Pursuant to the amendment to the Civil Code of April 13, 2018, the limitation period for claims will expire on the last day of the calendar year, unless the limitation period is less than two years. This means that at the end of 2020, the following claims arising in 2018 will expire:

1. Claims arising from sales made within the scope of the seller's business activities;
2. Claims arising from a contract for specific work;
3. Claims arising from a bank account relationship – this does not apply to claims for the return of savings deposits;
4. Claims under the contract of mandate:
   1. for remuneration for performed activities and for reimbursement of incurred expenses, which are due to persons who permanently or within the scope of the company's activities engage in activities of a given type; the same applies to claims for advance payments granted to these persons;
   2. for maintenance, care, upbringing or education, if they are due to persons professionally engaged in such activities or to persons running establishments designated for this purpose;
5. Claims arising from the activities of hotel and catering enterprises for payments for the accommodation, maintenance and services provided and for expenses incurred on behalf of persons who use the services of such enterprises.

Possibility of interrupting the limitation period

The limitation period may be interrupted:

1. by filing a lawsuit,
2. by recognition of the claim by the person against whom the claim is made;
3. by initiating mediation.

It should be noted that after each interruption of the limitation period, it starts running anew, which allows for an extension of the possibility of pursuing claims.

Invoice statute of limitations

Businesses should pay particular attention to the new regulations. This is due to the fact that claims arising from invoices from 2018 will expire on December 31, 2020 (due to the two-year limitation period for all sales contracts – Article 554 of the Civil Code).

In order to recover the debt, they should take the matter to court or obtain recognition of the claim by the debtor.

Our firm has extensive experience and numerous successes in court proceedings, including invoice collection. To pursue debt recovery, please contact attorney Marcin Zawistowski ( m.zawistowski@kglegal.pl , +48 519 353 931) – head of our court proceedings department.

This alert is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.

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