Morawiecki: “entrepreneurs will not be punished for mistakes made”

Speaking to the Polish press on Wednesday, Deputy Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced the intended consequences of an amendment to the government’s new Code of Administration. He said that the most recent changes to the Code would aim to eliminate fines faced by entrepreneurs who made errors. Instead, the dispute mechanism, he indicated, would involve a resolution of the error by way of dialogue. “In the case of the Administrative Code, we [will] try to simplify the procedure in such a way that on the one hand, it [is] more accessible to entrepreneurs, and…at the same time…[we will] apply a so-called principle of proportionality,” the minister said. “So if there are any errors, [such as] some illegality like removing trees on their own property…we want [the penalty in the form of a heavy fine] to completely go away, and we want to [resolve] the situation with a warning, or a dialogue, the actual dialogue between officials and entrepreneurs.” The report indicated that further amendments to administrative procedures governing entrepreneur-government relations will be discussed at the next meeting with those in the business community, and that they will focus on the topic of debt. Specifically, according to government spokesperson Rafał Bochenek, they will aim to improve the security of business transactions, provide new tools for creditors and shorten the duration of judicial proceedings.