Legal Alert - 19/2011

Beginning from the year 2012 certain regulations that substantially change the statutory regime of the National Court Register’s operations will come into effect. The Act of 13 May 2011 amending the Act on the National Court Register dated 20 August 1997 (“KRS Act”) introduces inter alia the possibility to obtain documents issued by the Information Centre of the National Court Register (“Information Centre”) in an electronic format via Internet, and free-of-charge on-line access to valid and updated information about entities entered in the Register.

Online access to KRS data

The most important changes introduced in the new legislation are linked with the use of the internet to facilitate accessing the data stored in the National Court Register (“Register, KRS”) (i.e. the register of companies, the register of associations, other social and professional organizations, funds as well as independent publicly-funded healthcare establishments, the register of insolvent debtors).

According to the Amended Act, extracts, excerpts, certificates and information recorded in the Register can be obtained electronically, and the documents in the electronic form will be deemed official documents that are as valid as their paper versions. This means that in practice, the information bearing the electronic signature of an authorised officer of the Information Centre and provided by the Information Centre will be sent electronically in the PDF format to the applicant. If a specific procedure allows the use of documents in an electronic form, the applicant will be permitted to use the PDF file further. If such use is not permitted, the applicant will still be able to print the PDF file and then use the printed-out paper version (providing the applicant signs a statement confirming that the printout is consistent with the document received electronically and attaches that statement to the printout). The electronic form of the information stored in the Register, the printout and the extract from the Register collected personally from the Information Centre office will be deemed equally valid documents.

Furthermore, in line with the amended regulations, the Information Centre will provide free-of-charge online access to valid and updated data of entities entered in the Register and in respect of companies, also to copies of their documents on files. The updated information and documents related to business entities and stored in the Register will be generally available to all interested parties via the website of the Ministry of Justice. Additionally, all will be able to download them and print their copies. Such individually downloaded and printed copies of current information on entities entered into the Register will enjoy an equivalent status of official documents with those issued by the Information Centre, as long as they display certain features enabling their verification (among others, the KRS number of the entity whose data has been downloaded and printed). In the case printing copies of company documents submitted to the register, such printed out versions will be treated as copies certified to be true and consistent with the documents stored on the company’s file in the register.

It is no longer required to notify KRS of being awarded a NIP number

In consequence introducing the so-called ‘one-stop business registration’ service, based on the Amended Act on KRS, the duty to disclose the NIP tax identification number awarded to the entity burdens the Registration Court, which change is likely to shorten the registration procedure.  

The regulations introducing the concept of the ‘one-stop business registration’ put the tax office under an obligation to provide the Registration Court with information about the NIP number assigned to the entity entered in the Register. Following that, the Registration Court should forward that number to the Social Security Institution (ZUS). At the same time, irrespective of the information supplied by the tax office, in line with the previous statutory regime the business entity in question is still obliged to apply to the Registration Court for NIP registration in order to supplement its original KRS entry.  

Pursuant to the Amended Act on KRS, it is the Registration Court that will make an ex offico entry of the NIP tax identification number to the National Court Register. The entry will not be subject to court charges and will be exempt from the obligatory announcement in Monitor Sądowy i Gospodarczy; the decision on the entry will not require justification or delivery.  

The aforementioned amendment came into force on the date of amending the KRS Act, i.e. on 13 July 2011, with respect to all cases that were pending prior to that date.

New fields added to official forms

Under the Amended Act the website and the email addresses of the entity for which the register is maintained can be entered into the National Court Register. For that reason certain additional fields will be added to the official forms to enable companies to enter such data. Such information will be disclosed in the Register solely at the request of the interested party; the entry will be subject to court charge and promulgation in Monitor Sądowy i Gospodarczy. If the entity decides to include the above data in the Register, it will be under an obligation to notify the authorities of any changes to them.

Effective date of the Amended KRS Act

Except for the above–discussed provisions regulating NIP updates, the Amended Act on KRS will come into effect on 01 January 2012. The provisions of the Amended Act will apply to all proceedings pending prior to that date and instituted afterwards.

It is also worth remembering that the implementation of the new Act is associated with updates of official forms – the new forms will become binding as from 01 January 2012.

If you would like to receive more detailed information regarding the above, please do not hesitate to contact our team.