On 01.01.2023, the act on minimum wages dated 10.10.2003 was once again amended by the Polish legislator introducing new minimum wage rates. Employees engaged on a full time basis currently receive not less than 4242 PLN and the minimum hourly wage rate amounts now to 27.70 PLN. These figures will be raised once again on 1.07.2024 to 4300 PLN (minimum wage) and to 28.10 PLN (hourly rate) accordingly.
As from the beginning of January this year, provisions on bridging pensions have been amended. Among other things, the condition for work under specific circumstances or for work of a specific nature was removed. As a result of this, some employers shall expect some personnel movements due to the fact that the new provisions grant the right to a bridging pension to persons much younger than before. Future pensioners will not be required to prove that they commenced with work under specific circumstances or with work of a certain nature prior to 31.12.1998 and they can perform this kind of work after 31.12.2008.
Poland has still not enacted a bill to implement the Directive (EU) 2019/1937 on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union law (the so – called “EU Whistleblowing Directive”) and there is a lot of information about allegedly new draft legislative acts or final drafts, however, this information is not supported by any official publication. As a result regulations of the Whistleblowing Directive do apply directly in Poland. It’s only certain that this Directive shall take effect after the lapse of 1 month from the day of its publication in the Official Journal (MSiG) and entities such as the Ombudsman and public authorities will be obliged to introduce communication channels within a month from the date of that on which the act will enter into force.
In January 2024 the Council of Ministers adopted information about the direction and schedule of legislative work on the so called “Vacation for Entrepreneurs”. The Polish government intends to introduce a vacation period for entrepreneurs within which they will be exempt from the obligation to pay a Social Insurance (ZUS) contribution one month per year. This regulation shall apply to micro-entrepreneurs or self -employed persons. During this special vacation entrepreneurs will still be able to carry out business activities and issue invoices.
In January of this year the Finance Minister announced an extension to the deadline for introduction of the National System of e- Invoices (abbreviation, KSef) for taxpayers conducting business activities and this system should be binding as from the beginning of 2024. At present it is not clear to which entities and when this system shall apply as the legislative work has not been completed as yet.
In January of this year, the legislator made amendments to the law on registration of vehicles. Currently it will not be sufficient to inform the appropriate authorities about the purchase of a vehicle. Every new owner of a second hand car is obliged to register the vehicle within 30 days from the day of its purchase. The same obligation applies to the seller of a vehicle. In the event of not meeting this deadline a penalty in the amount of 500 PLN may be imposed upon a private person. Entrepreneurs will have to pay a higher penalty. Businesses dealing with the car trade must pay a penalty in the amount of 1000 PLN if they do re-register the vehicle within 90 days from its purchase date.
From 2024 onwards penalties have been increased for the failure of continuous third party liability insurance (Polish abbreviation OC) for drivers and it can amount to 9000 PLN. The highest penalties will be imposed upon drivers of trucks, trailers and buses with entire mass exceeding 3 500 Kilograms totaling 12 723 PLN.
From 1st January 2024 the Polish legislator raised the maximum residential property rate from 1 PLN up to 1.15 PLN for each m². Private persons as well as entrepreneurs will be affected by this increase. The maximum rate for commercial properties will amount to 33.10 m² .
In January new regulations on taxes on placing of some one -off plastic products on the market were also introduced subject to a wider producer’ liability. This tax shall be used to cover costs associated with management of waste arising from these products.
Finally as from 1st January 2024 EU – thresholds and the EUR – exchange rate were altered in the public procurement law. This raise is not significant and encompasses the thresholds for the following public procurement:
- Construction work: rises from 5.382.000 EUR up to 5,538.000 EUR,
- Deliveries and services ordered by local municipalities: rise from z 215.000
EUR up to 221.000 EUR
Other EU – thresholds remain unchanged
