On 30 November 2020, the laws on corporate income tax (CIT) were published in the Polish Journal of Laws, introducing changes in the tax rules applicable to partnerships. As of 1 January 2021, limited partnerships will become CIT payers

The amendment to the Building law adopted by the Parliament by the act of 13 February 2020 was signed by the President of the Republic of Poland on 3 March 2020 and came into force on 19 September 2020 after a six-month vacatio legis period. The most important modifications introduced by the amendment are described in the legal alert.

On 30 September 2020, a draft act amending the laws on corporate income tax (CIT) was published, which will introduce changes in the tax rules applicable to partnerships. It is highly likely that limited partnerships will become CIT payers from the beginning of 2021. General partnerships may also be affected (i.e. they will become CIT payers) if they fail to meet the conditions specified in the new regulations.

Am 5. August 2020 wurde die seit langem erwartete Gesetzesvorlage zur Novellierung des polnischen Gesetzbuches für Handelsgesellschaften veröffentlicht, mit der u.a. bisher unbekannte konzernrechtliche Regelungen erstmals den Weg in die polnische Rechtsordnung finden können.

On 5 August 2020, the Government Legislation Centre published the long awaited draft bill amending the Commercial Companies Code and certain other acts. The primary purpose of the proposed amendments is to introduce certain regulations from holdings law (the law on corporate groups) into the Polish law system, which will regulate relationships between parent companies and their subsidiaries such that the interests of all parties concerned are taken into account. Furthermore, the draft bill, as published, provides for a number of amendments strengthening supervisory boards by giving them tools allowing them to  exercise more effective corporate supervision. The bill also sanctions a duty of loyalty of members of a company’s governing bodies.

Die Novelle des Gesetzes vom 1. März 2018 zur Bekämpfung von Geldwäsche und Terrorismusfinanzierung, mit der die Regelungen der sog. 5. Geldwäsche-Richtlinie (des Europäischen Parlaments und des Rates (EU) 2018/843 vom 30. Mai 2018) in die polnische Rechtsordnung umgesetzt werden, tritt in Kraft.

Poland adopted a new law on foreign direct investment controls as part of the so-called “Anti-Crisis Shield 4.0”. The law expands the State’s control over M&A transactions in some strategic sectors of the economy. These provisions came into force on 24 July 2020 and they seem to apply to ongoing transactions (those not closed before that date). On 21 July 2020 President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK, the authority responsible for application of the new measures) published guidelines concerning new rules on foreign direct investment. Even though the guidelines are not a binding source of law they show how the new measures will be interpreted and adopted.

New amendments to the Act of 1 March 2018 on Counteracting Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism, which transpose the provisions of the so-called 5th AML Directive (Directive (EU) 2018/843 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018) into Polish law, will be coming into effect.