TGC Corporate Lawyers Legal review – June 2023

Newsletter – changes in regulations and interesting decisions – June 2023.

1. The state of epidemic emergency will end on 1 July

In accordance with the regulation of the Minister of Health already in force, the state of epidemic emergency will end on 1 July 2023. The new legislation provides for transitional periods that will allow for gradual adaptation. Employers will have 180 days to restore occupational health examinations after the lifting of the state of epidemic emergency.

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2. National e-Invoicing system adopted by the Sejm

The Sejm adopted a law introducing the obligation to issue invoices via the National e-Invoice System. The launch of the KSeF will enhance digitization of the public sector and will make it easier for traders to conduct business. According to the new regulations, the e-invoicing obligation will come into force on 1 July 2024, but already from 1 January 2022 it is possible to voluntarily issue e-invoices through KSeF.

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3. Changes in the service of documents on sole proprietors

On 1 July 2023, subsequent amendments to the Civil Procedure Code come into force as regards the method of serving documents on the parties to proceedings. A party being a natural person conducting a sole proprietorship entered in the Central Register and Information on Economic Activity (CEiDG) (“sole proprietor”) will be obliged to notify the court of any change of its address for service.

Up to now, the obligation to notify the court of a change of address and the consequences of non- compliance, concerned only the address of residence. Therefore, when it was not possible to serve the first letter in the case on a sole proprietor, the party had to do it through a bailiff.

From the beginning of July, the service of documents to the address indicated by the trader in CEiDG will be deemed effective by default. If it is not possible to serve the first letter to the address from CEiDG, it will have to be delivered to the address of residence of such proprietor or, if necessary, through a bailiff.

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4. Position of the CJEU on remedying damage for infringement of the GDPR.

In accordance with Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council (EU) on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data (GDPR), any person who has suffered material or non-material damage as a result of an infringement of this GDPR has the right to receive compensation from the controller or processor for the damage suffered.

Doubts regarding the principles of liability for infringement of the GDPR are related to the case of a postal operator that used information about the political preferences of its customers.  The CJEU ruled that the right to compensation under the GDPR is granted if the following conditions are met:

• an infringement of the provisions of the GDPR resulting in material or non-material damage,
• the damage must be in a causal relationship with the infringement of the GDPR.

In addition, the CJEU held, contrary to previous positions, that there is no such thing as “minimal damage” that would determine whether a given entity is liable for infringement of the GDPR. This means that the value of damage does not have to reach any “minimum” threshold and the compensation is due even for a damage of relatively low value.

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