Category: News

Central Registration And Information On Business (CEIDG) is a digital register of entrepreneurs who conduct business activities in Poland. It currently holds the data of 2.6 million entrepreneurs. They can also manage their affairs online thanks to a cooperation between CEIDG and the Biznes.gov.pl information and service website. By signing into your Entrepreneur Account you can quickly and easily manage your affairs with CEIDG and other services.

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a growing demand for managing things online, which in turn caused a boom in e-services. That has resulted in many suggestions both by entrepreneurs and officials to introduce changes related to CEIDG. To improve the digitalisation of CEIDG, the Ministry of Development and Technology has prepared draft amendment of the Central Registration And Information On Business and Information Centre for Entrepreneurs Act. Currently, the draft amendment is under consultations.

The major changes will consist of:

• improvements to the functioning of civil partnerships – creation of a “one-stop” process for registering a civil partnership, i.e., a change from specific applications that had to be submitted with Inland Revenue, Statistics Poland and the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) to a single integrated application,
• comprehensive digitalisation of the process of establishing a business at Biznes.gov.pl, i.e., a departure from filing paper applications during a business registration in CEIDG while retaining support at the Entrepreneur Support Centre,
• enhancement and facilitation of the one-stop CEIDG process – a more comprehensive integration with other public registers and inclusion of company details in the CEIDG register, as well as creation of the option to download an electronic company certificate or an expansion of CEIDG to include a visualisation of address information using a geoportal,
• changes for commercial proxies – enhancements regarding the inclusion of commercial proxy details in CEIDG, in particular for commercial proxies who are not natural persons,
• improvements to regulations regarding bankruptcy trustees, succession administrators, etc.

The Ministry of Development and Technology has recently begun the consultations of the draft amendment. The Ministry welcomes any and all remarks until 19 October 2022.

 

The European Parliament has enacted legislation on minimum pay for workers. This decision was taken by 505 votes in favour to 92 against, with 44 abstentions.

Dennis Radtke (EPP, DE), said after the vote that: “The current situation clearly shows once again that we need a well-functioning, strong social partnership in Europe. Politics cannot give a comprehensive answer to every aspect of this crisis.”

 

The directive sets standards for what an adequate minimum wage should be. These standards will have to be implemented in national laws or complied with through collective bargaining.

The minimum wage in all countries of the European Union is intended to ensure a decent standard of living and working. On the other hand, it is the responsibility of member states to promote wage arrangements through collective bargaining.

In the European Parliament’s opinion, collective bargaining at sectoral and inter-industry level is an important factor in determining adequate minimum wages.  Therefore, they should be supported and promoted pursuant to the provisions of the just adopted Directive.

The new directive will apply to all workers in the EU who work under an employment contract or employment relationship.

Member states, when setting minimum wages, will now have to ensure that such wages provide workers with a decent living, taking into account the cost of living and general wage levels. In order to assess the adequacy of the existing statutory minimum wage, member states can define a national basket of consumer goods and services based on market prices. Or they can set it at 60% of the gross wage median or 50% of the average gross wage.

Importantly, member states where the minimum wage is secured through collective bargaining only, will not have to introduce a statutory minimum wage. Nor will they have to ensure that the Directive’s provisions are generally applicable.

Key changes:

• the minimum wage is to ensure a decent standard of living,
• EU legislation will not affect national wage-setting practices,
• countries where less than 80% of workers are affected by collective bargaining will have to define, in cooperation with their social partners, an action plan to include more workers in such bargaining.
• in case of infringement, workers, their representatives and union members will have a right to seek claims.

The text approved by the members of the European Parliament also provides for EU member states to introduce an enforcement system.  This is to include credible monitoring, checks and inspections. This will ensure compliance with the regulations and combat abusive subcontracting, fictitious self-employment, undeclared overtime and increased rate of work intensity.

It is expected that the Council will officially approve the arrangements in September. Member states will then have two years to implement the directive.

The sudden surge in gas prices has prompted businesses to withhold the production of fertilisers, carbon dioxide and dry ice. Although the production was resumed fairly quickly, the situation could have a serious impact on the agriculture and food and pharmaceutical industries. In addition, companies in other sectors are also announcing production cuts due to the high and still rising gas prices.

