The government adopted the first deregulation package and an amendment to the Homeland Defense Act

The Council of Ministers has adopted the first package of nine deregulation laws, the Prime Minister's office announced on Tuesday. It includes, among other things, expanding the functionality of the mObywatel application and protecting taxpayers from sudden changes in regulations. These solutions are intended to make life easier for citizens and companies.

"At today's government meeting, ministers adopted a package of nine deregulation projects aimed at simplifying administrative procedures and reducing the burden on citizens and entrepreneurs. The changes cover both larger and smaller issues. And work on them is the result of intensive cooperation between ministries, the government deregulation team and the social side," the Prime Minister's office indicated in a Tuesday statement.

Among the solutions adopted by the government are draft amendments to the Tax Ordinance and the VAT, CIT and KAS Acts. Other deregulation projects include changes to the Citizen Application Act, the Pharmaceutical Law, the Act on Court Costs in Civil Cases and the Family and Guardianship Code.

The amendment to the Tax Code is intended to protect taxpayers from sudden changes in regulations. The new regulations will introduce a mandatory, six-month vacatio legis for tax bills. This period is to apply to bills that contain unfavorable solutions for taxpayers.

In turn, the draft amendment to the Goods and Services Tax Act aims to increase the revenue limit above which entrepreneurs are required to register as VAT payers (i.e. the subject exemption). Currently, this limit is PLN 200,000, and the draft act increases this amount to PLN 240,000.

The government's proposal to amend the Corporate Income Tax Act aims to eliminate the obligation to prepare and publish information on the implemented tax strategy. According to calculations by the Ministry of Finance, nearly 4.3 thousand taxpayers will benefit from the elimination of this obligation.

Another bill accepted by the Council of Ministers is an amendment to the Act on the National Revenue Administration and the Act on the Goods and Services Tax. The new regulations are to enable the controlled entrepreneur to submit a correction to the tax return after the completion of the customs and tax audit. This correction will be able to partially take into account irregularities found by the customs and tax office during the audit. Previously, the controlled entity could submit a correction that fully took into account irregularities found during the audit.

The planned amendment to the act on the citizen application is to – according to the Chancellery of the Prime Minister – enable citizens to use mobile services within this tool even more widely. A virtual assistant function based on an artificial intelligence model will appear in mObywatel. The assistant will be able to, for example, write a letter for us and present it to the application user for approval. In the citizen application, it will also be possible to prepare statements of the perpetrator of a road accident (the so-called mStłuczka). The project also provides for the digitization of school IDs. The amendment will also allow application users to sign a document with a qualified signature or a trusted signature. The extension will enable verification of submitted electronic signatures.

Another deregulation project approved by the government, this time an amendment to the Pharmaceutical Law, is to eliminate overly formal requirements for submitting an application for a free sample of a medicinal product. "The person authorized to issue prescriptions directs such an application to a sales or medical representative. Previously, it had to be submitted in writing. After the change, it will be possible to do so by e-mail," the Prime Minister's office explained.

Another of the deregulation projects is to eliminate restrictions on the pursuit of claims in court proceedings by entrepreneurs. The draft amendment to the act on court costs in civil cases assumes lowering the upper limit of court fees for a document in property rights cases from PLN 200,000 to PLN 100,000. It was recalled that currently the so-called proportional fee is charged for documents in property rights cases, where the value of the subject of the dispute or appeal exceeds PLN 20,000. It amounts to 5% of the value of the subject of the dispute or appeal, and its maximum amount is PLN 200,000. The new regulations also provide that a capital company that applies for exemption from court costs will not have to prove that its partners or shareholders do not have sufficient funds to increase the company's assets or grant the company a loan. The law firm added that the personal assets of the company's partners will not affect the decision to grant the company exemption from court costs.

The draft amendment to the Family and Guardianship Code, which was also adopted by the government, is to provide spouses who changed their surname during marriage and then divorced, with a longer deadline for filing a declaration of returning to their surname. The deadline will be extended from 3 to 12 months from the date the divorce judgment becomes final.

The government also adopted a resolution amending the work regulations of the Council of Ministers. The Prime Minister's Office emphasized that the new solutions are to counteract excessive overregulation when implementing EU regulations. "If a draft normative act is to implement European Union law or is to serve its application, the body preparing the draft regulations must include information in the Regulatory Impact Assessment about the introduction of regulations that go beyond the minimum regulations required to implement the obligations arising from EU law," it was explained.

The Chancellery of the Prime Minister recalled that on April 24, a meeting of the government and social sides was held, during which the results of the work on the deregulation package were presented. Since the launch of the initiative, 197 proposals for changes have been analyzed, of which 123 have been accepted for implementation. (PAP)

mick/ drag/ mhr/

The Council of Ministers adopted a draft amendment to the Homeland Defense Act on Tuesday, the Prime Minister's office announced. The changes include streamlining recruitment, increasing benefits for soldiers studying abroad and increasing compensation in the event of a soldier's death.

The draft amendment to the Act on the Defence of the Homeland, the basic act regulating the issues of defence and the functioning of the Polish armed forces, was prepared by the Ministry of National Defence.

In Tuesday's announcement, the Chancellery of the Prime Minister indicated that the project adopted by the government on Tuesday provides for the numerical and qualitative strengthening of the Armed Forces personnel, including by streamlining the recruitment process and the course of military service. As we read, "the recruitment procedure for a person who applies for conscription to military service will continue +without unnecessary delay+".

As indicated in the justification and assessment of the regulatory impact of the amendment, its primary objective is to streamline the military recruitment process: "standardizing activities in the scope of numerical and qualitative reinforcement of the personnel of the Polish Armed Forces". "In addition, the project includes a number of regulations, as a result of which the processes of managing the personnel resources of the Armed Forces, in the scope of personnel, financial and disciplinary activities, will be improved" - assess the authors of the project.

The draft amendment assumes – as reported by the Chancellery of the Prime Minister – among other things changes in the regulations concerning sending soldiers to study outside the country. As reported, according to the draft, if the study lasts longer than 6 months, a professional soldier will be able to take his family with him; a special benefit for such soldiers will also be introduced. In addition, a motivational benefit is to be introduced for professional soldiers during education at a military college, non-commissioned officer school, training center or training center, and for non-professional soldiers.

The bill also provides for an increase in the amount of compensation in the event of a soldier’s death as a result of an accident during military service.

In addition, the draft amendment provides for financial support for pro-defense organizations, which may be granted targeted subsidies.

The changes also concern the functioning of the Armed Forces Support Fund, a financial instrument used to finance many large arms contracts concluded by Poland. Funds from the Fund that are not used within one year as part of the implementation of multi-annual contracts will be treated as "non-expiring expenses". In addition, there are plans to introduce a solution under which the transfer of budget funds from the Ministry of National Defense to the Fund during the year will not require a change to the Fund's financial plan - and therefore will not require the opinion of the parliamentary defense committee or the Ministry of Finance.

The planned provisions also include regulations related to defining tasks for the Operational Commander of the Armed Forces – responsible for, among others, the security of Polish airspace and Polish military contingents abroad – in the field of crisis management at the NATO and European Union level.

The Homeland Defense Act was adopted in April 2022 and replaced many previously applicable acts concerning the functioning of the Polish Armed Forces and the entire state defense system; it is currently the basic legal act regulating this area. The Act has already been amended several times. (PAP)

kl/ sdd/ mhr/