Recently, hoteliers have been receiving more and more calls regarding overdue TV license fees for the pandemic period, when they were unable to receive guests. According to the findings Interiathe problem is the direct cause of chaos in the applicable regulations. Entrepreneurs were convinced that the collection of fees would be permanently suspended. However, Poczta Polska interprets the regulation differently, and the courts are in favor of its interpretation.
The Polish Post Office sends hoteliers payment demands. The record holder is demanding PLN 87,000
Lawyer Marek Woch, president of the board of the KRP Office of the Advocate for Entrepreneurs PSA, tells the portal that in the past week, 10 clients have already reported similar problems to him. Hoteliers seek help when they receive a demand for payment of the RTV subscription fee with interest. In some cases, enforcement takes place and their funds are seized from the account. “Suddenly, they have no money to pay their employees' salaries,” the lawyer reports. According to Poczta Polska, one of the entrepreneurs has subscription arrears exceeding PLN 87,000, of which the principal amount is PLN 58,000, enforcement costs – PLN 8,000, and interest from the last four years – PLN 21,000.
Hoteliers have a problem with the RTV subscription. The reason is chaotic regulations
In accordance with Article 15l, paragraph 1 of the Act of 31 March 2020, the collection of remuneration for organizations for the collective management of copyright or related rights and subscription fees was “suspended” during the pandemic. Entrepreneurs were convinced that they did not have to pay fees for this period at all. All the more so because the justification for the Act and the assessment of the impact of the regulation include information about “exemption from subscription fees” and “suspension of the fee”.
– So we have three different terms – “suspenses”, “releases” and “suspenses”. Will everyone choose the word that suits them? The purpose of the act was to help entrepreneurs during the economic shutdown. My position as a lawyer is therefore clear: there is no legal justification for now demanding that hoteliers pay the allegedly overdue RTV subscription fee – assesses Marek Woch.
The Supreme Court ruled against entrepreneurs. “We are afraid that hoteliers have no room to maneuver here”
In a conversation with Interia, Anna Kołtan from the Polish Hotel Industry Chamber of Commerce claims that the summonses may be the result of the Supreme Court's resolution of April 25 this year. She points out that the Court of Appeal in Warsaw interpreted the concept of “suspension of fees” as an exemption from fees, while the Court of Appeal in Poznań considered it as a temporary deferral of payment.
Due to the discrepancies, one of them asked the Supreme Court, which ruled that “suspension” meant only a deferral of payment. It should be noted that the disputed cases did not concern the RTV subscription fee, but intellectual property, which was regulated by the same art. 15l section 1 of the act. – We are afraid that hoteliers have no room to maneuver here, all that remains is to count on positive decisions of the National Broadcasting Council, because hoteliers file applications for cancellation of fees or at least their payment in installments – explains Kołtan.
Polish Post speaks out. “The obligation has not been abolished”
Interia also asked Poczta Polska for a comment. The response received confirmed that entrepreneurs meeting the statutory criteria could benefit from the suspension of charging fees. Poczta Polska emphasizes, however, that “the obligation to pay subscription fees was not lifted during the state of epidemic threat in Poland, and subscribers were only given the option to make payments at a later time.”