims for the sale of real estate previously covered by perpetual usufruct. At this point, the draft amendments have not yet been referred to the Diet.
We also pointed out possible changes in tax optimization for micro-, small- and medium-sized entrepreneurs in areas with high unemployment and low per capita income through the introduction of individual depreciation rates. The bill is stuck in the Sejm due to formal deficiencies.
Finally, we raised the issue of amending the law under which the Land Management Bank operates, i.e. the law of May 8, 1997. On warranties and guarantees issued by the State Treasury and certain legal entities. Work on the draft amendment is still in progress.
