Archives: Aktualności członków

Application of Hilti devices in technical rescue

Warsaw, December 2019 – They enable rescuers to quickly reach casualties in situations when every second is crucial. Hilti devices help firefighters save precious time during rescue operations.

Hilti devices, extremely effective on the construction site, are used also in the event of natural disasters and during rescue and firefighting operations. They are reliable even in such difficult working conditions as those that firefighters have to cope with, supported by Hilti Polska, e.g. as part of #HiltiRatuje campaign. “Fire can spread very rapidly and intensively, which is why it is so important to get to its source quickly. Unfortunately, reality does not make it easy for us”, says Łukasz Wagner, FSC Business Development Manager at Hilti and a firefighter in the Chotomów Volunteer Fire Service.

Time is crucial

“Our basic task is technical rescue, that is enabling access to the injured” – says Łukasz Wagner. “To this end, firefighters must overcome a number of obstacles, often working in dangerous and rapidly changing conditions. During a fire, high temperature and smoke are as dangerous to human life and health as flames. Every second matters.”

Light and reliable

Hilti devices facilitate and accelerate the daily work of the Volunteer Fire Service team from Chotomów. The light and durable SR 6-A22 reciprocating saw used with special heavy duty Fire&Rescue saw blades enables cutting very thick metal, e.g. when pulling casualties out of crashed vehicles. The powerful and versatile AG 125-A22 angle grinder with a brushless motor enables quick cutting of padlocks and bolts. When it comes to removing life-threatening steel elements, it is recommended to use the SCM 22 circular saw that enables sparkless and – most importantly – cold cutting. For the toughest tasks, such as cutting window grates or hard concrete materials, firefighters use the compact and light DSH 600-X petrol saw. Firefighters often work in conditions that require additional lighting of the area. The SL 6-A22 jobsite lamp with a rotating head is a perfect solution in such situations.

All these devices are compatible with the same battery, which ensures convenient work. “We don’t even have to take the power generator out. Everything we need is in one tool case, so we save a lot of time” – emphasizes Łukasz Prusinowski, a firefighter from the Chotomów Volunteer Fire Service.

The Chotomów Volunteer Fire Service has a long tradition, dating back to 1918. Besides firefighting, for many years the Volunteer Fire Service actively participated in the life of the local community and was engaged in the national liberation movement. Currently, the Chotomów Volunteer Fire Service can boast of highly qualified staff and state-of-the art equipment. Hilti Polska is pleased to support such a rapidly growing organization.

https://www.hilti.pl/content/hilti/E3/PL/pl/o_nas/media-relations/media-releases/informacja-prasowa-2019—hilti-ratuje.html

The end of the year and the start of a new one is a time when not only the employers but also the employees begin to think about their tax reporting obligations. The tax obligations of some of the taxpayers, in particular those of the foreign nationals, are often less clearly understood than those of the Polish citizens. Non-Polish taxpayers run up against a number of barriers, including language skills and the difficulty getting through the relevant tax rules. Neither bodes well for successful compliance with their tax reporting requirements.

The questions often asked include:

• which part of their income should be reported in which country?
• when to file their tax returns in Poland and when in their home country?
• what must a correctly completed tax return of a tax resident include?
• how to account for income earned under different agreements?

Uncertainty may arise especially with regard to the position of those foreign nationals who are employed in Poland or who carry on business activity here. To help clear up some of the doubts you may have, we have prepared answers to frequently asked questions. These are based on common scenarios and should go some way, we hope, towards finding the right solutions and clearing up confusion surrounding your tax obligations.

It is good to ask for help.

Marek Gadacz
Partner at Crido

+48 22 324 56 22
marek.gadacz@crido.pl

https://crido.pl/en/hottopic/personal-income-tax-pit-for-foreign-nationals-q-and-a/

GESSEL is proud to have supported BNP Paribas Bank Polska S.A. in yet another investment – a new round of financing for Dafo Plastics S.A.

GESSEL already worked with BNP Paribas on its original investment in Dafo Plastics in 2018. The funds accrued from this round will be applied by Dafo towards boosting its production capacity.

