29.04.2020
Author: Agnieszka Stażyk - Attorney at law trainee
Amendments to the anti-crisis shield - changes introduced by the Act of 16 April 2020 on special support instruments in connection with the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus
The solutions contained in the Act of 16 April 2020 on special support instruments in connection with the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus are referred to as the 2.0 anti-crisis shield. The above project of the legal act was also called the anti-crisis shield 1.1, which is why you can find the most important assumptions on our blog under this slogan.
Below are the most important regulations of the already applicable Act, addressed to entrepreneurs:
1. Enabling small and medium enterprises, which have found themselves in a difficult financial situation due to the announcement of an epidemic emergency or epidemic status, to apply for the support offered by Industrial Development Agency (Agencja Rozwoju Przemysłu) Support instruments are as follows:
refinancing of leasing contracts for the road transport sector,
working capital loans to finance the deficit in working capital,
working capital loans financing the payment of remuneration.
2. Introduction of the possibility of re-granting a furlough payment to persons conducting non-agricultural business activity and performing civil law contracts, with the condition that the benefit may be granted maximum three times. What's more, in relation to persons conducting business activity, the income limit entitling them to claim benefits was dropped. Before the amendment, for an entrepreneur to be able to obtain a furlough payment, two conditions had to be met: a decrease in revenues by at least 15% and income not exceeding 300% of the average monthly remuneration from the previous quarter announced by the President of the Central Statistical Office. Currently, the revenue limit has been lifted;
3. Changes in loans granted to micro-entrepreneurs to cover current operating costs, which abandoned the condition of maintaining the employment status by the micro-entrepreneur. In order to take advantage of the loan redemption, the micro-entrepreneur will have to operate for a period of 3 months from the date the loan was granted. In addition, a regulation has been added, according to which income from redemption of a loan does not constitute income within the meaning of the Personal Income Tax Act and the provisions of the Corporate Income Tax Act;
4. Extending the scope of entities entitled to benefit from the exemption from the obligation to pay contributions due to the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) by introducing a regulation according to which, at the request of the contribution payer, who as of February 29, 2020 has registered between 10 and 49 insured persons for social insurance, is released from the obligation to pay unpaid debts for social security contributions, health insurance, the Labour Fund, the Solidarity Fund, the Guaranteed Employee Benefits Fund or the Bridging Pension Fund, due for the period from March 1, 2020 to May 31, 2020, in 50% of the total amount of unpaid contributions due shown in the settlement declaration submitted for the given month. Revenues from the exemption from the obligation to pay contributions due to contributions do not constitute income within the meaning of the provisions on income tax from natural persons and provisions on income tax from legal persons;
5. In case of co-financing employee remuneration and social security contributions due from these remuneration from the Labour Fund, the requirement to retain the employees covered by the contract after the co-financing was abandoned. The entrepreneur is obliged to maintain employment only for the period of receiving financial assistance;
6. The self-employed who will benefit from the co-financing of the costs of running a business will be obliged to run the business for the period for which the co-financing has been granted. The requirement to continue operating in the future has been abandoned;
7. Amendments to the provisions on financial support from the Guaranteed Employee Benefits Fund, consisting in the fact that the reduction of working time may be made by a maximum of 20%. Previous strict value was abandoned. In addition, the grant is awarded for a total period of three months, starting from the month of submission of the application;
8. Addition to the catalogue of urgent cases, recognized by courts during the epidemic, cases for recognition of a restructuring application;
9. Amendments to the Code of Commercial Companies and Partnerships consisting in the introduction of regulations according to which the supervisory boards of limited liability companies and joint-stock companies will be able to adopt resolutions while using means of distance communication, also in cases where the articles of association require secret voting, unless a member of the supervisory board objects.
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