Digitization of registration proceedings before the National Court Register. Facilitations for entrepreneurs and a challenge for the courts

On July 1, 2021, a long-awaited and repeatedly postponed change in the scope of registration proceedings before the National Court Register took place. From that date, the submission of paper applications by entrepreneurs is ineffective – applications submitted in this way are returned without a call to supplement formal deficiencies. It is one of the stages of digitization of public services in Poland.

Currently, the registration of the entity or changes in the National Court Register can take place completely online, provided that the entrepreneur is represented by a professional proxy (attorney at law or legal advisor). Scans of documents submitted to the new IT system may be certified by these proxies to be true to the original. In the case of submitting the applications by the entrepreneur itself, the original documents should be submitted within 3 days of receiving the summons from the court.

Another novelty of the registration procedure is the obligation to keep registration files of entities only in electronic form. This means the possibility of free and quick access to the registry files via the IT system. It is not necessary now to schedule an appointment to visit the court in order to view the files and make photocopies of them, as the entity’s file is available online. On the other hand, the paper-based registration files kept so far shall not be converted into electronic files. This means that the registration files of companies established before July 1, 2021 will still be in a paper form and their disclosure will still take place in the old mode.

However, despite the introduction of an intuitive and easy to use new teleinformation system called the Portal Rejestrów Sądowych (https://prs.ms.gov.pl), this reform caused significant disruptions in the functioning of registry courts, such as, for example, unsuccessful migration previous cases to the new system, insufficient time devoted to training court personnel in working with the new system, problems with verifying the criminal record of persons in the National Court Register, no automatic transfer of data from applications to draft decisions on entry.

Moreover, problems of both a technical and legal nature, which were not foreseen by the authors of the amendment and the people implementing its assumptions, have come to light. A number of technical solutions do not have any practical justification, e.g. the impossibility of introducing notarial deeds into the PRS system that have not been entered into the Central Repository (CREWAN), the impossibility of pasting text fragments into the application field to the National Court Register, unclear rules for delivering service on registration matters, etc. .

Nevertheless, despite the existing problems and shortcomings, most of the professional community assesses the reform positively, as it contributes to the quick recognition of applications and making entries in the Register of Entrepreneurs of the National Court Register.

We encourage Polish and foreign entrepreneurs to contact the lawyers of our Law Firm in matters of registration of entities or changes in the Register of Entrepreneurs of the National Court Register. All applications should be sent to the following address: [email protected]