Offices to auction off flats online. Groundbreaking changes to the law are coming

• The heads of tax offices will conduct auctions of movable and real estate on the eLicytacje portal.
• The regulations currently in force allow only movable property to be sold electronically.
• Local government officials positively assess the direction of changes, but point to other pressing problems, such as the lack of real possibilities for verifying declarations and the impossibility of seizing the minimum wage.

The creation of the eLicytacje portal is assumed by the draft amendment to the act on enforcement proceedings in administration, which was published on the website of the Government Legislation Centre on 13 May. The draft assumes the creation by the National Revenue Administration of its own eLicytacje portal, which will enable electronic auctioning of movable and real estate (apartments, houses) seized through enforcement. The portal will contain all announcements and notices about property sold by heads of tax offices. Currently, auction announcements are published in individual tax office offices, commune offices and in the Public Information Bulletin. The conditions for participation in the electronic auction will include, among others, submitting a deposit as in the case of bailiff auctions.

The creation of a portal for auctions is to be another step towards the electronicization of enforcement proceedings conducted by heads of tax offices, which is to streamline the sales process and increase the circle of potential buyers . In the opinion of the project initiator, this may translate into an increase in the efficiency of enforcement.

The applicable regulations allow for the electronic sale of only movable property and only via an IT system operated by an entity selected by the enforcement authority and in accordance with the conditions specified in the regulations of that entity.

Local government officials admit that every improvement in enforcement is necessary, including electronicization, but they point to other, much more urgent issues that will enable the collection of arrears, e.g. taxes or local fees.

Any attempt to improve the enforcement process deserves support. The priority, however, is to change the law. Currently, there are situations where residents, to whom we pay several thousand złoty of social benefits per month, are in arrears with payments to the commune. They come to the office in not just any cars, but they do not pay the fees. However, the commune has no possibility of enforcing them, because these residents only submit a declaration, e.g. regarding waste, sewage or that they are students.

- says Eugeniusz Gołembiewski, vice-president of the Union of Polish Towns and mayor of Kowal, in an interview with PortalSamorzadowy.pl.

- Checking whether the declaration is true would be too expensive for the office, for example, if the official had to travel several hundred kilometers for this purpose. The costs of enforcement actions would be disproportionately high in relation to the potential benefits. Therefore, the regulations should be changed so that, in addition to the declaration, a document certifying that the declaration is true to the facts is required - argues Eugeniusz Gołembiewski. In his city, inhabited by three and a half thousand people and with a budget of about forty million, there are over half a million zloty of enforcements.

Eugeniusz Gołembiewski, mayor of Kowal, adds that enforcing arrears is easy in the case of a steady income such as a pension, but difficulties arise when a person works in the so-called grey economy.

Currently, municipalities cannot seize the wages of people who receive the minimum wage for work. Such a person is free from encumbrances, they do not have to pay. Also, the 800 plus benefit and benefits from social welfare centers are not subject to seizure. Municipalities do not have the tools to enforce payments even if these people actually earn more. We are only saved by situations when the person is the owner of the property, because then an auction can take place. However, if, as in the case of waste collection fees, the tenant can pay for them, not the owner of the property, then we have no way to secure the arrears. They become time-barred

- explains Marcin Litke, head of the Department of Local Taxes and Fees at the Hażlach Commune Office, which has debtors who have arrears dating back as much as ten years.

- The best solution would be to allow municipalities to seize a percentage of the minimum wage . This would prevent the statute of limitations from running out - adds manager Marcin Litke.

Marcin Litke positively assesses the implementation of electronic solutions that will facilitate and speed up the procedure, especially from real estate, which is a complicated procedure. As he explains, the duration of the proceedings is about a year and a half, as in the last case in the commune. The long duration of the proceedings is influenced by, among other things, the debtor not collecting correspondence. In the Hażlach commune, residents are most often in arrears with waste collection fees.

According to the draft amendment, while enabling electronic sales of movables and real estate, the current forms of sale will be maintained. Local governments will still be required to publish auction announcements in the BIP.