Acti-Crisis Act 6.0
On October 26, 2020, a parliamentary draft of the act on special solutions related to the prevention and combating of COVID-19, other infectious diseases and crisis situations caused by them was submitted for consideration (form no.704) i.e. Shield 6.0.
This project causes great emotions among entrepreneurs because it narrows the circle of potential beneficiaries of the act, compared to the regulations introduced this spring.
Below we present two of the most important – in our opinion – issues of the draft act.
Standstill Benefit
The Shield 6.0 regulations cover the industries to which the sanitary restrictions are introduced, therefore – as indicated in the justification to the draft act – these will be the following industries:
- gastronomic,
- fitness,
- organization of fairs,
- stage industry,
- film,
- entertainment and recreational,
- photographic,
- physioterapeutic.
The draft act provides for a one-time additional standstill benefit for those who document their running a business on September 30, 2020 in one of the industries listed above. However, the conditions for obtaining such benefit are:
- possession of the appropriate PKD number as the predominant activity,
- the operating income in October or November 2020 must be at least 40% lower than the income earned in October or November 2019.
It is worth noting that the list of PKD codes mentioned in the draft act includes only 20 items.
Exemptions from Social Security Contributions
The Shield 6.0 provides for exemption from the obligation to pay due contributions for social and health insurance, the Labour Fund, the Solidarity Fund, the Guaranteed Employee Benefits Fund or the “Bridge Pension” Fund for the period from November 1, 2020 to November 30, 2020.
Exemption from contributions is subject to several conditions:
- possession of the appropriate PKD number as the predominant activity,
- the activity must be documented to have been carried out on September 30, 2020,
- by June 30, 2020 the entity was to have been reported as a contribution payer,
- it is necessary to prove that the income, within the meaning of tax regulations, obtained in November 2020 was lower by at least 40% compared to the revenue obtained in November 2019.
In the Shield 6.0 project it was indicated that persons entitled to take advantage of the exemption from paying ZUS contributions for the period from November 1, 2020 to November 30, 2020 will have time to submit an application together with statements to ZUS no later than January 31, 2021.
The list of PKD codes indicated as a condition for taking advantage of the ZUS contribution exemption is longer by 5 codes, compared to the one relating to the standstill benefit. The justification of the draft does not explain why entrepreneurs conducting business with the predominant PKD code: 90.01.Z, 90.02.Z, 93.29.A, 93.29.B and 93.29.Z will not be able to take advantage of the standstill benefit, but will be able to apply for the exemption from paying ZUS contributions.
It remains to be hoped that the work on the Shield 6.0 draft will lead to the adoption of a legal act supporting the sectors affected by the recent sanitary restrictions as widely as possible.