GESSEL advised on preparation of the transaction documentation and on the closing. Our team was led by Krzysztof Jasiński, senior associate, with input from Paulina Maciąg, trainee attorney and overall supervision by Małgorzata Badowska, partner.

BNP Paribas is a leading European bank with a large international footprint, pursuing – through its various affiliates – operations in 74 countries, relying on a workforce of over 190,000 employees (including over 146,000 in Europe). It prides itself on being a strong local bank with global outreach; in 2017, it ranked seventh in Poland in terms of assets. For five years, its Polish branch has been operating an equity investments office – in effect a small fund through which the Bank invests in small and medium-sized Polish companies.

Dafo Plastics, founded 27 years ago, manufactures plastic bottles, jars, tubes and a variety of caps, lids etc. for customers in, among other sectors, the cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries.

https://gessel.pl/de/news/gessel-advises-bnp-paribas-bank-polska-s-a-on-a-new-round-of-financing-for-dafo-plastics-s-a/

The Responsible Business Forum has opened the submission of corporate social responsibility and sustainability practices to be included in the latest 18th edition of the report “Responsible Business in Poland. Good Practices.” Both the submission and the publication are free for the reporting companies. Good practices can be registered until 10 January 2020 using an online form available at: http://odpowiedzialnybiznes.pl/raport2019. The reported good practices need to be related to initiatives implemented in the territory of Poland, and should be described and submitted in Polish.

The report “Responsible business in Poland. Good Practices” is Poland’s largest overview of responsible business efforts within a year. Its most extensive part is devoted to CSR activities implemented by companies. Good practices can be reported until 10 January 2020 by completing an online form available at http://odpowiedzialnybiznes.pl/raport2019. The good practices which qualify to be included in the report (more than 1500 in the previous edition) combine into a positive business impact map. They offer an extensive range of inspirations for other organizations looking to implement CSR solutions. The list of reporting entities provides an overview of different types of businesses which use the report as an opportunity to disseminate information about their initiatives on a wider scale.

The publication will have its debut on 16 April 2020 during the 8th edition of the CSR Marketplace which is the largest CSR and sustainable development event in Poland (http://odpowiedzialnybiznes.pl/targicsr/, FREE ADMISSION).

“The report brings together a unique group of businesses which show us how to put CSR into practice, so we are all the more happy to see that their number is increasing year by year. More than 200 companies from all over Poland submitted their CSR activities for the latest edition, and more than 1500 good practices have been described in our report.  Drawing up such an overview takes a lot of effort from our organization, but it is still the only initiative of its kind in Poland. It is a much-needed source of inspiration not only for business, but also for other sectors looking for opportunities to enter into cooperation that would contribute to the sustainable development of our country. We encourage all organizations to join in and submit their CSR and sustainability initiatives implemented in 2019” says Marzena Strzelczak, Director General of Responsible Business Forum.

Submission and new regulations

Both new and long-established practices can be submitted for the report. New practices include examples of CSR initiatives which have not yet been described in any of the reports published by the Responsible Business Forum, and were implemented by companies in 2019. Long-established practices are the ones which have been described in at least one of the reports published to date, and were continued in 2019.

This year a limit has been imposed on the number of new practices. Each company may submit up to 10 new initiatives for the report. There is no limit on the long-established practices. To qualify for the report, such a practice needs to have been described in one of the previous editions of the report “Responsible Business in Poland. Good Practices” (the practices submitted to date are listed online at: http://odpowiedzialnybiznes.pl/dobre-praktyki/).

The CSR initiatives and projects showcased in the Report are divided into 7 areas identified in the ISO 26000 standard:

• corporate governance,
• labour practices,
• human rights,
• environment,
• fair operating practices,
• consumer issues,
• community involvement and development.

The submission and publication of good practices is free. Good practices can be registered by completing an online form available at: http://odpowiedzialnybiznes.pl/raport2019/ until and including 10 January 2020.

