Late Payments in Poland: Economic and Legal Perspectives

Purpose: The primary purpose of this paper is to carry out a legal and economic analysis of payment bottlenecks in Poland vs. its EU peers. From an economic perspective, the authors analyzed changes in late payments, checked whether overdue invoices become increasingly common, and looked at the losses from uncollected payments in selected EU countries compared against Poland. In turn, when it comes to the legal perspective, the analysis was focused on the evolution of the EU’s legislative policy for late payments and on key challenges and problems related to policy implementation. Also, based on the example of the Polish legal system, this paper described the policy for combating late payment in commercial transactions. Approach/methodology/design: This paper deals with measures in place in EU and national legal systems. The analysis relied on descriptive statistics methods, comparative methods, and legal and historical methods. The authors used the relevant legal acts, the literature on the subject and statistical reports. Findings: While this study shows that overdue payments become less and less problematic in Europe, EU member countries strongly differ in the pace of that process and continue to incur considerable financial losses. Statistical data suggests that existing sanctions have failed to discourage fraudulent contractors, and the guaranteed means of legal protection for creditors have not contributed to tangible improvements in their actual situation. Practical implications: These considerations could be of use in designing an active legislative policy geared towards enabling a true comprehensive protection against the impacts of late payments in commercial transactions. Originality/value: This paper enhances and updates knowledge of legal and economic conditions for combating payment bottlenecks.