On 4 July the Polish Parliament amended the Act on Competition and Consumer Protection. The most important changes concerning geo-blocking and access to fiscal and banking secrets came into force on 17 September. Others will take effect in January 2020.
“The amendments concern several important issues. Firstly, they result from the need to adjust national law to EU law after the ban on geo-blocking has entered into force. Secondly, they are to facilitate UOKiK’s work – enforcing regulations, conducting proceedings and imposing penalties. Access to fiscal and banking secrets will make the Office even more effective. As a result, consumers, honest entrepreneurs and farmers will benefit”, says Marek Niechciał, President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK).
The President of UOKiK gained access to fiscal secrets. He is able to exercise the right as part of proceedings in the scope of competition and consumer protection and unfair use of contractual advantage. This makes it easier for the President of the Office to estimate and impose penalties for infringements whose amount depends on the company’s turnover from the previous year.
“A problem arises when an entrepreneur does not collect correspondence from UOKiK, does not respond to our calls and does not provide data on the amount of turnover. Sometimes we have to verify submitted information, e.g. with the tax office, and often the data are covered by fiscal secrecy “, says Marek Niechciał, President of UOKiK.
“The new regulations may also be helpful in determining whether an entrepreneur is currently conducting business activity, in the process of enforcing a penalty and in proceedings concerning so-called financial pyramid schemes. In the latter case, documents obtained from the tax authorities may make it possible to determine whether the financing of remuneration that a consumer may receive depends on amounts paid by successive members of the scheme”, he adds.
The amendment also extends the powers of the President of the Office to access banking secrets. The President had already had access to them in consumer protection, competition and state aid proceedings.
Cooperation between the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection and the Polish Financial Supervision Authority will also improve. The Office will be able to share information obtained in the course of its investigations with the Authority. This will make it possible to combat violations of the law committed by companies in the financial sector more effectively.
