Government Proposes Millions for Clean Air Victims and ZUS Debt Relief

At its Tuesday meeting, the Council of Ministers will review aid for Clean Air program beneficiaries hurt by fraudulent contractors and discuss regulations to write off old ZUS debts.

Help for Victims of the “Clean Air” Program

At Tuesday’s meeting, the Council of Ministers will consider, among other things, a proposal to help beneficiaries of the “Clean Air” program who have been harmed by dishonest contractors. Ministers will also address draft regulations regarding the write-off of ZUS liabilities originating before 1999.

The draft bill on aid for individual beneficiaries harmed in connection with the implementation of the “Clean Air” program was prepared in response to abuses committed by companies exploiting the pre-financing system and powers of attorney to take over subsidies without carrying out the work, leaving citizens with debts.

Shifting the Financial Burden to the State and Bans on Fraudsters

The proposed regulations are intended to enable the suspension of debt repayment, debt write-offs, and the direct pursuit of claims against fraudsters by environmental protection funds. The regulations aim to shift the financial burden from scammed individuals to the state and unreliable business entities.

The total cost of support over a decade is estimated at over PLN 550 million, which is intended as a form of protection for thousands of affected households. The draft also provides for a five-year ban on participating in the program for contractors convicted of offenses committed to the detriment of beneficiaries.

The regulatory impact assessment attached to the draft indicates that provincial environmental protection funds and the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management have submitted over 630 notifications to law enforcement authorities.

Write-off of ZUS Arrears Originating Before January 1, 1999

Another item on the government’s agenda is a deregulation bill concerning the write-off of receivables pursued by the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) that arose before January 1, 1999.

The Ministry of Family, the author of the draft, explains that the reason for the changes is the low efficiency of debt collection by ZUS alongside disproportionately high costs of pursuing arrears. Furthermore, due to the passage of time, the arrears are largely uncollectible.

The proposed solution applies to approximately 7,100 contribution payers, whose contribution debt accounts are estimated at around PLN 315 million.

Under the draft, the write-off of receivables will occur by operation of law, meaning ZUS will be exempt from issuing decisions on this matter. A person with debt covered by the write-off will be able to opt out of it by submitting a statement to the Social Insurance Institution.

The planned changes will not cover receivables secured by mortgages, which concern 3,800 contribution payers.

Reform of the Code of Civil Procedure and Cassation Judgments

During Tuesday’s proceedings, ministers will also discuss a second MRiPS draft—an amendment to the Code of Civil Procedure. The amendment is to grant common courts the power to issue decisions revoking almost the full range of pension authority decisions that can be the subject of appeal proceedings, except for decisions ruling on the right to a benefit for the first time.

As explained, this is to create legal opportunities to respond adequately to various irregularities and errors associated with the decision of the pension authority or the preceding proceedings before the pension authority.

The possibility for a court of first instance to issue a cassation ruling (annulling the appealed decision and referring the case back for reconsideration) will be optional, allowing the court freedom regarding the justification for its use.

Currently, a court of first instance generally cannot annul the appealed decision and refer the case back to the pension authority for reconsideration. The exception is a situation where a decision imposing an obligation on the insured person, determining its amount, or reducing a benefit was issued with a gross violation of the regulations on proceedings before the pension authority.

Increasing Compensation for Creators for Library Loans (PLR)

During the meeting, the government will also consider a draft amendment to the Act on Copyright and Related Rights and the Act on Gambling Games. It assumes raising the funding level of the Public Lending Right (PLR)—a system of compensation for creators and publishers for the gratuitous sharing of their works by public libraries—from 5 to 10 percent.

The library loan remuneration program aims to compensate authors and publishers for potential losses in book sales income when books are made available to readers for free in public libraries.

In Poland, the library loan remuneration system for Polish writers, translators, illustrators, and publishers was introduced in 2016. It covers creators, translators, and publishers of books created or published in the Polish language and lent in public libraries.

The Copyright Polska Association of Authors and Publishers, appointed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage through a competition, is responsible for the distribution and payment of remuneration. Funds for remuneration come from the Culture Promotion Fund. Currently, the sum allocated each year for remuneration is equivalent to 5 percent of the amount spent on library purchases in the previous year.

The draft proposes raising the funding limit to 10 percent of the value of library material purchases. As stated, this is intended to “strengthen the PLR institution as a real instrument for protecting the property interests of creators, while maintaining the existing principles of operation of permitted library use.”

The draft emphasizes that “this change does not lead to a modification of the nature of the remuneration or a restriction of access to library collections, but serves to adapt the level of compensation to current social and economic conditions.”