The business constitution, i.e. a new law for entrepreneurs
The draft assumptions of the new act for entrepreneurs were presented by the Ministry of Economy to the public for the first time in December 2014. The act, which is to be a kind of "constitution for entrepreneurs" (referred to interchangeably as a business constitution), was passed after three years of inactivity and most of the provisions will come into force on April 30, 2018.
What does the business constitution change?
The business constitution is a package of five acts:
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Entrepreneurs' Law Act,
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Act on the Ombudsman for Small and Medium-sized Entrepreneurs,
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The Act on the Central Register and Information on Economic Activity and the Information Point for Entrepreneurs,
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Act on the principles of participation of foreign entrepreneurs and other foreign persons in economic turnover on the territory of the Republic of Poland,
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Act Provisions introducing the Act - Entrepreneurs' Law and other acts related to business activity.
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Attention! The business constitution completely abolishes the Freedom of Economic Activity Act. |
The issues that were previously regulated by the Freedom of Economic Activity Act are now regulated mainly by the Entrepreneurs' Law (e.g. relating to running a business) and the Act on the Central Registration and Information on Economic Activity and the Information Point for Entrepreneurs (e.g. regarding entries to CEIDG or suspension of activities).
The major changes to doing business are:
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change of the definition of economic activity - the business constitution defines economic activity as "organized gainful activity, performed in one's own name and on a continuous basis",
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no need to register the activity, when the income due from this activity does not exceed 50% of the minimum wage in any month. However, in the month in which the income exceeds a certain limit, a given activity should be registered within 7 days from the date of exceeding the income,
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no need to pay social contributions for the first 6 months of operation. This possibility does not exclude a 2-year preferential ZUS,
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gradual disappearance of the REGON number - NIP is enough to identify the company,
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the possibility of suspending the activity by an entrepreneur who employs employees who are on parental, parental and maternity leave,
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automatic filling in of data in CEIDG from the previous entry - without the need to provide the same data with each entry.
What rules for entrepreneurs are introduced by the business constitution?
The flagship principles of the business constitution, contained in the Entrepreneurs' Law Act, are:
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the principle of freedom of economic activity and economic equality (Article 2 of the Act),
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the principle of "what is not prohibited by law, is allowed" (Art. 8 of the Act) - the entrepreneur, as part of his business activity, may undertake any activities that are not expressly prohibited by law,
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obligation to conduct business activity in accordance with the principles of fair competition and respect for good manners and the legitimate interests of other entrepreneurs and consumers, as well as respect and protection of human rights and freedoms (Article 9 of the Act),
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the principle of presumption of the integrity of the entrepreneur (Article 10 (1) of the Act) - any unremovable ambiguities or errors will be resolved in favor of the entrepreneur, assuming that he acts in accordance with the law and morality,
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the principle of resolving factual doubts in favor of the entrepreneur (Article 10 (2) of the Act) - state authorities, in the event of the emergence of unremovable interpretative doubts in the context of the provisions relating to the performance of economic activity (especially in the case of multiple interpretations), will not be able to resolve them to the detriment of the entrepreneur .
