Administrative Fines for Excessive Delays in Fulfilling Monetary Obligations as an Instrument to Combat Economic Crisis

Abstract

The increasing phenomenon of delayed payment of obligations and the use of extended payment terms in contracts prompted the legislator to seek more radical solutions than those stipulated in the Act on countering excessive delays in commercial transactions, in the form of private law instruments aimed at reducing payment backlogs. Since 2020, this goal has been pursued through the imposition of administrative fines for excessive delays in fulfilling monetary obligations by the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection. The passage of 3.5 years since the enactment of the amendment to the law allows for an assessment of the functioning of the new regulation. The purpose of the article was to determine whether the legal regulation of administrative fines is effective, i.e. whether it has contributed to reducing payment backlogs and, therefore, whether it can be considered one of the effective methods for combating the economic crisis. The research problem was explained based on the analysis of statistical data concerning the timeliness of financial commitments by entrepreneurs, the analysis of decisions issued by the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, and information obtained from entrepreneurs. These studies led to the conclusion that the described regulation did not contribute to reducing payment backlogs; however, an improvement in this situation can be expected when proceedings before the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection can be conducted based on the amended provisions in 2022. It does not seem possible, though, for administrative fines for excessive delays in fulfilling monetary obligations to be an effective tool for combating an economic crisis.