Changes to automation in executive requests and enforcement titles result from the Act of 11th September 2019 amending the Act on Executive Proceedings in Administration and certain other acts and the Act of 4th July 2019 amending the Act on Executive Proceedings in Administration and certain other acts (hereinafter: the Amended Acts).

The Amended Acts introduce, as of 1st July 2021, an obligation to submit executive request to tax offices in electronic form. However, what else should a creditor know?

How has it been so far and what has changed as of 1 July?

It is worth bringing up the issue of the previous form of activity in the sphere of executive proceedings, which was carried out in the traditional manner using various means, but the paper form was also allowed. It should not be overlooked that the changes introduced are not a revolution, because the electronic performance title system already existed before, e.g. via e-PUAP or electronic mailbox. What is to distinguish the current scheme is the change of the distribution channel and complete elimination of the possibility to submit applications in paper form, as well as the imposition of an obligation on every public law creditor.

The key changes are based on Article 26aa (1) of the Executive Proceedings Act, according to which the teleinformatic system by means of which executive applications and executive titles or information titles referred to in Article 26 (1e) are transferred to the enforcement authority being the head of the tax office is operated by the Head of the National Treasury Administration.

What does this mean for creditors? First of all, the process of sending relevant applications will be significantly accelerated to the National Treasury Administration, and thus the time for commencing enforcement will be shortened. What is more, the main objective of the introduced changes is to eliminate doubts regarding hitherto unclear procedures or legal regulations. The automation of such processes will certainly be a significant simplification not only for creditors, but also for the tax authorities, which will be able to verify submitted applications faster and more effectively.

It should be noted that creditor has encountered problems more than once with verifying the correct local jurisdiction, with the result that enforcement proceedings have been significantly prolonged. After the introduction of modifications to legal regulations, the issue of registration will change above all. It will be automatic and, consequently, the risk of instigating disputes about the establishment of the correct local jurisdiction will be minimized. We also cannot forget about the issue of reducing the money spent on sending the enforcement title through the Polish Post Office. The fee for sending the document will no longer be transferred.

It is worth mentioning that the current submission of enforcement titles via e-PUAP by creditors does not allow for the possibility to verify the data included in the title. Therefore, mainly the distribution channel will be modified, which may translate into effective communication while providing more beneficial verification.

Is this the beginning of changes in the area of enforcement proceedings that will improve the work of creditors and tax authorities themselves? It should be noted that the summary of information on the proposed regulations for the state budget indicates that the average duration of executive proceedings is as long as 555 days. Improving the process while ensuring transparency by automating even part of the system certainly has the potential to significantly shorten this time.

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