The National Debtors Register (Krajowy Rejestr Zadłużonych “KRZ”) began operating in Poland in July 2021.
The KRZ is a new valuable tool providing, among other things, information on debtors. It is a statewide, public register and can be accessed by any person who has the debtor's PESEL (Polish national identification number) or NIP (Polish taxpayer's identification number) or the file reference number of the debtor's case.
So-called simplified restructuring proceeding has been introduced into Polish law in June 2020. It is quite quick, deformalized and highly beneficial to firms facing bankruptcy. It provides protection against creditor enforcement and termination of contracts, as well as an opportunity to reduce debt (if agreed to by creditors).
The pandemic impacted a number of businesses in Poland. To prevent some of its negative consequences a moratorium on the filing of bankruptcy declarations was introduced in Polish law on 13 April 2020.
In June 2020, the "Anti-Crisis Shield 4.0" introduced a simplified form of restructuring proceeding into Polish law. This modified version of the procedure ushered in significant improvements for debtors, including a moratorium on enforcement action and four months to seek the consent of creditors to restructuring proposals, and to seek the approval of the arrangement with the court.
Vehicle production is based on a supply chain system. During a pandemic, the risk increases that not all links in the chain will function properly. It is worth considering this risk in the context of restructuring and bankruptcy law.
In a well-organised system, parts arrive on the production line “just in time.” The just-in-time system requires excellent logistics and management of the organisation and close cooperation between its participants.
If two persons each become a debtor and creditor towards the other, they may declare that they mutually set off those claims. However, this general possibility can be significantly reduced when one of the debtors enters into bankruptcy proceedings.
How will Brexit affect cross-border bankruptcy and restructuring proceedings involving the UK? Will judgments issued by an insolvency court in the UK still be recognised in Poland?
The United Kingdom ceased to be a member of the European Union from 1 February 2020, and the Brexit transition period ended on 31 December 2020. This means that from 1 January 2021, EU law no longer applies to the UK.
In collaboration with our foreign law firm partners, we continue to update our chart of COVID-19 measures taken by governments around the world. Today’s update includes new information for many countries as indicated in the chart: Global Government Measures Taken in Response to COVID-19.
This quick guide summarises the duties that directors of companies incorporated in Poland are subject to and how those duties change when the company is insolvent or at risk of being insolvent.
It also gives an overview of the personal risk to directors when the company is in financial difficulty.
This note is intended as an overview and should not be relied on as legal advice. Should you require legal advice in relation to your specific circumstances, please contact the Restructuring & Insolvency team member listed at the end of this note.
The Financial Shield of the Polish Development Fund is a solution aimed at supporting enterprises which have suffered losses as a result of the coronavirus epidemic.