Business facilitation – access to contractor information

The government has adopted a draft amendment to the law on the provision and exchange of business information. It will make it easier for entrepreneurs to check the payment reliability of contractors, which will reduce the risk of working with unreliable firms and thus improve financial liquidity.

Access to business information – the key assumptions of the law

The amendment to the Act on the Provision of Business Information and Exchange of Business Data will be an important step towards increasing the transparency and reliability of business data. Thanks to the new regulations, which aim, among other things, to simplify the transfer of data to business information bureaus, entrepreneurs will be able to make more accurate business decisions. The proposed solutions also aim to improve the relationship between entrepreneurs and business information bureaus.

The draft law provides:

• that the catalogue of business information that may be submitted to business information bureaus shall be supplemented by an electronic delivery address of an entity that is not a consumer;

• for the obligation of the business information bureau to publish information on fees for a given activity in a clearly visible place on its website;

• for the obligation to enter in the register of inquiries the data of the entity to which the business information has been disclosed (if the request for disclosure of business information contains the name of the applicant and its representative, and the request was submitted by the representative, the bureau will be obliged to enter in the register of inquiries both the data of the entity to which the business information has been disclosed and the data of its representative);

• clarifies that the bureau should also record in the register of inquiries the information about the submitted request for access to business information;

• for the possibility of obtaining data from the register by police and border guard in order to improve activities related to the fight against economic crime.

The proposed regulations are positive. They will ensure a more transparent and secure exchange of data, streamline the process of verifying contractors and allow for faster conclusion of contracts and execution of transactions.

New regulations – when will the changes take effect?

The changes are due to come into force in 2024. In principle, the law will take effect 30 days after publication, but the draft contains two transitional provisions.

The first assumesthat the bureaus will be obliged to adapt their regulations in order to include in the register of inquiries the data of representatives of entities that download business information from the bureau within 6 months from the entry into force of the provisions of the Act.

The second requiresbureaus to publish on their website, within 30 days of the date of entry into force of the Act, information on the level of fees for the bureau’s services. Together with the 30-day vacatio legis period, this means that boards of business information bureaus will have 60 days to implement this change.

Business information bureau – what it is and what it does

Business information bureaus collect, store and share data on unreliable debtors on the basis of the Act on the Provision of Business Information and Exchange of Business Data 9 April 2010 (Journal of Laws of 2021, item 2057).

A list of private bureaus is available on the website of the Ministry of Development and Technology. The list includes entities such as BIG Info Monitor, Krajowe Biuro Informacji Gospodarczej and Krajowy Rejestr Długów Biuro Informacji Gospodarczej. 

Business information is provided to the bureau by the creditor, who is criminally liable for the accuracy of the information provided. The activities of business information bureaus are supervised by the Minister of Economy, and all such bureaus operating in Poland have the status of a small or medium-sized enterprise.

Commercial law – support in the area of debt monitoring

We advise on Polish and international commercial law. We handle transactions with private capital and with the participation of state and local government institutions. As part of our services we deal with the debt monitoring. We help to:

• ensure timely payment from contractors
• collect overdue debts

We also provide legal advice in the areas of intellectual property, real estate and competition law. We always choose solutions that are best suited to the client’s real needs.

Commercial law – see how we can help