Anti-crisis Shield: the impact of new regulations on conducting business in Poland

On March 31, the President of the Republic of Poland signed a package of laws called the Anti-crisis Shield:

• the Act of 31 March 2020 amending the Act on special solutions related to the prevention, counteraction and combating of COVID-19, other infectious diseases and crisis situations caused by them, and certain other laws
• the Act of 31 March 2020 amending certain acts in the field of the health-protection system related to the prevention, counteraction and combating of COVID-19
• the Act of 31 March 2020 amending the Act on the system of development institutions

This summary also covers changes resulting from the Act of 16 April 2020 on special support instruments in connection with the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The Act applies to persons conducting business activity in Poland, whose difficult financial situation is a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and with regard to whom bankruptcy has not been announced, nor have restructuring proceedings been opened. The changes resulting from this Act have been presented in green print.

The purpose of the new regulations is, among others, to limit the scale of adverse market effects resulting from the epidemic status in connection with SARS-CoV-2 virus infections. The new regulations significantly change the scope of rights and obligations of companies operating in Poland.

Employment, tax obligations, company behaviour from the point of view of competition law, civil, administrative and criminal proceedings, investment processes, real estate market, energy, and obligations in the field of environmental protection - these are just some areas of company activity which will be assessed from the perspective of the Anti-crisis Shield.

CMS lawyers have conducted a cross-practice and in-depth analysis of new regulations, identifying those changes which - from the point of view of trading practice - may have a significant impact on companies and business people in the new reality.

We hope you will find this lecture useful. We are looking forward to hearing from you should you have any doubts or questions.