These events may translate to disruptions in the supply of carbon dioxide, dry ice and fertilisers, result in problems with the execution of contracts and cause disruptions in many sectors of the economy. Contract defaults can affect both direct customers of companies withholding production, and food wholesalers.

Although a price increase is an uncommon phenomenon, can we talk about force majeure, which would release from liability for non-performance of a contract? If not, then, from the civil law point of view, not treating the price increase as force majeure will mean that contracts are not fulfilled.

In the lawyers’ opinion, force majeure is a sudden and unexpected event that is beyond the limits of human influence. Meanwhile, the phenomenon of gas price increases has already been going on for several months and it is hard to find the situation sudden or completely unpredictable. Moreover, in order to invoke the ongoing armed conflict in Ukraine and the resulting gas price increases, a direct link between the price increases and the hostilities must also be proven.  And this would be difficult, as prices had already started to grow before the war.

In the market economy, the mere increase in prices does not seem to be a sufficient reason to apply extraordinary measures. In the current situation, one can speak of difficulties in the performance of contracts, and not of impossibility of performance. Admittedly, in civil law there is also the possibility of an extraordinary amendment of a contract by the court. Pursuant to Article 357(1) of the Civil Code, “if, due to an extraordinary change of relations, the performance of a service would be connected with excessive difficulties or would pose the risk of a gross loss for one of the parties, which was not foreseen by the parties when concluding the contract, after considering the interests of the parties and in accordance with the principles of social co-existence, the court may determine the manner of performing the obligation, the amount of the service, or even rule on the termination of the contract”. This possibility is referred to as clausula rebus sic stantibus. However, referring to clausula rebus sic stantibus leads to amendment of the contract by the court, which is uncertain and time-consuming.

REASONS FOR THE POPULARITY OF ELECTRIC CARS

In the era of rising car maintenance costs, the looming climate crisis and the announced EU climate package, more and more Poles are deciding to buy an electric car. Another factor that has a positive influence on this decision is the ‘My Electric Car’ programme, whose objective is to avoid air pollution emissions by subsidising projects aimed at reducing the consumption of emission fuels in transport – support for the purchase/lease of zero-emission vehicles.

ASSUMPTIONS OF THE MY ELECTRIC CAR PROGRAMME

The new ‘My Electric Car’ programme, which enables obtaining subsidies for the purchase of electric vehicles, was launched on 12 July 2021. The programme provides for subsidising projects consisting in the purchase of a new vehicle of the M1, N1 and L1e-L7e category powered only by electricity accumulated by connection to an external power source, or electricity generated from hydrogen in fuel cells installed in the vehicle, or propelled only by an engine whose operation cycle does not lead to the emission of greenhouse gases or other substances covered by the greenhouse gas emissions management system referred to in the act of 17 July 2009 on the greenhouse gas emissions and other substances management system.  A new zero-emission vehicle should be understood as a vehicle of the M1, N1 and L1e-L7e category which is brand new and has not been registered before the purchase, or a vehicle purchased and registered by a car dealer, importer or leasing company with the mileage of no more than 50 km.

The programme budget is PLN 700 million. The programme is scheduled to be implemented from 2021 to 2026, and applications will be accepted until 2025 or until the funds are exhausted. The disbursement period will end on 20 June 2026.

WHO CAN BENEFIT FROM THE SUBSIDY AND UNDER WHAT CONDITIONS

First of all, one should answer the question of who will be able to benefit from the programme. The list of entities that can apply for the subsidy has been divided into two categories:

• Category one – natural persons

• Category two – entities other than natural persons, including entrepreneurs:

• Public finance sector entities, within the meaning of the act of 27 August 2009 on public finance (consolidated text: Journal of Laws 2022, item 1634);

• Research institutes, within the meaning of the act of 30 April 2010 on research institutes (consolidated text: Journal of Laws 2022, item 498);

• Entrepreneurs, within the meaning of the act of 6 March 2018 – Enterprise Law (consolidated text: Journal of Laws 2022, item 974);

