The periods of time during which documents must
be retained vary according to the document type.
For some documents, there is no statutory
obligation to retain them (nevertheless, it may be
advisable to archive such documents until the
expiry of the relevant time limits for claims, for
example). However, as regards other documents,
especially
company
documents,
applicable
statutes lay down detailed regulations concerning
their retention. The most important of such
regulations provide that:
– tax records (tax books and related documents)
should be retained, in principle, until the expiry of
the statutory limitation period for tax obligations,
which is usually 5 years, calculated from the end
of the calendar year in which the tax was due;
– social insurance records (copies of settlement
declarations, personal monthly reports and
documents that introduce corrections thereto) the
remitter is required to retain such documents for
a period of 5 years from the date when they were
provided to ZUS as written documents or in
electronic format. However, for documents submitted to ZUS prior to 1 January 2012, the
mandatory retention period is 10 years;
– employment records (payrolls; payslips; any
other records on the basis of which pension or
disability benefits are calculated) should be
retained for a period of 50 years following the
termination of the insured’s employment with
their employer;
– bearing in mind the time limits for employee
claims and the fact that employment-related
documents other than those listed above may
prove helpful in case of any potential litigation, it
is advisable to archive such documents for a
period of at least 3 years from the start of the
year following the year they relate to;
– books of account, accounting documents
(concerning, for example, investments and loans),
documentation of the adopted accounting method
and all other accounting records and documents
making up the company’s book-keeping and
accounting records are to be retained for a period
of at least 5 years. An exception to this rule are
approved annual financial statements, which must
be retained indefinitely in accordance with the
Accounting Act of 29 September 1994.
The Civil Code does not impose any obligation
regarding the retention of documents (such as
contracts) for a specified period (certain contracts
do not even need to be made in writing). As
explained at the beginning of this article, it is
nevertheless recommended to archive them
because of the potential need to prove the
company’s rights or enforce a counterparty’s
obligations in the future.
Some guidance as to the advisable period for
retaining
individual
contracts
can
be
unquestionably provided by the expiry of the
limitation period of claims that may arise
thereunder. In accordance with Article 118 of the
Civil Code Act of 23 April 1964, unless a specific
rule of law provides otherwise, the limitation
period for claims is 10 years, and for claims
concerning periodical benefits and claims related
to conducting business activity, it is 3 years. The
cited act provides for many exceptions to this
rule, but in only one case it stipulates a limitation
period of more than 10 years (claims for
compensation in respect of the damage caused by
an illegal act that is a crime or an offense are
subject to a time-limit of 20 years).
MILLER, CANFIELD,
W. BABICKI, A. CHEŁCHOWSKI I WSPÓLNICY SP.K.
ul. Batorego 28-32
81-366 Gdynia
Tel. +48 58 782-0050
Fax +48 58 782-0060
gdynia@pl.millercanfield.com
ul. Nowogrodzka 11
00-513 Warszawa
Tel. +48 22 447-4300
Fax +48 22 447-4301
warszawa@pl.millercanfield.com
ul. Skarbowców 23a
53-125 Wrocław
Tel. +48 71 780-3100
Fax +48 71 780-3101
wroclaw@pl.millercanfield.com
Disclaimer: This publication has been prepared for clients and professional associates of Miller Canfield. It is intended to provide only a summary of
certain recent legal developments of selected areas of law. For this reason the information contained in this publication should not form the basis of
any decision as to a particular course of action; nor should it be relied on as legal advice or regarded as a substitute for detailed advice in individual
cases. The services of a competent professional adviser should be obtained in each instance so that the applicability of the relevant legislation or other
legal development to the particular facts can be verified.