| In Principle

Transfer pricing is one of the focal points of taxation in Poland. The arm’s-length principle underlying transfer pricing requires related parties to provide products, services or loans to each other on terms that would have been agreed upon between independent parties. When they follow the arm’s-length principle, taxable profits recorded by each party will not be distorted by their membership in the same capital group. The arm’s-length principle must not only be followed, but also be clearly seen to be followed and this comes at the cost of compliance efforts. In this respect, three issues will be analysed below: basic compliance obligations, selected peculiarities of Polish regulations, and transfer pricing documentation for a group of companies.

Thanks to bankruptcy proceedings creditors do not have to fight with each other over the debtor's assets in order to carry out individual enforcements. The order of satisfaction of claims prescribed by law means that the claims of the weakest creditors, i.e. employees, are paid first. Subsequently, the claims of contractors and the tax office are repaid. Only at the end are the claims of the shareholders paid off.

On 7 December 2021, the Polish government officially announced its Polish Hydrogen Strategy for 2030 with a view to 2040. The announcement came at a perfect time, amid price turbulence on the natural gas market in Europe and growing doubts whether natural gas (of which Europe has too little) is still a reasonable transition fuel for decarbonisation of the economy.

In housing communities, the individual parts of common areas (e.g. parking spots, terraces or gardens) are intended for common use by all owners of premises. Often, to avoid problems with use of such areas, division and use of common areas is established at the stage of acquisition of housing units from the developer. This is known as quoad usum division. Can it be changed if circumstances change?

In 2012, a restrictive ban on advertising by pharmacies was introduced into Polish law. According to Art. 94a of the Pharmaceutical Law, it is only permissible to provide information on the location and working hours of a pharmacy or a pharmacy outlet. Violation of the ban can draw a heavy fine, up to PLN 50,000. In practice, the advertising ban is strictly enforced by the province pharmaceutical inspectors, which results in numerous administrative fines imposed on businesses.

The proposed changes in healthcare in Poland would not only impose new obligations of healthcare providers, but also seek to raise the quality and safety of medical services. Periodic external audits and mandatory reporting of adverse events are to be introduced. This represents an organisational change, but also a cultural one. Every hospital employee would have to be aware of their responsibility towards patients, and all processes would be designed to focus on the patient. The idea of a patient-centred system has been discussed in Poland many times, but not even a uniform definition or principles for such an approach have been adopted to date. It is worth taking a look at how others are doing it.

The world pins high hopes on the development of artificial intelligence systems. AI is expected to generate huge economic and social benefits across various aspects of life and sectors of the economy, including the environment, agriculture, healthcare, finances, taxes, mobility, and public administration. The progressing development of AI systems is forcing the creation of appropriate legal frameworks, which on one hand should facilitate further growth of AI technologies but on the other hand should ensure adequate protection of persons using such systems and raise societal confidence in the operation of AI systems.

Following the posts on the Government Legislation Centre website can be an interesting experience. Sometimes, seemingly trivial legal changes lead to a number of serious consequences. It is likely that such consequences will touch businesses in a specific market rarely mentioned in public debate. This is the market for telecommunication services at Polish prisons. Seemingly innocuous, the proposed changes could completely eliminate Polish companies from this market.

While business email compromise frauds might be on the decline, businesses are increasingly impacted by ransomware and data hacks. Just in the past few months, the press have reported on a number of large-scale ransomware attacks targeting both private and public entities. The impact of the attacks is always huge: disrupted operations, leaks of trade secrets and personal data, losses to reputation.

Stanisław Drozd and Konrad Grotowski carry on explaining what to expect if you are a foreigner testifying as a witness before the Polish civil court.

Business email compromise, or BEC is a type of cyber-facilitated fraud where fraudsters compromise IT networks, intercept business communications, and by using different manipulation techniques, trick employees into making wire transfers to fraudulent bank accounts. The fraud itself is not a new creature. It is an old trick, merely conducted with the use of modern technologies.

We wish our readers and authors rest and a chance to unplug over the holidays. And stay safe! We will return in the New Year (next edition on 13 January 2022).