• Associations, within the meaning of the act of 7 April 1989 – Associations Law (consolidated text: Journal of Laws 2020, item 2261);

• Foundations, within the meaning of the act of 6 April 1984 on foundations (consolidated text: Journal of Laws 2020, item 2167);

• Cooperatives, within the meaning of the act of 16 September 1982 – Cooperative Law (consolidated text: Journal of Laws 2021, item 648);

• Individual farmers, within the meaning of the act of 11 April 2003 on the structuring of the agricultural system (consolidated text: Journal of Laws 2022, item 461);

• Churches and other religious associations and their legal persons; Religious organisations whose legal situation is regulated by the laws on the relationship between the state and churches and other religious associations, operating within such churches and associations.

As far as the substantive conditions for the subsidising are concerned, these are as follows:

1. the subsidy will not be provided for projects the costs of which have been co-financed from national or foreign public funds, in particular from the European Union budget;

2. the purchased/leased zero-emission vehicle must be new;

3. the purchased/leased zero-emission vehicle must be labelled during the programme durability;

4. the durability period is 2 years from the date of the project completion (purchase of the vehicle), while in the case of lease it should be understood as the date of delivering the new vehicle to the beneficiary (Lessee) for use or use and deriving benefits, on the basis of a vehicle delivery report;

5. the co-financed zero-emission vehicle must be registered in the territory of the Republic of Poland for at least 2 years following the project completion date;

6. the zero-emission vehicle must be registered to the vehicle owner, who is the beneficiary of the subsidy under this programme (in the case of lease, the vehicle may be registered to the beneficiary or the leasing company with which the beneficiary is bound by the lease contract);

7. the co-financed zero-emission vehicle must be insured against damage, destruction and loss due to collisions, accidents, third party damage and theft, including third party liability insurance and own-damage motor insurance, at least for the durability period;

8. in the event of a failure to comply with the obligations referred to in items 5 to 7, the subsidy, together with the due interest, is to be returned in accordance with the conditions laid down in the subsidy agreement; the agreement may, in particular, specify the proportion of the repayment and the cases in which the repayment may be waived;
9. the subsidy payment may be conditional on the establishment of a repayment security;

10. the subsidy may be awarded for an undertaking completed before the application submission date, subject to item 13);

11. the subsidy will be paid only in the form of a refund after the purchase of the vehicle, or in the form of a grant for the charges laid down in the lease contracts (initial charge and transfer fee), after signing the vehicle delivery report;

12. if the subsidy relates to a zero-emission vehicle category M2 or M3 and constitutes public aid, the provisions of the Regulation of the Minister of the Environment of 21 December 2015 on detailed conditions for granting horizontal public aid for environmental protection purposes (Journal of Laws item 2250) concerning the aid for investments enabling the reduction of pollution emissions when EU environmental protection standards have not been established will apply;

13. a project consisting in the purchase/lease of an M2 or M3 category vehicle cannot be commenced before the subsidy application submission date. The project commencement should be understood as the conclusion of the contract for the vehicle purchase/lease;

14. if the applicant is a natural person who does not run a business, he/she may receive one subsidy for one zero-emission vehicle;

15. the subsidy for the initial payment and the transfer fee indicated in the zero-emission vehicle lease contract may be granted only if the object of the lease has not previously been subsidised under this programme;

VALUE OF THE SUBSIDY

The value of the subsidy depends on the category of the vehicle purchased:

Category M1:

• subsidy of up to PLN 18,750

OR

• subsidy of up to PLN 27,000, if the average annual mileage declared exceeds 15,000 km

• In addition, when purchasing an M1 category vehicle, please note that the purchase cost of the zero-emission vehicle may not exceed PLN 225,000

Category N1:

• subsidy of up to 20% of the eligible costs, no more than PLN 50,000

OR

• subsidy of up to 30% of the eligible costs, no more than PLN 70,000, if the average annual mileage declared exceeds 20,000 km

Category L1e – L7e:

• subsidy of up to 30% of the eligible costs, no more than PLN 4,000

The amounts indicated above are net amounts for entities entitled to deduct 100% of VAT. This means that if the car will be used for private and business purposes, when 50% of VAT can be deducted, then the prices indicated include the tax to be deducted. For an entrepreneur not entitled to deduct the VAT tax, the quoted prices are gross prices.

