| In Principle

If a taxpayer has generated a loss and plans to carry it forward to apply against income earned in subsequent tax years, the taxpayer may have to retain its tax records and related documents for up to 11 years.

The Polish Inspector General for Personal Data Protection will have authority to impose fines for failure to comply with data protection orders. The ability to withdraw consent to processing of personal data has also been clarified.

Violation of obligations related to acquisition of a major stake in a public company is subject to the sanction of loss of voting rights.

The articles of association may include provisions covering the rules for repayment of surcharges to the shareholders. Absent such provisions, the rules set forth in the Commercial Companies Code will apply.

Contractors in public procurement who submit a performance bond in the form of a bank guarantee may not be sure when it needs to be provided to the contracting authority or what the duration of the guarantee should be.

Information published on the website of the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF) shows that the KNF takes full advantage of its authority to impose fines for failure to play by the rules on the financial markets.

The warranty of public reliance on land and mortgage registers protects an acquirer of perpetual usufruct in the event of defective entry in the land and mortgage register of the State Treasury or territorial governmental unit as the owner of real estate.

When defining the relevant market for the merger of Empik and Merlin, the Polish competition authority did not give sufficient consideration to the time factor.

The Third European Energy Liberalisation Package permits the existence of multiple transmission system operators for electricity and gas. Under current Polish law, however, there has been only one operator for each system.

Is a seller free to decide whether or not to mark each package or item with a price, or is this a legal requirement? When is it alright to use a barcode instead of a price?

Construction contracts, including those used in public procurement projects, are often based on FIDIC terms, which are international, universal and commonly applied.

In execution proceedings, debtors who receive pay for their work on the basis of a contract to perform a specific assignment or create a specific work are treated worse than debtors who are paid a salary on the basis of an employment contract.