Legal News Poland Legal Highlights of June 2024 (Poland)
The month June abounded in many legal events.
On 15.05.2024 a new legal provision regarding the functioning of government administration was introduced aiming to improve the execution of tasks and the systematizing of work in some important sectors such as management of minerals deposits, energy, climate and regional developments.
The issuing of taxpayer's VAT invoices using the new National System of e-Invoices (KSeF) has been postponed to 01.07.2026 due to limited system efficiency through a new bill signed by the President of Poland this month.
The compliance of Polish law with REGULATION (EU) 2017/821 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 17 May 2017 laying down the supply chain due diligence obligations for Union importers of tin, tantalum and tungsten, their ores, and gold originating from conflict-affected and high-risk areas has finally been accomplished and effected empowering the National Tax Administration to maintain ex post the control of minerals and metals listed in annex 1 to the aforementioned REGULATION (EU) towards importers along with the right to impose monetary penalties. The new compliance law also regulates the scope of criminal liability of persons bringing out and bringing in cash without customs declarations.
A relief for payers of social contributions has at last been implemented through the new law from 09.05.2024 on amending the social security system act and other acts according to which payers wil have the possibility to apply for the so - called "contribution holiday" and be exempt from payment of social contributions for one month per year. The non - paid social contributions will be financed through subsidies to the Social Insurance Fund and deemed de minimis aid in the meaning of REGULATION (EU) of 13 December 2023 on the application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to de minimisaid .
In June of this year a new act dated 15.04.2024 was effected implementing the provisions of REGULATION (EU) 2023/955 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 10 May 2023 establishing a Social Climate Fund and amending Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 in Poland. The Fund shall provide financial support to Member States for the measures and investments included ni their Social Climate Plans . The measures and investments supported by the Fund shall benefit households, micro-enterprises and transport users, which are vulnerable and particularly affected by the inclusion of greenhouse gas emissions from buildings and road transport, in particular households in energy poverty or households in transport poverty. Measures and investments encompassed by the new law can also be settled with contractors in EUR - currency.
There has been much media speculation in recent months over the contents of the government's promised " energy voucher ," designed to soften the impact on households of the lifting of temporary caps on energy prices in the second half of this year in Poland. In June of this year the new act establishing the energy voucher on limitation of prices of electricity, natural gas and district heat went into force. In general, the energy voucher is a payment aid available to households who meet an income requirement. Eligible to receive it are households whose average monthly income in 2023 was up to 2 500 PLN for one-member households and up to 1 700 PLN per person for larger households. Importantly, households that exceeded the relevant income limit in 2023 can receive the difference between the full voucher amount and the amount by which they exceeded the limit.
One further important piece of legislation shall be deemed the act from 23.05.2024 on the exchange of tax -related information between member states implementing the regulation of the COUNCIL DIRECTIVE (EU) 2021/514 of 2 March 2021 amending Directive 2011/16/EU on administrative cooperation in the field of taxation into the Polish legal system (commonly known as the DAC7 Directive). According to EU regulations, digital platform operators will be burdened with new reporting obligations. This constitutes another important step towards tightening the tax system in the European Union. The new regulations aim to reduce the number of unreported business activities conducted by sellers and service providers operating in the online sphere.
Finally, on 25.06. 2024 a new Polish whistleblower protection act, from 14 June 2024, was published introducing the so-called EU Whistleblower Directive into the Polish legal system [ Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2019 on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union law]. This whistleblowing law is important in terms of the protection of whistleblowers and encouraging them to report wrongdoing