In order to qualify for the report, a good practice needs to conform to the concept / fundamental premises of corporate social responsibility. The submissions undergo final verification by the Review Committee composed of Responsible Business Forum representatives and chaired by Marzena Strzelczak, Director General.

To learn more about the submission and edition of good practices, online form completion and report publication, contact Marta Borowska, Project Manager, Responsible Business Forum (phone: 22 627 18 71, email: marta.borowska@fob.org.pl).

The report “Responsible business in Poland. Good Practices” is the most important cyclical publication of the Responsible Business Forum, published since 2002. The report presents an overview of activities carried out by companies which reported on their CSR practices and a summary of key issues of responsible business in Poland for the year under review. The introductory section features expert articles and commentaries. Moreover, each publication contains an overview of selected press articles and a calendar of CSR events. The previous editions are available online at: http://odpowiedzialnybiznes.pl/publikacje/?type=114.

This time, GESSEL advised BNP Paribas Bank Polska S.A. on its investment in Asprod sp. z o.o. (a bakery and baked goods retail chain in Western Pomerania). Of the 15 deals closed by the Bank in Poland to date (7 of which involved GESSEL as counsel), this has been the largest. Asprod plans to apply the funds accrued from this transaction towards construction of a new bakery, doubling its output.

As always, GESSEL assisted its Client on many fronts, performing due diligence, drafting the requisite documentation and providing support at closing. Krzysztof Jasiński, senior associate and Mateusz Bąk, associate worked on the deal proper, and Michał Boryczka, managing associate attended to the due diligence. Overall supervision on GESSEL’s part was by Małgorzata Badowska, partner.

BNP Paribas is a leading European bank with a large international footprint, pursuing – through its various affiliates – operations in 74 countries, relying on a workforce of over 190,000 employees (including over 146,000 in Europe). It prides itself on being a strong local bank with global outreach; in 2017, it ranked seventh in Poland in terms of assets. For five years, its Polish branch has been operating an equity investments office – in effect a small fund through which the Bank invests in small and medium-sized Polish companies (12 to date, in some cases with more than one financing rounds).

Asprod has been in operation since 1991, producing bread and pastries and distributing them across the Western Pomeranian, Lubuskie and Wielkopolskie regions. In 2018, Asprod achieved a PLN 6.3 million net profit from revenue of PLN 104 million. Almost two-thirds of its sales are channelled through Asprod’s network of over 60 own retail points.

https://gessel.pl/en/news/gessel-as-counsel-to-bank-bnp-paribas/

GESSEL is proud to have provided legal support to the LUX MED Group, a leading provider of private medical care in Poland, in its acquisition of the Optimum Head and Neck Clinic in Warsaw.
 

GESSEL performed due diligence, drafted the transaction documentation, and provided all-around advice in successive stages of the project. Our team was led by Michał Boryczka, managing associate and comprised Erazm Dutkiewicz and Piotr Tracz.

“Thank you so much for your support !  The transaction has now been closed, and – all along – we felt safe in the knowledge that a team like yours has our backs !  We do appreciate your support, and we look forward to more shared successes in the future.
Thank you Michał!”

Bartosz Wiśniewski,
Director, Acquisitions and Development Department, LUX MED.

“I was very happy at this opportunity to advise LUX MED on yet another transaction. By taking over the Optimum Clinic, LUX MED significantly boosts its capacity for treatment of head and neck conditions in the Warsaw region. We are grateful to LUX MED for their trust and for the possibility to join them in this project, and I hope that, soon enough, we can work with them on new acquisitions!”  

Michał Boryczka,
managing associate

The LUX MED Group is a leader in the Polish private healthcare market and a member of Bupa, the global insurer and healthcare provider. LUX MED offers a full range of outpatient, diagnostic, rehabilitation, hospital, and long-term medical care services; the present acquisition of Optimum marks another step in the expansion of LUX MED’s scale of operations. 

