On 1 January 2023, three EU directives were implemented into Poland’s national law: the Digital Services Directive, the Sale of Goods Directive, and the Omnibus Directive. This will impact consumers, as well as all entrepreneurs in both e-commerce and traditional retail.
The Digital Services Directive and the Sale of Goods Directive
The Digital Services Directive and the Sale of Goods Directive (the “EU Directives”) introduce some key changes:
Further, the Polish implementation of the EU Directives results in the following changes in practice:
The Omnibus Directive
The Omnibus Directive introduces, inter alia, key changes on payment with personal data, additional specific information requirements for contracts concluded on online marketplaces, and new requirements on price reduction announcements.
New provisions supplement the EU Directives, providing a legal framework for payment with consumers’ personal data.
The Omnibus Directive also introduces new information requirements for traders as well as for online marketplace providers, e.g. on the main parameters determining the ranking of products presented to the consumer as a result of a search query or whether the third party offering the products on online marketplaces is a trader.
Under the new rules, all traders, regardless of the applied sales channel, are required to announce price reductions in a way that allow consumers to compare the reduced price with the prices applied during the 30-day period prior to the reduction.
What is specific for the Polish implementation:
Challenges for traders
The new rules on consumer warranties will apply to all contracts for the delivery of goods, digital content or digital services concluded with consumers on or after 1 January 2023. For consumer claims based on contracts for goods concluded before that date, or digital content or digital services delivered before that date, the previous provisions will apply. In case of provision of digital content or digital services, new provisions will apply also if a contract was concluded before 1 January 2023 but provision of the digital content or service was to take place on 1 January or after that date. This means that, during the interim period, traders offering goods, will be obliged to handle consumers’ complaints in two regimes.
The changes will require traders to revise their current documentation, such as sales terms and conditions. But those textual amendments alone will not suffice. Traders offering products in Poland will also have to update their internal procedures and business processes for handling consumer complaints and for informing consumers about a number of aspects of the goods and services they offer.
At the same time, traders must ensure that their communications on price reduction comply with the Omnibus Directive. The changes will require traders to adapt their internal policies and sales processes.