One of the troubles of business in Poland is late payment to subcontractors. The Chairman of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, Tomasz Chrostny, imposed fines totaling almost PLN 8 million on Volkswagen Poznań and Solaris Bus & Coach for causing delays in payments.
Many large companies provide for extended payment terms in contracts with suppliers. This gives them benefits comparable to borrowing or credit, but they don’t have to pay for capital. Subcontractors and contractors agree to such clauses because it is often a non-negotiable condition: non-agreement means that a major contract will not be awarded. However, market practice leaves much to be desired: many companies, even those in good financial standing, do not pay deferred invoices on time, which puts their counterparties in a very difficult position. Late payments can lead to payment delays, which often prove insurmountable for small businesses and lead to their insolvency.
The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) fines for late payments
The president of the Competition and Consumer Authority fined two large companies for this behavior. The punished persons are Volkswagen Poznań, a vehicle manufacturer, and Solaris Bus & Coach, a bus manufacturer. These are the latest entrepreneurs working in the broadly defined automotive industry - both manufacturing and retail - to be punished for causing payment delays.
The fine for Volkswagen Poznań amounted to more than 4.7 million zlotys. During the investigation, it was established that in just three audited months, the entrepreneur was overdue for repayment of bills by almost 1.7 thousand. contractors. A second fine of more than PLN 3 million was imposed on Solaris Bus & Coach, which paid more than PLN 32,000 after the deadline between July and September 2020. invoices for almost 1.7 thousand contractors.
During 2023, the Chairman of the Office issued 52 decisions against entrepreneurs who do not pay their contractors on time, and imposed financial penalties on them amounting to more than PLN 40 million.
– Payment delays are one of the biggest problems of the Polish economy. It is also a barrier to doing business for small entrepreneurs as it increases costs and reduces employment and investment. Timely collection of receivables and associated financial liquidity are the main conditions for the survival of small companies. That’s why fighting traffic jams is so important - said the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection Tomasz Chrostny.
Initiated proceedings
In 2023, the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection initiated administrative proceedings against another 30 companies whose payment discipline raised the greatest doubts as a result of the analyzes carried out. These are: Adient Seating Polska, Amcor Specialty Cartons Polska, Arcelormittal Warszawa, Avon Operations Polska, Carlsberg Supply Company Polska, Cetes Cosmetics Poland, Contimax, Electra M&E Polska, Elektrobudowa, Eurogate Logistics, Federal-Mogul Gorzyce, GKN Driveline Polska, wholesale of electrical goods . Kopel, Ins-El, Leroy-Merlin Polska, Liugong Dressta Machinery, Marelli Aftermarket Poland, Medicare Galenica, Neptun, Newag, Nowel, Prima Sosnowiec Complex Plastic Systems, Rawicka Fabryka Wyposaczenia Wagonów “Rawag”, Signify Poland, Superior Industries Production Poland, Valeo Autosystemy, Velvet Care, Vestas-Poland, Volvo Polska, Wawrzaszek Iss.
Source: Wprost
I am George Brown, author at Daily News Hack. I mostly cover economy news and I have been doing this for quite some time now. I have a lot of experience in this field and I’m always looking for new opportunities to learn more.
