The new anti-crisis law, called the Anti-crisis Package 4.0, has been in force since 24 June 2020 and provides for co-financing of interests for companies, control over the M&A market, as well as facilitations for employers.
Temporary provisions against M&A activities will be introduced under the new law in order to protect Polish companies from acquisitions by investors outside Europe and the OECD. Company valuations may be lower due to COVID-19 and therefore they become an easy target. The Anti-crisis Package 4.0 aims to protect Polish companies by controlling the acquisitions of a significant number of shares, i.e. at least 20%.
The new act applies to entities of high importance for the maintenance of safety, order and public health, i.e. those that carry out commercial activities related to electricity, gas, fuels, telecommunications, entities which create software for fundamental services or public companies.
The new law also includes the co-financing of interests from the state budget on bank loans for enterprises. Entrepreneurs affected by the effects of COVID-19 will have the opportunity to obtain loans at a reduced interest rate. The amount to be granted for subsidies amounts to PLN 565 million and it is estimated that it will allow to obtain loans for a total value of around PLN 32 billion.
In addition, the Anti-crisis Package 4.0 provides for the right to so-called credit holiday, which consists in the suspension of the loan repayment for the maximum period of 3 months, without accumulating interests or other fees. The right to benefit from this provision is for people who have lost their jobs or other major sources of income after 13 March 2020.
The new regulations also include support for maintaining the level of employment by adapting the labor market to the challenges posed by COVID-19. The government proposed various solutions, including:
- specify the rules of remote work;
- allow the employer, during the epidemic state, to send an employee on overdue holiday, even without his consent;
- allow the resolution of non-competition agreements during the epidemic emergency period or the epidemic state;
- possibility to receive support from the Guaranteed Employee Benefits Fund, including entities that, despite the reduction in turnover caused by COVID-19, have not decided to subject employees to suspension of economic activity or reduced working hours;
- allow a reduction in the employee's working time or cover the employee with the suspension of economic activities in the event of a significant increase in charges related to the employer's compensation fund due to the COVID-19 epidemic.
The new act also provides for other changes in the public procurement sector, which will make it possible to reduce the costs of contractors' participation in tender procedures, as well as to improve their financial liquidity in the execution phase of the public contract.
Tax reliefs were also inserted in the Package 4.0, including the right to deduct tax from some donations or to support for the budgets of local governments, which are currently recording a reduction in revenues.