The Optimum Head and Neck Clinic is a state-of-the-art medical facility specialising in laryngology and in treatment of upper respiratory tract, head, and neck conditions in children and adults. Its diagnostic and preventative offering is augmented by modern surgical treatments. The Optimum Clinic staff comprises almost 70 persons, among them 50 physicians specialising in laryngology, head and neck surgery, audiology and phoniatrics, allergies, endocrinology, ultrasound diagnosis, dermatology, and plastic and aesthetic surgery of the face.

https://gessel.pl/en/news/gessel-advises-the-lux-med-group-on-another-transaction/

 

What is worth taking care of in the first quarter of 2020 to have a peaceful year?

Dear Taxpayer,

The new regulations on transfer pricing, in addition to documentary simplifications, significantly increase the scope of information to be provided to tax authorities. What will the new reporting look like? What do you have to watch out for, when using document exemptions? How do tax authorities interpret the new regulations? With the new year, without proper preparation in the coming months, many questions that will be difficult to find answers to may arise. If you do not want to put yourself at risk and if you want to enter the New Year with the right package of necessary knowledge and peace, take part in our webinar, that will take place on December 11, 2019 (Wednesday) from 9:30 to 11:00 (the event will be held in Polish).

During the webinar, CRIDO experts will bring up the following issues:

• new thresholds and TP documentation exemptions– traps, practice, latest interpretations
• TP statement on compliance with arm’s length principle – who signs, who is responsible for what and what sanctions can be imposed?
• TP-R reporting – why should it be completed in advance?
• new transfer pricing adjustments – what should you pay special attention to?
• safe harbours – who can actually use, what documentation is required and what are the most common errors?
• transfer pricing audits – latest statistics
• how to manage tax risk in the context of new regulations on transfer pricing?

What will the webinar participant find out?

• when you are not obliged to prepare transfer pricing documentation?
• who and to what extent is now responsible for transfer pricing in companies?
• what data we should provide to the tax administration in the TP-R form and why it is better to analyse this earlier?
• how to perform a transfer pricing adjustment safely?
• why it is better to update benchmarks earlier than later?
• what are the conditions for exemption from having a benchmark?
• how to prepare for changes? 

Speakers:

Michał Szwed
Partner in the transfer pricing team at CRIDO
Michal.Szwed@crido.pl

Justyna Jóźwiak
Senior manager in the transfer pricing team at CRIDO
Justyna.Jozwiak@crido.pl

 

 

Contact to the organizer:

Izabela Rożek

e-mail: Izabela.Rozek@crido.pl

tel: +48 22 324 59 04

More information and registration:

https://crido.pl/events/webinar-nowy-rok-nowe-postanowienia-nowe-przepisy-o-cenach-transferowych-nowe-raportowanie-tp-r-dokumentacja-sankcje-o-co-warto-zadbac-w-pierwszym-kwartale-2020-roku-by-miec-spokojn/

Patronage:

ACCA

 

GESSEL had the pleasure of representing the Inovo Venture Partners fund in the round A investment in Tidio Poland. Our lawyers provided support during legal due diligence and in negotiations of the investment agreement.

The transaction involving Inovo Venture Partners and Tidio Poland was another project completed using GESSEL’s model VC documentation, which is well on its way to becoming a market standard (https://gessel.pl/vc-start-up-zone/).

Inovo Venture Partners is a venture capital fund specialising in fast-growing technology companies in the CEE region. In 2018, it was honoured by the Startup Poland Foundation as the best VC investor in the country (Złota Księga Venture Capital w Polsce 2018).

Tidio Poland is a Szczecin-based developer of live chat tools supported by chatbots which rely on AI and machine learning to automate communications between businesses and their customers. The solution has already been implemented on more than 140,000 internet servers around the world.

The GESSEL team working on this project was led by Michał Bochowicz, managing associate and Weronika Zdeb, senior associate, with Marta Grabiec, senior associate, Bartosz Kolarz, associate, Katarzyna Matyszewska, associate and Mateusz Bąk, associate contributing and Małgorzata Badowska, partner responsible for the entire project.

“I welcomed this opportunity to advise Inovo Venture Partners on the next round of financing for Tidio, and we thank the Fund for its trust and for the privilege of participating in this project. In its documentation and negotiation aspects, this has been a demanding transaction, and our firm’s knowledge and experience stood us in good stead, enabling us to secure a successful outcome.”

