E-delivery – new obligations for commercial companies in Poland

The obligation to create an address for electronic delivery (known as “e-delivery address” or in Polish “ADE”) and enter this address to the Electronic Address Database (“BAE”) will soon apply to commercial companies. How and when to prepare for new obligation?

Until now, businesses could opt whether they want to use electronic delivery on the terms set out in the E-delivery Act of 18 November 2020 (Journal of Laws of 2023, item 285).

The transition to e-delivery meant that communication with public administration bodies was carried out exclusively online. The electronic form of communication with authorities will become mandatory for some businesses from 10 December 2023.

E- delivery – a challenge or a facilitation?

Replacing the traditional written form of communication with electronic delivery is primarily intended to facilitate and speed up communication and proceedings. E- delivery is the equivalent of a registered mail with return receipt requested.

Certainly, the implementation of the new obligation will be a considerable challenge for businesses, due to the need to change internal procedures for the circulation of electronic documentation or the need to appoint an administrator of e- delivery box.

For this reason, it is worth considering submitting an application for the creation of a mailbox with an e- delivery address in advance (which is possible at any time) in order to adapt the company to the new way of communication with state administration bodies in a timely manner.

When to set up a mailbox with e- delivery address?

The Minister of Digital Affairs in a communication of 29 May 2023, published in the Journal of Laws of the Republic of Poland on 7 June 2023, specified, for non-public entities entered in the business register of the National Court Register (what includes all commercial law companies and partnerships with private participation) the deadlines for mandatory implementation of new technical solutions necessary for service and receipt of official correspondence via mailbox with address for electronic delivery.

The deadline for setting up mailbox with address for electronic delivery depends on the date of registration of an entity in the business register of the National Court Register, namely;

• For new entities registering their activity in the business register of the National Court Register after 10 December 2023, an application for e-delivery address and entering it in the BAE will be an obligatory element of the application for entry of the entity in the register,
• Other entities entered in the business register of the National Court Register before 10 December 2023 are obliged to obtain address for e-delivery on their own by 10 March 2024.

How to prepare for the upcoming changes?

In performance of the obligation imposed by the Act, non-public entities entered in the business register of the National Court Register should:

1. Create an individual address for e-delivery – at the beginning it is worth emphasizing that the address for electronic delivery is not an ordinary e-mail address of an entity, but an individual address composed of a string of characters assigned by the Minister of Digital Affairs. The whole process is carried out electronically by completing the application made available on the government website and signing it with a trusted profile, qualified signature, electronic seal or e-ID. An application for the creation of e-delivery address is signed and submitted by members of the body authorized to represent the company/partnership. This application can also be submitted by an attorney or commercial proxy of an entity. It is worth remembering that each entity can have only one e-delivery address.
   
   When creating an e-delivery address, entities may also use the services of non-public providers, known as Qualified Service Providers (KDU), which are licensed as qualified providers of a registered electronic delivery. The list of non-public providers authorized to provide commercial e-delivery services is kept by the Ministry of Digital Affairs.

2. Submit an application for entry of an e-delivery address to BAE – this is necessary if an entity has e-delivery mailbox set up by a non-public provider.

If e-delivery address is created by a public service provider (currently Poczta Polska S.A.) via a government website, the address is entered to BAE automatically along with activation of the e-delivery address.

E-delivery – how can we help?

We encourage you to use the services of our law firm to prepare for the upcoming obligations related to the transition to electronic delivery. Our experts will help you to submit an appropriate application for setting up a mailbox with an address for electronic delivery

Legal basis:

1. E-delivery Act of 18 November 2020;
2. Act of 28 April 2022 amending certain acts in connection with development of public ICT systems;
3. Communication of the Minister of Digital Affairs of 29 May 2023 on determining the deadline for the implementation of technical solutions necessary for delivery of correspondence using a public electronic registered delivery service or a hybrid public service and making available in the ICT system an access point to e-delivery registered services in cross-border traffic.