In today's Compliance post, we'll discuss the National Debt Register ("KRZ"). Since this register is a relatively new tool, a few words of introduction are needed.
The National Debt Register (KRZ) is a public register maintained by the Minister of Justice. It was created to comply with the obligation arising from Regulation (EU) 2015/848 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2015 on insolvency proceedings, which stipulates that each Member State is required to establish and maintain at least one register in which information on insolvency and restructuring proceedings is published. However, the information published in the KRZ covers a much broader scope. Importantly, the KRZ is a public and free register. Everyone has the right to review the data disclosed in the Register, as well as the data covered by the announcements.
What information can we find in the KRZ?
The National Debt Register can be used without creating an account in the system. This allows you to obtain information about natural persons, legal entities, and organizational units without legal personality that are legally recognized as such, and against whom the following proceedings are or have been conducted:
- bankruptcy or secondary bankruptcy proceedings;
- restructuring proceedings within the meaning of the Restructuring Law and proceedings for concluding an arrangement at a meeting of creditors within the meaning of the Bankruptcy Law;
- proceedings in cases of imposing a ban on conducting business activity.
In addition,
- information about persons and entities against whom judicial or administrative enforcement was carried out and discontinued due to its ineffectiveness,
- Information about individuals subject to enforcement of maintenance payments or state budget debts. Another criterion is whether individuals are in arrears with these payments for a period longer than three months.
- information about the bankruptcy estate, i.e. the bankrupt’s transferable property rights used to satisfy creditors.
The Register also contains information about restructuring advisors and their role in a given proceeding.
From the perspective of entrepreneurs, it is worth noting that the KRZ also contains information about partners in commercial partnerships who are liable for the company's obligations without limitation with all their assets if the company's bankruptcy has been declared, secondary bankruptcy proceedings have been initiated against the company or the application for declaring the company's bankruptcy has been dismissed.
What exact information about debtors can be found in the National Debt Register?
In KRZ, even users who are not logged in (as we mentioned at the beginning of the article, the Register does not require logging in to obtain a certain scope of information) have access to the following information:
- name and surname (in the case of a natural person) or name (in the case of a legal person),
- place of residence or registered office,
- PESEL number or National Court Register number,
- Tax Identification Number,
- name of the court before which the bankruptcy or restructuring proceedings are pending,
- name and surname of the judge-commissioner and deputy judge-commissioner,
- trustee's data.
In addition, KRZ provides information on the following topics:
- whether the debtor has filed for bankruptcy,
- whether the debtor has filed an application to open restructuring proceedings,
- whether the debtor has been declared bankrupt,
- whether secondary bankruptcy proceedings have been initiated,
- whether restructuring proceedings have been opened (and if so, what type).
The functions of the KRZ described above are primarily informational, but we must not forget about another, very important function performed by the KRZ. It is also the system in which the proceedings mentioned in the article above are conducted, and the parties can review the documents posted therein. As of December 1, 2021, in accordance with the amended provisions of bankruptcy and restructuring law, motions and documents in these proceedings are filed exclusively via the electronic system using existing forms. The portal also allows users to review files on ongoing bankruptcy and restructuring proceedings, but this feature is only available to logged-in users.
To sum up, the National Debt Register system allows us to verify both our debtors and – which we strongly encourage – potential and current business partners.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
Legal status as of October 26, 2022
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