KERM approval likely for draft bill protecting smaller companies' interests

The Cabinet Economy Committee (KERM) looked set yesterday evening to approve the draft of a bill that would protect smaller companies from the failure by their larger partners to settle accounts. At the time of going to press, Gazeta Wyborcza reported there was general agreement in support of the draft. Under the proposed bill, a big company that delays for more than 30 days a payment in favor of a small or medium-sized company would be obliged by law to pay interest for each extra day that the payment is overdue. The rate would be calculated at around 30% per annum. It would also be illegal for a big company to impose in an original contract a payment period longer than 30 days. However, the problem remains that in the case of delayed payment, the smaller company would have to sue the bigger one to obtain the interest owed, and such cases generally drag on for over a year in the Polish courts. (Gazeta Wyborcza, p. 25) A.D.