E-Delivery soon mandatory for all businesses registered with the KRS

On 1 January 2025, the National Electronic Delivery System started its official operation. The deadline for the implementation of the e-Delivery system, set by the Act of 18 November 2020 on Electronic Delivery, has been postponed several times.

The introduction of the e-Delivery system is aimed at simplifying communication with public authorities and, as a result, replacing traditional correspondence by registered mail. E-Delivery is the electronic equivalent of a registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt and has the same legal effect.

Public and commercial e-Delivery service

Entrepreneurs requesting an e-Delivery address can choose between the Public Registered e-Delivery Service (PURDE), which is free of charge, and a commercial qualified e-Delivery service. The commercial e-Delivery service is operated by entities that are listed in the Register of Qualified Trust Service Providers.

Commercial e-Delivery service, unlike PURDE, allows correspondence not only to and from a public entity, but also between non-public entities, including businesses and individuals.

Electronic delivery address

An entrepreneur who requests access to the e-Delivery service is assigned a unique electronic address that allows the identification of the address holder.

Entities submitting an application for registration in the Register of Entrepreneurs of the National Court Register (KRS) after 1 January 2025 are obliged - if they wish to use PURDE - to provide data enabling the creation of an address for e-Delivery. Limited liability companies in organization (spółka z ograniczoną odpowiedzialnością w organizacji) that have been assigned an address for e-Delivery by a commercial e-Delivery provider must submit a declaration of their existing address. Entities registered in the Register of Entrepreneurs of the National Court Register before 1 January 2025 may obtain an e-Delivery address by submitting a corresponding application on the government portal for e-Delivery. The application may be submitted by a person authorized to represent the entity or an attorney.

The electronic address is entered into the Electronic Address Database (BAE). As a rule, an entity using e-Delivery may have only one such address; however, if justified by the organizational structure of the entity, the Minister of Informatization may agree to enter more than one e-Delivery address in the BAE.

In the case of a public service (PURDE), the entry in the BAE is made automatically upon activation of the e-Delivery address, while the choice of a commercial e-Delivery service requires the entrepreneur to request the entry of the address in the BAE.  E-delivery addresses, once transferred from the BAE, are automatically entered in the KRS.

Legal Effects of Registration in the Electronic Address Database

Entering an e-Delivery address in the BAE is equivalent to requesting delivery of correspondence from public authorities to the specified address. As a rule, from the moment the address is entered in the BAE, correspondence from public authorities will be sent to the address entered in the BAE. This is important because correspondence sent by a public entity to an e-Delivery address enjoys the so-called fiction of delivery 14 days after receipt, regardless of the actual status of reading the communication.

Managing the e-Delivery mailbox

Ensuring the proper management of the e-Delivery mailbox is a major challenge for entrepreneurs. In order to manage the e-Delivery mailbox, the entrepreneur must appoint an administrator. The administrator may be a person with a PESEL number or a unique identifier assigned by an EU Member State for cross-border identification purposes, as referred to in Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/1501.

The administrator's tasks include receiving and sending correspondence, managing correspondence, and configuring the mailbox. The administrator has the ability to add other users to the mailbox, including granting permissions to other administrators.

Public Hybrid Service

The e-Delivery Act additionally provides for a Public Hybrid Service, pursuant to which a designated operator transforms an electronic document sent by a public entity from an e-Delivery address into a traditional letter for the purpose of delivering the correspondence to the addressee. The public entity delivers correspondence requiring proof of posting or receipt using the Public Hybrid Service in situations where, inter alia, there is no e-Delivery address box for the addressee.

Transitional period

Until 31 December 2025, there is a transitional period during which public authorities can opt out of the electronic delivery obligation and send correspondence in the traditional way. This is the time for public authorities to adapt to the requirements of the new e-Delivery regime.