It should be mentioned that if the applicant is applying for the co-financing of more than one vehicle, the purchase or lease of each vehicle is treated as a separate project.

BENEFITS FOR ELECTRIC CAR DRIVERS

In order to encourage the Poles to purchase and use electric cars, the government provides support for their drivers through a number of benefits:

• Exemptions from public road tolls,
• Additional parking stands,
• Exemption from excise duty,
• Clean transport zone,
• Higher depreciation limits,
• Right to drive on bus lanes.

The Council of Ministers have adopted a bill amending the National Court Register Act and certain other acts, submitted by the Minister of Justice.

The new provisions are to enter into force as of 1 December 2022. Currently, the bill is in the Sejm.

The purpose of the amendment is to adapt the Polish legislation to the directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the use of digital tools and processes in the companies law.

The draft aims to facilitate the registration and filing of documents with the National Court Register, simplify the online registration of limited liability companies, increase the accessibility of the information contained in the National Court Register on the EU portal and expand the exchange between commercial registers of the European Union member states.

 

PLANNED CHANGES

• facilitated registration and filing of documents with the National Court Register by placing model contracts and information on the rules of company and branch registration in the Public Information Bulletin on the Ministry of Justice’s website, at least in Polish and in another language which is comprehensible to as many foreign users as possible,

• facilitated online registration of limited liability companies through the possibility of settling share payments using an online payment service, 

• increased accessibility to data contained in the National Court Register, increased accessibility of data for foreign users through the register integration system,

• enhanced exchange between registers through the register integration system. This concerns information on changes to the basic data regarding a foreign entrepreneur and on the registration or deletion of a branch. This solution is intended to exempt entrepreneurs from the duty to submit applications to the National Court Register as regards the data covered by the exchange. 

• In addition, the draft provides for the requirement to include the dates of birth of natural persons who do not hold the PESEL number in the register. If an entity is a foreign entrepreneur being a general partner of a limited joint-stock partnership, the draft provides for the inclusion of data allowing for the creation of a unique European identifier, and in case of entities not covered by the register integration system – it provides for the inclusion of the number in the register.

The environmental catastrophe on the Oder has had a huge impact on the activities of entrepreneurs in the tourism industry, among others, who have now been deprived of the opportunity to earn money. These are mainly entrepreneurs who usually operate on a seasonal basis and need to earn a living for the rest of the year during the spring and summer period.

The Northern Chamber of Commerce in Szczecin is calling on the government to launch a fast-track support scheme for the entrepreneurs. In the Chamber’s opinion, companies dealing with sports, recreation and catering in the region are in the most difficult situation. These include kayak and sports equipment rentals, businesses offering leisure activities along the Oder River, and restaurants.

In the opinion of the Northern Chamber of Commerce in Szczecin, the shutdown should be linked to the right to compensation or exemption from rent or tax payments. Therefore, the Northern Chamber of Commerce in Szczecin urges the central and local authorities to provide support for entrepreneurs.

It should also be noted that if the situation justifying the ban persists, it will be necessary to consider the need of imposing the state of natural disaster. In such a case, entrepreneurs will be able to apply to the Province Governors for adequate compensation. In addition, the chances for entrepreneurs to obtain the compensation will be higher if it is proved that measures to prevent the disaster could have been taken sufficiently earlier so that the current ban would not have been needed.

 

1. CAUSE OF A PROBLEM

The main reason for the problem that has been affecting railway stations across Poland in recent times is the rise in fuel prices and the holiday season which means high interest in travel. Trains are currently overcrowded, passengers are complaining of a lack of air conditioning which, in the current climate crisis, makes travel as miserable as possible, and there are no tickets available for many journeys even days before the trip.

1. DELAYED TRAIN – COMPENSATION UNDER THE EU REGULATION

It is important, first of all, to identify when a delay occurs, and this happens, when the train departs or arrives at its destination later than the scheduled time.

