The cancellation of the state of epidemic emergency

On June 16, 2023, the Regulation of the Minister of Health of June 14, 2023 on the cancellation of the state of epidemic emergency in the territory of the Republic of Poland entered into force. Under this regulation, on July 1, 2023, the state of epidemic emergency introduced on May 16, 2022 by virtue of the Regulation of the Minister of Health of May 12, 2022 on declaring an epidemic emergency in the territory of the Republic of Poland was revoked. The abolition of the state of epidemic emergency causes a number of consequences now and in the near future. Below we present the most important of them.

• As a result of the abolition of the state of epidemic emergency, employees are required to have up-to-date periodic medical examinations. They have 180 days from the date of revoking the state of pandemic emergency to undergo such examinations.
• After the end of the state of epidemic emergency, it is no longer possible to conduct OHS training (Occupational health and safety training) remotely. If the obligation to conduct the training falls within 30 days from the date of revoking the state of epidemic emergency, the employer will have 60 days to conduct such training.
• From July 1, the amount of severance pay due to an employee for collective redundancy has returned to the pre-pandemic standard and amounts to a maximum of fifteen times the minimum remuneration for work.
• From the employer’s perspective, it is also important that art. 98 of the Act of April 16, 2020 on special support instruments in connection with the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus is no longer in force; for the duration of the state of epidemic and epidemic emergency the act excluded the possibility of recognizing as delivered an uncollected registered letter in the notification date, which is specified in the postal notification (so-called double notification).
• The employer, after 3 months from the date of revoking of the state of epidemic emergency, will no longer have the right to make the employee work remotely pursuant to art. 67(13) §3 point 2 of the Labour Code, i.e. due to the fact that the state of epidemic emergency was revoked.
• With the cessation of the state of epidemic emergency, the right indicated in art. 15ge of the Act of March 2, 2020 on special solutions related to the prevention and combating of COVID-19, other infectious diseases and crisis situations caused by them, is no longer in force; the right made it possible to suspend the following obligations under the Act in the event of a decrease in economic turnover or a significant increase in the burden on the remuneration fund of March 4, 1994 on the company social benefits fund: creation or functioning of the company social benefits fund, making a basic write-off, payment of holiday benefits.
• The deadline for submitting an application for a temporary residence permit, permanent residence permit or residence permit for a long-term EU resident will be resumed after 30 days from the day following the day on which the state of epidemic emergency was revoked. People who, due to the provisions of the so-called Covid-19 Act stayed legally in the territory of the Republic of Poland as part of visa-free travel or on the basis of a long-term visa issued by another EU country on the day when the state of epidemic emergency was first announced, have 30 days from July 1, 2023 to legalize their stay.
• The period of validity of the work permit has been restored. If it has expired during the state of epidemic emergency, it is extended until the end of the 30th day following the date of revoking of the state of epidemic emergency. An application for extending the validity of the work permit should be submitted no later than on the last day of validity of the extended work permit.
• As a result of the loss of validity of the art. 31y of so-called Covid -19 Act, from August it is mandatory to report national tax schemes. The reporting obligation will cover both past and current tax schemes.
• After two months from July 1, when the state of epidemic emergency was revoked, it will no longer be possible to use the tax residence certificate issued in 2019. The tax residence certificate will therefore be valid under the rules from before the COVID-19 pandemic, i.e. in the absence of date of validity indicated in the certificate, it will be valid for 12 months.
• The deadline for reporting payments to an account that is not on the white list will be 7 days, instead of the 14-day deadline applicable in the state of epidemic emergency.
• The deadline for issuing an individual interpretation will again be three months, as the provision extending the deadline by another three months due to the state of epidemic emergency will cease to apply.
• In the field of transfer pricing in the case of creating transfer pricing documentation for 2024 and subsequent years it will no longer be possible to apply the following simplifications: exemption from the obligation to deliver a statement of a related entity on making an adjustment, regarding the adjustment made for the tax year or at the time when the state of COVID-19 epidemic emergency was in force; limitation of the people authorized to sign the transfer pricing statement. These simplifications can still be used when preparing transfer pricing documentation for 2023.

As a result of the entry into force of art.10 and art. 23 of the Act of March 9, 2023, amending the Act on competition and consumer protection and certain other acts (Journal of Laws of 2023, item 852) on August 6, 2023, certificates of disability or regarding the degree of disability, issued on the basis of art. 15h so-called of the Anti-Crisis Shield of March 2, 2020, the validity period of which would expire:

• until December 31, 2020 – are valid until December 31, 2023,
• in the period from January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2021 – are valid until March 31, 2024,
• in the period from January 1, 2022 to August 5, 2023 – are valid until September 30, 2024.

– however, no longer than until the date of issuing a new final disability certificate or certificate regarding disability degree.

A certificate of disability or a certificate regarding the degree of disability, the validity of which will expire on August 6, 2023 or later, will not be extended. Their period of validity will end on the date specified in the certificate.

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