IC&Partners Poland S.A. - News 09-2021
Newsletter September 2021
IC&Partners Poland S.A. - Newsletter September 2021

 

The latest version of the Labor Code Change Project (UD210) will make it possible to monitor the employee while working from home without their consent.


A bill amending the labor code is currently being drafted, along with some other projects, which are being studied by the ministry of development, labor and technology. The proposal to include forms of control of the employee who works remotely has aroused much controversy. In the previous version of the draft amendments to the Labor Code, the employer had the right to control remote work at the place of its execution with the prior consent of the employee. In the latest draft, there is no longer the provision on employee consent. The employer will have the right to conduct such inspection in the place and during the working hours remotely, however without violating the privacy of the employee and others close to him.



2040 demographic strategy


The 2040 demographic strategy has been presented, under which the government plans to introduce further changes to the labor code. The changes foresee, among other things:

-          increased employment stability for parents,

-          introduction of limits in the conclusion of fixed-term employment contracts with persons up to 40 years of age to a maximum of 2 contracts, for a total period not exceeding 15 months,

-          protection against dismissal for both parents,

-          protection of mothers up to 12 months after their return to work from maternity or parental leave (regardless of working hours),

-          introduction of the protection of fathers during the first year of the child's life, with protection for married couples from the moment of the wife's pregnancy,

-          introduction of flexible forms of work for parents,

-          guarantee of flexible work for pregnant women and parents of children under 4, for example remote work, hybrid work or flexible working hours (the choice will depend on the nature of the work),

-          guarantee of reduced working hours for pregnant women and parents of children under 4 years old,

-          guarantee that different flexible forms can be used simultaneously, depending on the nature of the work.


The solutions proposed for the new demographic policy will soon be subject to consultation.



Electronic employment contracts



The draft law on the conclusion and management of contracts in electronic form, prepared by the Ministry of Development, Labor and Technology, has been included in the work list of the Council of Ministers. The new form of contract conclusion will be an additional option to the traditional paper written form. The government portal will provide ready-to-fill contract templates and additional features, such as submitting vacation requests, employee vacation settlement, contract notification to ZUS and KAS, calculation of contributions due and tax advances, calculation of the net remuneration of employees.

 

Internship for graduates



The internship contract is becoming an increasingly popular form of employment. Internships are not governed by employment law, with the exceptions set out in the Internship Act such as issues relating to the principles of non-discrimination, equal treatment, working hours and rest.  T intern can be a person who has completed at least secondary school and was under 30 on the day he started the internship (this also applies to people who have a baccalaureate certificate abroad, recognized as equivalent to the Polish certificate). The contract can be concluded for a maximum of 3 months. It is possible to conclude several successive contracts with the trainee. Subsequent contracts can be concluded for a total period of 3 months. The weekly working time must not exceed 40 hours. The internship is performed on the basis of a written internship contract. The legal basis for traineeships is the Traineeships Act of 17th July 2009 and not the Labor Code, which allows the employer much more freedom in determining pay conditions. The internship can be paid or unpaid. If it is of a paid nature, the monthly remuneration cannot exceed double the amount of the minimum wage, which in 2021 is PLN 5,600 gross. In the case of a paid internship, the notice period is 7 days. The remuneration of a trainee is exempt from social security contributions, health insurance contributions and contributions to the Polish Social Security Fund and the Polish Social Security Fund. From 1st January 2021, people up to the age of 26 who have received internship income are also covered by the tax exemption. From the day after turning 26, the intern pays wage taxes at a rate of 17%. The intern who joined the unemployment office as unemployed can still maintain this status. However, the intern must report the fact of his internship to the Labor Office. If the internship is not paid or if the remuneration does not exceed half the minimum wage, the intern can continue to receive unemployment benefit.


 

Checking employees through certificates

 A bill is being prepared in Parliament to allow employers to obtain information on vaccinating an employee or job candidate against COVID-19. The Ministry of Health is preparing a system of vaccination certificates for employees, to which employers will have access. The certificate will be green or red and will include a photo of the person.

