CAN START-UP ENTREPRENEURS NOT COUNT ON EXEMPTION FROM SOCIAL SECURITY? 14 May 2020
Under the anti-crisis laws adopted to date (the so-called. disc 1.0 and 2.0) entrepreneurs and therefore persons conducting non-agricultural business activities are entitled - under certain conditions, which we wrote about in the news of 30 April 2020. - to obtain an exemption from the obligation to pay ZUS contributions.
As defined in Article 4 of the Act Entrepreneurs' law[1] An entrepreneur is defined as a natural person, a legal person or an organisational unit which is not a legal person but to which a separate act grants legal capacity - performing business activity. In principle, therefore, any entrepreneur conducting non-agricultural economic activity may apply for assistance in the form of exemption from the obligation to pay ZUS contributions.
However, although this exception is not explicitly reserved in the „crisis shields” - it should be noted that the this form of aid is not available to natural persons who, as entrepreneurs, benefit from the so-called 'start-up relief', i.e. the relief provided for in Article 18 of the Act Entrepreneurs' law the right to pay only the health insurance premium. Why? Because according to Article 8(6a) of the Health Insurance System Act[2] such an entrepreneur is not regarded as an entrepreneur from the point of view precisely of social security.
Given the scale of applications to ZUS for exemption from paying contributions, including, presumably, by entrepreneurs using the Relief for starters and the fact that, to this day, many claimants have not received any decision on the matter, the question arises as to what consequences such entrepreneurs, who have unsuccessfully waited for a decision from ZUS, will suffer?
It seems - as with the constantly changing solutions anti-crisis nothing can be certain - that in such a case ZUS will issue a decision refusing to exempt entrepreneurs from this group from the obligation to pay contributions. In such a case, the entrepreneurs in question should apply for the remission of interest related to the arrears - citing extraordinary circumstances that led to the untimely payment of dues to ZUS. It is also advisable to pay any overdue contributions („principal amount”) as soon as possible, as in the event of non-payment or underpayment, ZUS may impose on the payer an additional fee of up to 100% of unpaid contributions.
[1] OJ 2019.1292 of 1 July 2019
[2] OJ 2019.300 of 18 February 2019
Under the anti-crisis laws adopted to date (the so-called. disc 1.0 and 2.0) entrepreneurs and therefore persons conducting non-agricultural business activities are entitled - under certain conditions, which we wrote about in the news of 30 April 2020. - to obtain an exemption from the obligation to pay ZUS contributions.
As defined in Article 4 of the Act Entrepreneurs' law[1] An entrepreneur is defined as a natural person, a legal person or an organisational unit which is not a legal person but to which a separate act grants legal capacity - performing business activity. In principle, therefore, any entrepreneur conducting non-agricultural economic activity may apply for assistance in the form of exemption from the obligation to pay ZUS contributions.
However, although this exception is not explicitly reserved in the „crisis shields” - it should be noted that the this form of aid is not available to natural persons who, as entrepreneurs, benefit from the so-called 'start-up relief', i.e. the relief provided for in Article 18 of the Act Entrepreneurs' law the right to pay only the health insurance premium. Why? Because according to Article 8(6a) of the Health Insurance System Act[2] such an entrepreneur is not regarded as an entrepreneur from the point of view precisely of social security.
Given the scale of applications to ZUS for exemption from paying contributions, including, presumably, by entrepreneurs using the Relief for starters and the fact that, to this day, many claimants have not received any decision on the matter, the question arises as to what consequences such entrepreneurs, who have unsuccessfully waited for a decision from ZUS, will suffer?
It seems - as with the constantly changing solutions anti-crisis nothing can be certain - that in such a case ZUS will issue a decision refusing to exempt entrepreneurs from this group from the obligation to pay contributions. In such a case, the entrepreneurs in question should apply for the remission of interest related to the arrears - citing extraordinary circumstances that led to the untimely payment of dues to ZUS. It is also advisable to pay any overdue contributions („principal amount”) as soon as possible, as in the event of non-payment or underpayment, ZUS may impose on the payer an additional fee of up to 100% of unpaid contributions.
[1] OJ 2019.1292 of 1 July 2019
[2] OJ 2019.300 of 18 February 2019