October 2025 brought new amendments to the Act on the Organization and Operation of Pension Funds, which will enter into force at the beginning of next year. These amendments are intended to streamline the operation of pension funds and align existing regulations with the digitalization standards in force in the financial market. They primarily concern the digitalization of processes, including the transfer of mandatory announcements and publications from the national press to the internet, as well as enabling the electronic conclusion of contracts and the submission of declarations. Furthermore, the amendment clarifies the powers of court bailiffs to obtain information covered by professional secrecy regarding the Fund’s activities. A legal framework has also been created to enable the outsourcing of selected services (activities related to maintaining the register of Fund members). In this regard, detailed safeguards regarding consent for further outsourcing have been introduced and the entity responsible for supervising subcontractors has been designated. The Act also imposes professional secrecy obligations on subcontractors and their employees. Another significant change was the introduction of the obligation to cover legal costs from the Pension Fund in the event of a successful court case in which the Fund is the beneficiary. The Open Pension Fund will be obligated to cover or settle the costs incurred by the General Pension Society, up to the amount of the benefit granted. If the claim is dismissed, the costs will be covered by the General Pension Society, as before.
This month, an amendment to the Social Insurance System Act was also passed. The amendment introduces a systemic mechanism enabling access to the data of entrepreneurs with contributions payer accounts with the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) by selected entities verifying their economic and financial situation. Consequently, ZUS has gained free access to the data stored in contributions payer accounts to banks, financial institutions, credit and lending institutions, as well as legal entities, organizational units, or individuals who are entrepreneurs, upon their request submitted electronically and with the contribution payer’s consent. Access to this data will be possible with the entrepreneur’s consent. This will facilitate decisions about an entrepreneur’s eligibility for credit, as well as verify their credibility as a business partner or contractor – particularly in terms of fulfilling public law obligations, such as timely payment of Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) contributions. It will also facilitate the assessment of their financial liquidity and creditworthiness.
This month, amendments were also introduced to the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure regarding identification proceedings. These amendments require the authority conducting the identification proceedings to attach photographs of identified individuals to the identification report if the identification process was not recorded using an audio or video recording device. This change aims to enhance the level of verification of the identification procedure itself and its results by judicial authorities at later stages of criminal proceedings. In the absence of audio or video recordings, these authorities will have access to photographs of identified individuals, not just the content of the report itself.
Furthermore, an amendment to the Corporate Income Tax Act of February 15, 1992, entered into force in October. The purpose of these changes is to eliminate the requirement for corporate income tax exemption for income earned by a holding company from the sale of shares in a domestic or foreign subsidiary to an unrelated entity after the holding company has submitted a declaration of intent to avail itself of the exemption to the relevant head of the tax office. This month, new amendments were also introduced to the Act of March 10, 2006, on the Refund of Excise Duty Included in the Price of Diesel Fuel for Agricultural Production. Their goal is to simplify the excise tax refund application process for agricultural producers raising cattle, pigs, sheep, goats, or horses. These changes are part of deregulation efforts.
Significant changes concern the provisions of the Civil Procedure Code concerning enforcement proceedings. The amendment introduces electronic real estate auctions as the primary method of enforcement against real estate. Public auctions will be conducted only at the request of the creditor. If the property has been seized to satisfy the claims of multiple creditors, each creditor can effectively demand its sale through a public auction. The principle of priority of enforcement against real estate through electronic auction will also apply to enforcement against real estate conducted under simplified procedures.
This month, the provisions of the Polish Civil Code governing construction contracts were also altered. Currently, under Article 647 ¹ § 1 of the Civil Code, the investor is jointly and severally liable with the contractor (general contractor) for payment of remuneration due to the subcontractor for construction works performed by the contractor (general contractor), the detailed scope of which was notified to the investor by the contractor or subcontractor before commencement of the works, unless, within thirty days of the notification being delivered to the investor, the investor has submitted an objection to the subcontractor’s performance of the works by the subcontractor to the subcontractor. The amendment essentially maintains the 30-day deadline for the investor to file an objection, but allows the investor and the contractor (general contractor) to stipulate a shorter deadline for filing an objection in the construction contract. Moreover, a solution has been introduced that the deadline for filing an objection specified in the contractor’s contract with the subcontractor or in further subcontracting agreements cannot be shorter than the deadline specified in the contract concluded between the investor and the contractor (general contractor).
The Polish Labor Code was also subject to some vital changes that allow for subsequent periods of employment to be counted toward length of service for the purposes of acquiring entitlement to benefits and employee rights arising from an employment relationship. This is intended to provide equal opportunities for access to certain employee benefits and positions requiring verified professional experience. This largely eliminated the unequal treatment of employees based on their previous professional activity. Consequently, the period of employment will include periods of non-agricultural business activity conducted by a natural person and periods of cooperating with a natural person conducting such business activity, for which contributions to pension, disability or accident insurance were paid.
This month, provisions came into force authorizing the President of the Republic of Poland to ratify the Treaty of Enhanced Cooperation and Friendship between the Republic of Poland and the French Republic, signed in Nancy on 9 May 2025 (The Treaty of Nancy). This treaty is a framework agreement, its purpose being to strengthen Polish-French relations in many areas of cooperation listed in the agreement, with particular emphasis on security and defense. The Treaty of Nancy is intended to replace the existing bilateral Polish-French framework treaty on friendship and solidarity of 1991, which has already lost its relevance. Another international agreement in respect of which the President of the Republic of Poland was granted the right to ratify in October 2025 is the Agreement on the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, elaborated at Bretton Woods on 22 July 1944. The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) is an independent institution within the World Bank Group established to assist in the reconstruction of countries after World War II, its current activities focus on providing loans, analytical assistance, and advisory services. Last but not least, consent was also given to the ratification by the President of the Republic of Poland of the Agreement on the International Finance Corporation, signed in Washington on 20 July 1956. The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is also an independent institution within the World Bank Group, its activities are aimed at providing long-term loans for investment purposes to private enterprises in member countries or acquiring shares in these enterprises, as well as providing guarantees for securities issued by private companies in countries with a lower level of economic development.