 

Entrepreneur test

The government revisited a 2019 idea, namely the introduction of an "entrepreneur test", which would eliminate self-employment and regulate the labor market. The idea is to create a mechanism to determine who is actually an entrepreneur and who is only benefiting from preferential taxation. The new regulations will impose on entrepreneurs the obligation to keep the accounting books, the register of tax revenues and expenses in electronic form. They will need to be sent to the tax office, where they will be verified.

 

Change in the position of the PIP with regard to annual leave

The art. 162 of the Labor Code states:

At the request of the employee, the holidays can be divided into parts. In this case, however, at least part of the holidays should last no less than 14 consecutive calendar days.

Up to now, the position of the PIP has been unambiguous and consistent with article 162 of the Labor Code. However, the Labor Inspectorate changed its previous position and confirmed that the failure to grant the worker at least a part of the vacation covering at least 14 consecutive calendar days, does not constitute an infringement of the worker's rights. If, from the point of view of the employee, it is more advantageous to use the holidays in several parts, each of which will be shorter than two weeks, the employer can grant them in this form and then such action would not constitute a violation of the employee's rights.

 

Fines for lack of PPK

The Polish Development Fund (PFR) will check which entities have not complied with the obligation to sign an agreement on the management of PPKs. . Nie zawarcie zaś w terminie umowy o prowadzenie PPK oznaczać może grzywnę w wysokości od 1000 zł do 1 000 000 zł. Pisma w tej sprawie będą wysyłane od września. Mają być one dostarczane za pośrednictwem elektronicznego systemu ZUS.

The Ministry of Finance has published tax clarifications on the E-commerce VAT package.


The information contained in the clarifications concerns: intra-community sales of goods at a distance, sales of goods imported at a distance, the role of electronic interface operators, the special procedures of One Stop Shop (OSS) and Import One Stop Shop (IOSS) and a simplified procedure for declaring and deferring the payment of the tax on imports of goods in shipments up to 150 euros. The explanations are intended to facilitate the correct interpretation of the amended regulations and are binding on the tax administration.



SLIM VAT 2 signed by the President


On August 19th, 2021, the President of the Republic of Poland signed a law introducing further simplifications in the field of VAT, the so-called Slim VAT 2 package, which will come into effect from October 1st, 2021. The new law provides for the determination of the place of the "mobile supply" in chain operations when the first or last entity organizes the transport, in the context of intra-community purchases of goods and services, provides for the abolition of the condition that makes the deduction of input VAT dependent in the same period in which the output VAT was declared from the output VAT declaration within three months from the end of the month in which the tax obligation arose, in the context of intra-community purchases of goods and services, the moment in which make the correction to decrease the tax base, ie in the payment for the period in which the reason for the reduction of the tax base arose. The changes also include the abolition of a number of formalities whose failure to comply resulted in a defective invoice (for example the obligation to indicate the word "DUPLICATE" has been abolished when the original invoice is destroyed or lost; and it has been abolished the obligation to include the words "CORRECTIVE INVOICE" or "CORRECTION" on the corrective invoice (credit note) or indicate the reason for the correction). The possibility of issuing an invoice at least 60 days before the delivery of the goods, services or receipt of an advance was also provided, the extension from two to three years of the possibility of taking advantage of a "relief for bad debts", a wider possibility to treat tickets as VAT invoices and an easier choice of VAT taxation options in real estate transactions.



Minimum wage in 2022


The Council of Ministers has issued a draft regulation on the amount of the minimum wage and the minimum hourly rate, which will be effective from 1st January 2022. The minimum wage will increase by PLN 200, from PLN 2.800 gross to PLN 3.000 gross, and the lower hourly rate for self-employed workers and people with an assignment / service contract will increase by PLN 1,30: from PLN 18,30 to PLN 19,60.

It can also indirectly affect the growth of the average wage. The average wage in the economy in 2022 could - according to government forecasts - exceed PLN 5,8 thousand.