When faced with a problem with train travel, Regulation (EC) No 1371/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council of October 23, 2007 on the rights and obligations of rail passengers will be useful. However, it should be remembered that the above regulation currently applies in Poland only to delays of domestic long-distance trains of the Express Intercity Premium (EIP), Express InterCity (EIC), InterCity (IC), Twoje Linie Kolejowe (TLK), interREGIO (IR) categories and international connections. Pursuant to the Regulation, the minimum amount of compensation is:

• 25% of the single ticket price in the event of a delay of between 60 and 119 minutes,
• 50% of the single ticket price in the event of a delay of 120 minutes or more.

The calculation of the period of delay shall not take into account any delay that the railway company can demonstrate as having occurred outside the territory in which the Treaty establishing the European Community is applied. In addition, please note that compensation for delays is paid when the value of the compensation in question per person exceeds the minimum threshold set by the carrier. The amount of this threshold may not exceed EUR 4.

In accordance with the Regulation in question, to the passenger not entitled the right to compensation if informed about the delay before purchasing the ticket or if the delay as a result of continuing the journey on another connection or changing the route is less than 60 minutes.

According to the Regulation, a passenger does not have a right to compensation if s/he is informed of a delay before purchasing a ticket or if the delay as a result of continuing the journey on another connection or changing the route is less than 60 minutes.

Compensation for train delays may take the form of a voucher entitling the passenger to a discount on the purchase of another ticket or, if the passenger expressly indicates this in the complaint, the payment of a specific amount

• DELAYED TRAIN – COMPENSATION FOR PASSENGERS OF ALL TRAINS

Apart from the compensation resulting from the Regulation No. 1371/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council of October 23, 2007 on the rights and obligations of passengers in rail traffic, the passenger of a delayed train has the right to claim compensation for repairing damage under the general provisions of the Civil Code (i.e. Article 363 §1 and 471 of the Civil Code) and the Transport Law. Pursuant to Art. 62 sec. 2 of the Act – Transport Law the carrier is responsible for the damage suffered by the traveller as a result of delayed arrival or cancellation of a regular means of transport. If we wish to pursue a claim under national legislation, it is necessary to prove the loss suffered, but it must be taken into account that in such a case, the carrier considers the case on a discretionary basis, i.e. it may reject, reduce or accept the claim in full. It should also be taken into account that the carrier may be released from liability if the delay of the train and the associated damage were caused by reasons entirely beyond its control, i.e. extraordinary events:

• which the carrier had no influence on,
• which, despite due diligence, the carrier could not foresee,
• the consequences of which the carrier could not have prevented (e.g. overhead line rupture due to a storm, a member of the public being hit by a train, etc.).

However, extraordinary events do not include cases of self-inflicted rolling stock failure, not caused by external factors.

1. HOW TO FILE A COMPLAINT TO PKP INTERCITY?

Compensation is paid at the passenger’s request. In such a request, it is necessary to indicate your details, write which connection the claim relates to, indicate what the train delay was and specify your request. The compensation is usually awarded in the form of a voucher as well, so if someone wishes to receive the compensation in cash, this should be explicitly stated in the application, together with the account number to which the carrier is supposed to make the transfer. The claim for compensation can also be sent by traditional means or submitted to a specially designated cash desk. On the other hand, cash registers handling complaints are not available at every railway station, but rather only at larger stations. Nonetheless, the fastest way to submit a request is electronically, either by sending it to the carrier’s email or by filling in a dedicated form on the carrier’s website.

Significantly changing the rights and obligations of employers and employees as well as widely commented, planned amendments to the Act of June 26, 1974, the Labour Code, intended to implement EU directives (i.e. Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council (EU) 2019/1152 of June 20, 2019 on transparent and predictable working conditions in the European Union and Directive (EU) 2019/1158 of the European Parliament and of the Council of June 20, 2019 on work-life balance for parents and carers and repealing Council Directive 2010/18/EU), and whose implementation date by EU Member States was set on August 1, 2022 and August 2, 2022, respectively, did not enter into force into the Polish legal system in the above-mentioned dates.

