Electronic delivery (e-Delivery) is coming soon

Alert by a PKF expert (Rafał Sobera - Tax Advisory Manager).

e-Deliveries

Despite the original assumptions about the implementation of e-Delivery from December 10, 2023, it was decided to extend this obligation and, according to the latest legislative changes, the planned date for the mandatory implementation of e-Delivery is October 1, 2024.

What are e-Deliveries?

e-Delivery is a new, completely digital form of communication between entrepreneurs and public administration (public entities), which will be equivalent to registered mail with return receipt. It will enable entrepreneurs to send, receive and keep correspondence online. It differs from regular e-mail (it is separate from the e-mail address) in that it is a so-called trust service that guarantees security and certainty of legal consequences.

The e-Delivery service is provided exclusively by trust service providers: Poczta Polska S.A., as a public provider, and commercial non-public providers, entered in the register kept by the Minister of Digitization.

As the Ministry of Development and Technology points out, the e-Delivery service will guarantee:

• unambiguous identification of the sender and the recipient,
• the confidentiality of correspondence,
• non-falsification (integrity) of transmitted data,
• access to reliable and legally acceptable evidence of sending and receiving,
• access to information about the date and time of sending and receiving correspondence,
• ability to quickly determine the recipient's e-Delivery address

e-Delivery Mailbox

The platform for sending and receiving electronic correspondence , assigned to the e-Delivery address, has the following types:

• business - for correspondence of the organization where the user works,
• personal - for correspondence on individual matters of the citizen,
• shared - to handle correspondence of other users in their stead.

A mailbox in the Entrepreneur's Account will allow sending, receiving and storing messages, as well as access to addresses entered in the Database of electronic addresses. An Entrepreneur registered in CEIDG has the option to manage the mailbox himself or appoint an administrator, while an Entrepreneur registered in KRS is obliged to appoint a mailbox administrator.

The e-Correspondence box will eventually replace correspondence conducted via ePUAP.

Who is covered by e-Delivery?

· as of 1/10/2024:

Public entities:

a) Government administration authorities and budgetary units serving these authorities.

b) Other public authorities, including state control and law protection bodies, and budgetary units serving these bodies.

c) The Social Insurance Institution and the funds it manages, and the Agricultural Social Insurance Fund and the funds managed by the President of the Agricultural Social Insurance Fund.

d) The National Health Fund.

e) Executive agencies, budget economy institutions, state special purpose funds, independent public health care institutions, public universities, the Polish Academy of Sciences and organizational units created by it, state and local government cultural institutions, other state or local government legal entities created under separate laws to perform public functions.

f) Local government units and their unions and metropolitan unions, as well as local government budgetary establishments - with respect to the public service of registered electronic delivery.

Non-public entities:

a) Public professionals:

• advocate,
• attorney-at-law,
• tax advisor,
• restructuring advisor,
• patent attorney,
• notary public

· As of 1/01/2025:

a) Non-public entities applying for CEIDG entry after 1.01.2025;

· As of 30/09/2026 r.

b) Non-public Entities not having an electronic delivery address entered in the database of electronic addresses, entered in CEIDG.

· As of 1/01/2025:

a) Non-public entities registered in the National Court Register

· As of 1/01/2025:

a) Other public entities.

· As of 01/10/2029:

a) Local government units and their unions, as well as metropolitan unions and local government budget establishments - for the public hybrid service;

b) Courts, tribunals, bailiffs, prosecutors, law enforcement agencies and the Prison Service.

How to get an address for e-Delivery?

An application for the creation of an e-Delivery address can be submitted now. It should be filled out, signed electronically (by persons authorized to represent you or by a proxy authorized to submit the application) and submitted through the Business.gov.pl.

The application can be signed in one of the following ways:

• with a trusted profile,
• qualified signature,
• e-ID,
• electronic stamp.

The Minister of Digitization will inform about the setting up of the e-Delivery address and the mailbox (in a separate email with instructions for activating the e-Delivery address). Once the mailbox is activated, there will be an automatic entry of the address into the database of electronic addresses (BAE), which is equivalent to a request for delivery of correspondence by public entities to this address. From then on, correspondence will, as a rule, be sent to the e-Delivery address, so be sure to log in regularly to the e-Delivery mailbox.

One e-Delivery address for one entity is entered into the database, nevertheless, in the case of having different statuses in the public space - there will be a need to create a separate e-Delivery address for each role:

• as an individual,
• for your company,
• as a person who performs a profession of public trust.

The e-Delivery address will become the official address for communication with state authorities, and correspondence will be sent to this address. Importantly, entry in BAE does not exclude the possibility of a non-public entity to address letters to a public entity in paper form. The entry of an address into e-Delivery is made for a period of 3 years for individuals and indefinitely for other entities. The possibility of extending the entry for another 3 years, will take place upon submission of a declaration of intent to extend it. Crucially, the entry of an e-Delivery address into the BAE is voluntary for individuals, and as a result, there is an option to opt out of disclosing an e-Delivery address in this database.

Foreign companies doing business in Poland, which are not registered with the National Court Register

The Act on electronic delivery does not oblige such companies to have an address for e-Delivery, however, foreign companies that do business in Poland may obtain such an address if they have been assigned a Polish Tax Identification Number (TIN).

Summary

E-Delivery is intended to be a model in which correspondence takes place digitally. Certainly, an e-Delivery address can facilitate correspondence, it is however the setting up and activation of an e-Delivery address itself that will result in official correspondence being directed exclusively to this address from that point on - resulting in the need to check the mailbox on an ongoing basis to avoid negative delivery consequences.

Legal basis

e-Delivery is regulated in two legal acts:

a. in the Act of November 18, 2020 on electronic delivery (i.e., Journal of Laws of 2023, item 285) and implementing acts to the said Act (hereinafter: the Act).

b. in Regulation (EU) No. 910/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of July 23, 2014 on electronic identification and trust services for electronic transactions in the internal market and repealing Directive 1999/93/EC (eIDAS Regulation) (OJ EU. L. of 2014, No. 257, p. 73).