Filing fee on fraudulent-transfer claims slashed by up to PLN 199,000
The July 2023 amendment to Poland’s civil procedure rules made a big change in the filing fee on a fraudulent-transfer claim against a third party. Now, if the amount in dispute at the first instance or on appeal exceeds PLN 20,000, the fee will be capped at PLN 1,000. There is one condition: the creditor must hold specific legal proof of its claim against the debtor. Previously, the fee on such a claim could run as high as PLN 200,000.
When the amount in dispute in such cases is less than PLN 20,000, a fee model based on Art. 13 of the Act on Court Costs in Civil Cases applies, and the fee starts at PLN 30 and increases pro rata as the amount in dispute rises.
The key point here is that now the maximum fee on a fraudulent-transfer claim against a third party is PLN 1,000. Prior to the amendment, it was 5% of the amount in dispute above PLN 20,000 (up to a maximum fee of PLN 200,000).
This change encourages creditors to pursue claims to set aside transactions by the debtor to the detriment of creditors (Civil Code Art. 527 and following). It also minimises the risk of incurring significant litigation costs when the creditor has already reduced its claim against the debtor to one of the following writs:
- A legally final court ruling
- An arbitral award held by the state court to be enforceable
- A settlement reached before a court or arbitral tribunal
- A settlement reached before a mediator and approved by the court.
If the amount in dispute is PLN 4 million or more, the fee has effectively been cut from PLN 200,000 to PLN 1,000. Clearly, in terms of the filing fee, the decision to pursue a fraudulent-transfer claim against a third party has become much easier.
The reason for this change is that a fraudulent-transfer claim against a third party is regarded as a continuation of the litigation initiated by the creditor to satisfy the claim against the original debtor, rather than an independent proceeding. If a creditor has reduced its principal claim to a judicial writ, it means that the creditor has already incurred high costs in the proceedings for payment against the debtor. A fraudulent-transfer claim against a third party should be considered supplementary to the earlier proceeding, merely aimed at effectively enforcing the claim already upheld by the judicial system.
This change is also a response to the declining share of fraudulent-transfer claims against third parties prior to 2023 and an attempt to reverse this trend, which should undoubtedly be regarded as a laudable aim.
Franciszek Wiącek, Dispute Resolution & Arbitration practice, Wardyński & Partners