Please be reminded – the planned changes concern in particular, but not exclusively:

• increasing the annual number of days of leave by additional days of special leave, paid in half the daily rate or unpaid leave,
• change to the conditions of concluding employment contracts for a probationary period,
• changing the terms of termination of employment contracts by employers for a specified period with the notice period by introducing the obligation to justify the employer’s decision to terminate the employment relationship,
• introducing a 9-week paternity leave,
• a significant extension of the “Information on employment conditions” provided to the employee by the employer upon commencement of work,
• the possibility of submitting applications for changing the type of work or working time by employees, which the employer will be obliged to recognize and take into account (if possible) under penalty of a fine.

According to media reports, the planned deadline for the implementation of the changes into Polish labour law is the beginning of 2023. However, given the significant differences between the European and national legal orders, as well as the pace of work to date and its current stage, according to some commentators, this deadline may be postponed again.

We will keep you updated on the progress of the legislation – please follow the news on our website.

CAUSE OF A PROBLEM

The COVID-19 pandemic remains the main cause of airport chaos. The airlines, in the midst of its cost-cutting efforts due to pandemic, were forced to lay off staff, the effects of which we see today. Staff shortages, as well as strikes and protests of air traffic controllers or airline crews, who demand better wages and working conditions, mean that flights are delayed or even cancelled.

DELAYED FLIGHT

It is important, first of all, to identify where there has been a delay, and this occurs when a flight departs or arrives at its destination later than the scheduled time.

Two legal acts will be useful in a situation where we encounter a problem with the flight:

1. Act of November 24, 2017 on tourist events and related tourist services,
2. Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of February 11, 2004 establishing common rules on compensation and assistance to air passengers in the event of delay, cancellation or refusal of check-in for a flight; repealing Regulation (EEC) No 295/91 of 11 February 1991.

The Act  indicates that the traveller shall be entitled to compensation or redress for the damage or harm suffered as a result of non-compliance, and the tour operator shall promptly pay the compensation or redress. The regulation, in turn, indicates that airline passengers are entitled to financial compensation of €250/400/€600 from the airline for inconvenience caused as a result of delay, cancellation or denied boarding due to the airline selling more tickets than the number of available seats. It is important to remember that the aforementioned regulation applies to European Union airlines and allows compensation to be claimed for cancelled flights/sales of more tickets than the number of seats/delayed flights.

According to the discussed regulation, passengers have the right to apply for financial compensation from the airlines if they arrived more than 3 hours after the scheduled time.

The amount of compensation increases with the distance the aircraft has to travel:

• EUR 250 up to 1,500 km
• EUR 400 from 1,500 km to 3,500 km
• EUR 600 over 3,500 km

CANCELLED FLIGHT

Pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of February 11, 2004, a flight is cancelled when a flight which was previously scheduled and on which at least one seat was booked has not taken place. Passengers are entitled to compensation for a cancelled flight if they have not been informed of the cancellation at least 14 days before the scheduled departure time. The situation changes when the air carrier is able to prove that the cancellation or long delay of a flight is caused by unavoidable factors which could not have been avoided despite all reasonable measures being taken, that is, circumstances beyond the air carrier’s effective control.

Compensation for a cancelled flight – When determining the distance, the basis is the last destination of the flight to which the passenger will arrive after the scheduled arrival time due to a delay caused by denied boarding or cancellation of the flight:

• EUR 250 for all flights up to 1,500 kilometres;
• EUR 400 for all intra-Community flights of more than 1,500 kilometres and all other flights between 1,500 and 3,500 kilometres;
• EUR 600 for all flights not covered above

EMERGENCY SITUATIONS

Extraordinary circumstances may also cause delays or cancelled flights. These are situations where airlines are unable to control flight disruptions, even if the air carrier concerned takes reasonable steps to prevent it.

Extraordinary circumstances that do not always ensure compensation:

• Strike – A strike is considered an exceptional circumstance that cannot be avoided, resulting in the inability to claim compensation. On the other hand, if a flight delay can be avoided and other airlines can fly during the strike, there is the possibility of compensation.
• Acts of God– Volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, hurricanes and hail are considered “acts of God” and therefore no compensation can be claimed. Compensation can be claimed, if the airline could have avoided it in some way.
• Technical problems – They are considered exceptional circumstances where the airlines could not have foreseen or avoided the technical problem. This is not an exceptional situation if it could have been avoided in a certain manner.

