On April 7, 2022, the Sejm passed an amendment to the Act of August 20, 1997, on the National Court Register, introducing a completely new solution based on the existing regulations. The government's proposed change involves introducing a system for automatically transmitting information about the registration of a case in the registration proceedings and the making of an entry in the National Court Register, which applies to entities entered in the register of entrepreneurs or the register of associations, other social and professional organizations, foundations, and independent public healthcare facilities. This information is to be transmitted via an IT system, constituting a newsletter distributed exclusively to interested entities.
The amendment to the regulations aims to more effectively combat the practice known as "company theft," which involves unauthorized individuals making changes to entries in the National Court Register based on forged documents. This primarily concerns applications to change entries regarding an entity's representation and the individuals representing it, which are submitted without the knowledge of shareholders and legitimate members of the governing bodies. The proposed technical solution will allow authorized entities to obtain information about the initiation of a registration case in the National Court Register even before the application is considered on its merits. This means that, if an entry is based on forged documents, authorized individuals will be able to respond appropriately – they will be able to participate in the ongoing proceedings and appeal the ruling. Furthermore, they will be able to notify law enforcement agencies of an attempted "company theft.".
The solution proposed by the government undoubtedly has enormous practical value. Currently, changes to entries in the National Court Register are made virtually automatically, and court registrars do not verify submitted applications for possible fraud. Potential fraudsters are fully aware of this, and therefore, they engage in "company theft" with complete impunity. The regulations are intended to curtail this practice and thus increase the security of legal and economic transactions.
The bill was passed unanimously in the Sejm, supported by all 454 members of parliament who voted. It has now been forwarded to the Senate for further work on its content. The proposed changes are scheduled to enter into force on June 21, 2022.
This alert is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
authors:
