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Graphic - flexible system of penalties

A change in the way of imposing penalties

06 June 2018

President of the Republic of Poland has signed an amendment to the Telecommunications Act.

Pursuant to the changes initiated by UKE, a financial penalty for infringements related to the fulfilment of information obligations and the obligation to obtain the user's consent for the use of cookies will be imposed optionally, depending on the severity of the infringement.

This will allow to eliminate situations in which the President of UKE had to initiate proceeding on imposing a fine also in the case of minor and non-harmful irregularities, e.g. a one-day delay in the submission of the report on telecommunications activities. Such insignificant violations in the performance of duties do not always require a reaction in the form of imposing a penalty.

Therefore, the President of UKE will not be obliged to impose penalties in the event of minor infringements, often involving small entrepreneurs and not being the result of ill will but, for example, organisational difficulties.  In such situations imposing a penalty would not fulfil the preventive purpose of punishment, but would be a purely repressive action.

The amended provisions will allow the President of UKE for a more flexible and proportionate approach to minor infringements related to the performance of telecommunications activities.