Anti-crisis shield and obligations of payment service providers towards NBP and KNF
We would like to inform you that the regulations issued on the basis of art. 15zzg (1) and (2) and art. 15 zzh (1) Act of March 2, 2020 on special arrangements for the prevention, prevention and combating of COVID-19, other infectious diseases and crisis situations caused by them (O.J. pos. 374, 567 and 568) called the “anti-crisis shield„.
NBP
- PAYMENT SERVICES ACT. Pursuant to the Ordinance of the Minister of Finance of April 7, 2020 on setting other deadlines for the performance of certain reporting and information obligations (O.J. of 2020 pos. 622) acquirers (Article 14a § 2 of the Payment Services Act), publishers of payment instruments (Art. 14b § 3 of the Payment Services Act) and the issuer of electronic money (art. 14c § 3 of the Payment Services Act) now has until May 14, 2020 to provide quarterly information to the National Bank of Poland on the scale of operations. In the normal course of business, this information would have to be provided by April 30, 2020.
In turn, until May 31, 2020, the deadline for submitting quarterly information to the NBP on the scale of business activity of a payment organisation referred to art. 132zq § 1 and 3 of the Payment Services Act.
Please remember to keep the extended reporting deadlines to the NBP. We would like to remind you that failure to provide the NBP with the required information may result in a fine of up to PLN 1,000,000 (art. 153a of the Payment Services Act).
- FOREIGN EXCHANGE LAW. Pursuant to the Ordinance of the Minister of Finance of April 22, 2020 on the determination of other deadlines for the submission of reports to the National Bank of Poland, the deadlines for the submission of data necessary for the preparation of the balance of payments and the international investment position, as referred to in the Ordinance implementing art. 30 § 3 of the foreign exchange law (which may also apply to payment service providers in individual cases), among others for:
- residents with total assets and liabilities exceeding PLN 300 million (as defined in the Regulation)
- for April, May and June 2020 by 14 days and for March by May 4, 2020.
- natural persons holding assets or liabilities not related to the business activity specified in the forms, to the Regulation, and whose total amount at the end of the year exceeds PLN 7 million, and residents showing the total amount of assets and liabilities above PLN 10 but below PLN 300 million, as well as residents and entrepreneurs conducting canter activity referred to in § 8-10 of the Regulation to Art. 30. Mouth. 3 foreign exchange law
- for the 1st and 2nd quarter of 2020 by 14 days, whereas for entrepreneurs conducting cantor activity for the 1st quarter – by April 30, 2020.
By the way, we point out that the reporting deadlines for public finance sector entities and investment companies indicated in the Regulation have also been extended.
Polish Financial Supervision Authority
- In accordance with art 31za anti-crisis shield, the course of time limits for the Financial Supervision Authority to take actions, including supervisory actions, deadlines for settling cases and deadlines for issuing a decision or order terminating proceedings in the case or filing an objection shall not be commenced and shall be suspended until the date of revoking an epidemic hazard or state of epidemics, unless the Financial Supervision Authority issues a decision settling the case, performs actions, issues a decision or order terminating proceedings in the case or filing an objection. In so far as is not covered by this Article, Article 15zzs anti-crisis shield. This provision is a general rule for not commencing or suspending time limits in individual proceedings. This rule shall also apply to the limitation period for the administrative fine imposed by the PFSA referred to in Article 189g § 1 and 3 of the Act of June 14, 1960 – Code of Administrative Procedure.
- We also know that the extension until May 31, 2020, unification of the deadlines for the settlement of payments for financial services over electronic money institutions, in the scope of activities related to the issuing of electronic money, as well as fees for some activities of the Polish Financial Supervision Authority incidental for the month of April 2020 r. (§ 16 of the Regulation of the Minister of Finance of April 7, 2020).
In response to the inquiry from the Law Firm as to whether the deadlines for reporting to the Polish Financial Supervision Authority are also extended, the Department of Cooperative Savings and Credit Banks and Payment Institutions wrote off that due to the objectively difficult situation of the overall financial market, the Polish Financial Supervision Authority will take into account justified delays in the fulfilment of obligations under the Payment Services Act by payment institutions and other payment services market institutions.
Should you have any additional questions about these problems, please do not hesitate to contact us.