Michał Bochowicz,
Managing associate

https://gessel.pl/en/news/gessel-advises-inovo-venture-partners-on-the-next-round-of-financing-for-tidio-poland/

We have noticed a growing interest among Polish enterprises in the secondment of employees to Germany in recent years. This applies especially to employees who are not European Union citizens. Rödl & Partner takes a step forward to meet your expectations and invites you to a legal/tax seminar to explain procedures and risks related to employee secondment.

Date and place: 11 December 2019, Gdańsk

• 09:30 – 10:00 – Registration, welcome coffee
• 10:00 – 11:15 – Current situation on the Ukrainian labour market, secondment of Ukrainian workers to EU Member States
• 11:15 – 11:30 – Coffee break
• 11:30 – 12:30 – Employee secondment to Germany – legal framework of employee secondment to Germany based on the German Employee Secondment Act, the rules for obtaining a “van der Elst” visa, changes to German legislation
• 12:30 – 13:15 – Social insurance of seconded employees, A1 procedure
• 13:15 – 13:30 – Coffee break
• 13:30 – 14:30 – Tax aspects of secondment: difference between secondment and business travel, the 183-day rule and more – identification of tax residence of seconded employees and withholding agents’ obligations, social insurance of seconded employees (withholding agents’ obligations, sanctions for no A1 form)
• 14:30 – 15:00 – Q&A, discussion14:30 – 15:00 – Pytania i rozmowy

SPEAKERS:

Dr. Beata Pankowska-Lier, Attorney at Law (Polen), Rödl & Partner Kiev

Jagna Bronk, Senior Lawyer, Rödl & Partner Gdańsk

Bartłomiej Wasiak, Tax Adviser, Rödl & Partner Gdańsk

Joanna Frąckiewicz, Migrant Department Manager, Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) Gdańsk

REGISTRATION:

Application deadline: 9/12/2019. You can register via website.

The condition of participation is to receive confirmation by email about registration.

The seminar will be held in Polish on 11/12/2019 at 9:30-15:00 at al. Grunwaldzka 472B, Olivia Four (Mars room)  in  Gdańsk.

*The event is free. Coffee and cold buffet will be served during breaks. Please note that the number of places is limited and you are not registered until you receive an e-mail confirmation.

The lawmakers have recently added many new regulations to the Value Added Tax Act to seal the VAT system.  More changes to that statute are scheduled to come into force on 1 January 2020 – the so-called quick fixes which significantly modify the rules of accounting for VAT on international trade in goods. To raise your awareness of the related risks, Rödl & Partner’s experts have designed a seminar “VAT changes at Community level – quick fixes”.

AGENDA

• 09:30 – 10:00 – Registration, welcome coffee
• 10:00 – 10:45 – Simplified chain transactions
• 10:45 – 11:00 – Coffee break
• 11:00 – 11:45 – Harmonized rules of taxation of consignment stocks – call-off stock procedure
• 11:45 – 12:00 – Coffee break
• 12:00 – 12:45 – New requirements to zero-rate intra-Community transactions
• 12:45 – 13:00 – Q&A, discussion

INSTRUCTORS:

Bartłomiej Wasiak, Tax Adviser, Rödl & Partner Gdańsk

REGISTRATION:

Register on website by 6 December 2019.

The seminar will be held on 9 December 2019 at ul. Grunwaldzka 472B in Olivia Four (Mars room) in Gdańsk.

You have to receive a confirmation e-mail to be able to participate.

We look forward to seeing you there!

*The participation fee is PLN 200 + 23% VAT per person. The participation fee for Rödl & Partner clients, Cresa Polska sp. z o.o., Konica Minolta Business Solutions Polska Sp. z o.o. and members of “Pracodawcy Pomorza” is PLN 100 + 23% VAT per person. Coffee and cold buffet will be served during breaks. Please note that the number of places is limited and you are not registered until you receive an e-mail confirmation.