Government approves new law to cut red tape for business

2011-07-15

The government on 14 July 2011 approved a second draft package of legal changes designed to cut red tape and ease the administrative burden on business. The first such package took effect on 1 July. The Ministry of Economy, which prepared the proposal, would like most of the changes to take effect on 1 January 2012, and the remaining ones a year later.
The package, among other things, abolishes the costly requirement for companies to publish their financial reports in Monitor Polski B; reduces the frequency with which companies must inform their employees in writing about payment of mandatory health and social insurance contributions, from once a month to once a year (unless the employee wants to be informed more frequently); reduces to five years from 10 years the statute of limitations on unpaid social insurance and farmers’ insurance contributions; extends by four months, to 31 July of the following year, the deadline for employees to take their unused paid leave; eases some health and safety requirements accompanying the construction or adaptation of buildings; extends until 31 January from 15 January the deadline for the submission of real-property tax declarations; gives employer federations and trade unions the power to request general tax interpretations from the Finance Ministry; cuts to five years from 10 years the period for the required archiving of past social insurance declarations and notices; or excludes expenditures on public-private partnership (PPP) projects from the calculation of public debt and general government deficit.