Draft legislation to introduce a new tax on packaging


The Ministry of Climate and Environment has published a draft amendment to the law on packaging and waste management, which provides, among other things, the introduction of a new tax on packaging that will be charged to entities that introduce packaged products intended for B2C. The rate of the tax on packaging for particular types of packaging will be determined by the Minister of Climate and the Environment in a regulation and will depend, among other things, on the type of packaging, the possibility of recycling and the content of recycled material. The maximum tax rate is PLN 2 per 1 kg for each type of packaging. The new regulations will come into effect from 1st January 2023.



Working version of the logical structure of the electronic invoice


The Ministry of Finance has released a working version of the logical structure of the electronic invoice (FA_VAT). From 1st January 2022, structured invoices, issued and made available through the National Electronic Invoicing System, will function in the economic circulation as one of the permitted forms of transaction documentation, alongside paper invoices and electronic invoices currently present in economic circulation. The ministry has also made available a series of sample e-invoice files, which show how the structure should be filled in in specific cases. In the initial period, the use of electronic invoices will be a voluntary solution. However, the provision of a working version of the facility is intended to help entrepreneurs adapt their IT systems in advance. 



New VAT-26 model


The new VAT-26 form concerning information on motor vehicles used exclusively for commercial activities will come into force on October 1st, 2021. The main changes concern the extension of the deadline for submitting the form (now it must be submitted within 7 days from the day in which the first expense relating to the vehicle was incurred, after the modifications it will be possible to present it by the 25th day of the month following the one in which the first expense relating to the vehicle was incurred) and clarifications to the model. 



Tax changes under the new Polish Order – Polski Ład


On 8th September 2021, the Ministry of Finance announced the final version of the package of tax changes provided for in the Polish Order – Polski Ład program. For the people who pay personal income tax with a flat rate tax, the rate of the health contribution will be 4,9%. The lack of possibility to deduct the health contribution from the tax remained unchanged, as well as the amount of the health contribution for people who generate income from employment and people who conduct an economic activity and who pay PIT according to the tax scale (contribution will be equal to 9% of income).



The bills that make up the tax part of the Polski Ład program contain a number of significant changes affecting the Polish tax system. The most important are, for example, the increase in the amount exempt from PIT tax to 30 thousand PLN and the second threshold of the tax scale to 120 thousand PLN, the failure to deduct the health contribution from the tax and the changes regarding the calculation basis. of the health contribution for people who carry out commercial activities.
In terms of CIT corporate income tax, the project includes, inter alia, the introduction of a new tax which will be a type of minimum CIT for entities that do not show taxable income in Poland, the introduction of a new innovation tax credit system, changes in Estonian CIT regulations, withholding tax or transfer pricing. Regarding VAT, the draft law introduces so-called VAT groups and changes regarding the disclosure of digital payments. Most of the changes are expected to take effect on January 1st, 2022. 


Other changes planned with the Polish Order – Polski Ład:


- hidden dividend

The proposed amendments provide for a rule according to which distributions made to a shareholder or a person connected to a shareholder that are artificially generated (not directly connected with the activity carried out) and can be perceived as a hidden dividend will not be deductible from tax. 


- restriction of the deductibility of interest accrued on the debt

The draft law includes amendments aimed at specifying that excess financing costs in the part in which it exceeds PLN 3 million or 30% of EBITDA will be excluded from tax deductible costs.


- the effective place of management

The project presupposes the introduction in the Polish CIT law of the notion of effective place of management („effective place of management”).

According to the proposed regulations, a company registered outside Poland can be considered a Polish tax resident (according to the concept of effective place of management) if the persons or entities sitting in the control or management bodies have their place of residence, registered office legal or board of directors on Polish territory.


- restrictions for the reorganization of companies

as part of the so-called tightening of the tax system, further restrictions are envisaged with regard to corporate reorganizations such as: mergers, demergers, transformations, contributions in kind (non-monetary contributions) and share swap transactions. For example, there are additional conditions for the neutrality of the merger or business division and the share swap transaction.


In practice, on the basis of the aforementioned regulations, the simple execution of the merger / demerger / exchange of shares twice may be sufficient for taxation, even if the taxpayer would be able to indicate the so-called justified economic reasons.

IC&Partners Poland S.A. - News 06-2021
Newsletter 06-2021