FLIGHT PROBLEMS AND HOLIDAY PACKAGES

It often happens that it is easier for people who are participants in a package travel to pursue their claims than for people who travel on their own. This is because the tour operator is responsible for the performance of the travel services covered by the package travel contract, regardless of whether the services are to be provided by the tour operator or by other travel service providers.

EC Regulation 261/2004 provides protection for tour packages, travel packages as well as holiday packages. This applies to all or those packages purchased in EU Member States, even though the journey is taking place outside the European Union. In accordance with the regulation in question, the tour operator is solely responsible for any breach of the terms of the contract. It also acts on behalf of the passenger and contacts the airline, as well as requests for compensation in case of an unfortunate event. The organiser should offer a full refund to the injured party within 7 days in cash, cheque or electronic bank transfer. It is also possible to get a ticket for an alternative flight to your destination.

 

By 28 May 2022, the European Union member states have been obliged to implement in their national legislation, the Directive (EU) 2019/2161 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 November 2019 amending Council Directive 93/13/EEC and Directives 98/6/EC, 2005/29/EC and 2011/83/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the better enforcement and modernisation of Union consumer protection rules (OJ UE L 328 of 18.12.2019, p.  7), the so-called “Omnibus” Directive.

The purpose of the Omnibus Directive is to strengthen the effectiveness of existing consumer legislation and to modernise and improve certain consumer protection measures.

Here are some important changes which are introduced by the Omnibus Directive which will affect you if you are in the e-commerce industry:

• where users of a website are allowed to comment on, review goods or services purchased by consumers – it will be necessary to provide information on how to verify the authenticity of reviews; removing and hiding negative reviews and discouraging their posting, as well as publishing or procuring the publication of fake reviews will constitute an infringement,
• where products are marketed in more than one EU country – it will be necessary to ensure that the good (product) marketed in each country is identical, i.e. does not differ materially, e.g. in composition. A breach of this provision will be considered as misleading customers and an unfair market practice,
• when adjusting the price to the consumer on the basis of collected data on the consumer’s preferences and behaviour (so-called profiling) – it will be necessary to inform the consumer of the individual price adjustment based on the information collected,
• in the case of informing about a reduction in the price for goods or services – it will be necessary to provide, in addition to information about the reduced price, information about the lowest price for that goods or services that was in force in the 30-day period before the reduction was introduced,
• for products which have been on sale for less than 30 days – it will be necessary to display the lowest price for that product in the period from the day the product was offered for sale until the reduction was introduced.

In addition to the Omnibus Directive, the EU member states have also been obliged to implement in their national laws the provisions of Directive (EU) 2019/771 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2019 on certain aspects concerning contracts for the sale of goods, amending Regulation (EU) 2017/2394 and Directive 2009/22/EC, and repealing Directive 1999/44/EC, i.e. the so-called “Goods Directive” and the Directive (EU) 2019/770 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2019 on certain aspects concerning contracts for the supply of digital content and digital services, i.e. the so-called  “Digital Directive”.

The provisions of the Goods and Digital Directives implement changes in, among other things, the regulation of the statutory warranty, i.e. the seller’s liability for the conformity of the supplied goods with the contract. The statutory warranty for consumers and entrepreneurs with consumers rights will be completely transferred from the Civil Code to the Consumer Rights Act. As for more significant changes, the Goods Directive abandons the concept of defect in goods and introduces a definition of conformity of goods with the contract. The provisions of the online sales terms and conditions will have to be updated in this respect.

The bill implementing the Omnibus Directive was referred on 12.07.2022 to the Legislative Office of the Chancellery of the Polish Parliament (Sejm) for its opinion, while the bill implementing the Goods and Digital Directive was referred on 6.07.2022 to consultations (to the Ombudsman for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises – RMiŚP).

At this point, the provisions of the directives have not been implemented into the Polish legislation, also their actual application is postponed until the above-mentioned laws enter into force. Entrepreneurs, therefore, still have time to adapt their business to the upcoming regulatory changes.