“Business constitution”: what is not legally forbidden, is permitted

Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance and Development Mateusz Morawiecki presented “Constitution for business” at Congress 590 in Rzeszów. The key assumptions of the document are to facilitate running a business in Poland. PiS government is suggesting numerous practical support solutions that should make entrepreneurs happy.

Operations on the smallest scale without mandatory registration, 6 months without social insurance contributions for new companies and numerous tax simplifications – these and many other solutions are included in the “Business constitution” package.

The “Business constitution” package is to comprise of a set of solutions, mainly with a legal act status, including the most extensive Entrepreneurs Law Act.

It is of fundamental importance that companies can rely on law – stressed Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Development and Finance Mateusz Morawieckim and added that the state needs to understand entrepreneurs, but also entrepreneurs should try not to omit the regulations but try to be together with the state and build the economy together. – Entrepreneurs are not spivs, and the state is not a plunderer. The state is not a bloodsucker. Merely using this kind of language is not good. It is not building community, is not building a strong country. It is in the mature western and eastern countries that were most successful, where there is a common ground of understanding being build, a compromise – the Deputy Prime Minister said.

He stressed that he sees building common ground for agreement as his chief goal. – We want to put forward such mechanisms within the Constitution for business – said Morawiecki.

Key „constitution” changes concern:

• Credit for start

Exemption from paying social insurance and health contributions for beginner entrepreneurs in the first 6 months of running a business.

• Elimination of REGON number

REGON number will be gradually removed. An entrepreneur will only use a NIP number when dealing with public offices.

• “What is not forbidden is permitted”

Coming back to the famous rule from the 1988 act of the Minister of Industry Mieczysław Wilczek which laid the foundations of capitalism in Poland. In practice, it means “what is not legally forbidden, is permitted”.

• Entrepreneur is not a thief

Business Constitution talks about several changes here. The first one is a rule of presuming honesty, another one is a rule of favourable interpretation of regulations (in dubio pro libertate) and a rule of resolving actual doubts in favour of the entrepreneur.

• End of stamps

Companies will not be obliged to use stamps.

• Enprepreneurs’ ombudsman

An intervention body for the cases where entrepreneurs’ rights are being breached.

• Law understandable to everybody

Legal provisions are to be written in language that is understandable for the citizen. For complicated regulations, administrative bodies will issue “provision clarifications” written in clear, reader-friendly language. Adhering to such clarifications will protect the entrepreneurs against negative consequences.

• “Silent consent of a public office”

Morawiecki’s project includes facilitations for companies that cannot wait for an official reply from the officials. Although the officials are obliged to react within a statutory deadline, such proceedings are often prolonged, often by years. Now, if an institution will fail to provide a reply to the entrepreneur within the deadline, there is a “silent consent of a public office” until the formal reply is issued.

• Entreprise succession

A company will no longer „die” with its owner. New regulations will allow the company to keep functioning until a legal heir is designated. Currently, death of a company owner entails the end of activity and dismissal of the staff.