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Article 238
 
1. In the Act of 27 June 1997 on Political Parties (Journal of Laws No. 98, item 604 and of 1998, No. 106, item 668) the following amendments shall be made:
 1)in Article 11, paragraph 1, term: “Voivodeship” shall be replaced by: “District”;
 2) 19)* the title of Chapter 4 shall read as follows:
 “The Finances and Financing of Political Parties”*
“Article 23a. The sources of a political party finance are public.
Article 24. 1. The funds of a political party arise from membership fees, donations, and legacies, endowments, interest on funds, allowances and subventions described by acts of law.
2. The funds of a political party may be used for statutory or charitable purposes only.
3. A political party is prohibited from engaging in any economic activities.
4. A political party is allowed to draw income from its funds that arise exclusively from:
 1) an interest on investments and funds deposited in bank accounts;
2) trading of State Treasury obligations and of Treasury bills;
3) sale of any assets belonging to the political party;
4)  activities, referred to in Article 27.
 5. A political party may hand over its property and premises for exclusive use as offices for deputies, senators, and councillors of a commune, a district (county) or a voivodeship (province).
 6. A political party may not organise public collections.
 7. A political party may contract loans for statutory purposes.
 8. A political party may accrue its financial resources only in bank accounts.
 Article 25. 1. A political party may collect financial resources exclusively from individuals, with regard to the provisions of paragraph 2 below, and Article 24, paragraph 4 and 7, and Article 28, paragraph 1, and to the provisions of Acts relating to elections to the Seym and to the Senate of the Republic of Poland and also elections to the European Parliament - regarding subject allocations.
 2. A political party may not receive any financial resources from:
      
1) Individuals with no place of residence on the territory of the Republic of Poland, excluding citizens of Poland living abroad;
2) foreign nationals resident on the territory of the Republic of Poland.
 3. The provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2 shall apply to non-cash values.
 4. Total value of contributions made by an individual to a political party, excluding membership fees which do not exceed in the year a minimum wage  for work established on the basis of separate provisions, in force on the day preceding the payment, as well as the Election Fund of a political party, cannot, in a year, exceed 15-times the minimum monthly wage for a work established on the basis of separate provisions, in force on the day preceding the payment .
 5. A single transfer that exceeds the minimum wage for work, established on the basis of separate provisions, in force on the day preceding the payment, may be paid to a political party by cheque, bank transfer or bank card only.
 Article 26. deleted (the Act of 23rd January 2003)
 Article 26a. The obligation of collecting financial resources on bank accounts shall not apply to values of membership fees, that does not exceed in the year, for one member of a political party, a minimum wage for work established on the basis of separate provisions, in force on the day preceding the payment which have been left in territorial units of a political party – to cover their current activities.
 Article 27. Such activities as: sale of statutes and party programmes or small items symbolising political party, or publications informing of its aims and activities, petty paid services for third parties using a party’s office fittings - do not constitute economic activity within the meaning of separate Acts of law.
 Article 28. 1. A political party which:
 1)forms its own election committee in elections to the Seym and has gained in that elections at least three (3) per cent of valid votes given for its constituency lists of candidates for deputies; or
 2) is a member of an election committee in elections to the Seym and such committee has gained in that elections at least six per cent of valid votes given for its constituency lists of candidates-
            shall have the right to receive, during the term of office of the Seym, a subvention for   its statutory activities paid by the State budget, later called “a subvention”, in the       manner and on the basis described by this Act.
 2. The subvention vested in an election coalition of political parties shall be divided among the parties that are members of such coalition, in proportions determined in the coalition agreement concluded. The agreed proportions shall not be changed.
 3. An agreement establishing an election coalition have to be submitted to the National Electoral Commission for registration, under penalty of invalidation.
 4. If political parties, which created an election coalition, have not determined the proportions, referred to paragraph 2 above, in the agreement on establishment of the coalition, they are not entitled to the above subvention.
  5. In the event of dissolution of an election coalition after the right to subvention has been vested, the political parties of such a coalition shall retain their right to subvention in proportions determined in the agreement on creation of the election coalition.
 6. The right to obtain a subvention, referred to in paragraph 1, shall enter into force on the 1st January of the year following the election year.
 The subvention shall be paid up to the end of the year, in which the next elections is held, with reservation to Article 32.
 Article 29. 1. The amount of yearly subvention, referred to in Article 28 vested to given political party or an election coalition shall be determined pursuant to the principle of gradual reduction, in proportion to the quota of valid votes gained by constituency lists of candidates for deputies of that political party or election coalition.
 The subvention shall be determined respectively for each of intervals, determined by percent, and summed up, pursuant to the Formula:
 S =  W1 x M1 + W2 x M2 + W3 x Ms + W4 x M4 + W5 x M5
 Where:
 S = the amount of the yearly subvention
W1-5 = the number of valid votes, established separately for each line of the table shown below, as a result of dividing of the total amount of valid votes gained in the whole country by constituency lists of candidates for deputies of given political party or an election coalition, respectively to the interval, determined by percent;
M1-5 = the amount valued in Polish Zloty given for consecutive lines of the table:
 




 

Line
 


Valid votes gained
in the whole country by constituency lists of candidates for deputies of a given political party or an election coalition, divided respectively into each interval___________
 Percent (%)        |  Number
                         |  of votes (W)


 
Amount
  (M)
 
 in Polish  Zl.




    1


to 5%


 


 10




    2


above 5% to 10%


 


    8




    3


above 10% to 20%


 


    7




    4


above 20% to 30%


 


    4




    5


above 30%


 


 1,50       




2. The amount of yearly subvention shall be established pursuant to the provisions of the paragraph 1 above and of Article 28, and shall be paid to a given political party each year, during the term of office of the Seym, in quarterly instalments, with reservation to Article 32.
 3. The basis for payment of subvention creates “a motion for payment of the subvention in a given year”, submitted no later than 31 March each year by an organ of a political party that is authorised to represent a party in its external contacts. The motion shall be drawn up on an official form and confirmed by the National Electoral Commission as to the possessed rights and the amount of the subvention.
 4. The financial resources of the subvention shall be deposited in a separate bank sub-account of the political party. The transfer of the subvention to the bank account indicated by the political party shall be realised by the Minister responsible for public finance.
 5. The subvention due to a political party in the year of elections to the Seym shall be paid no later than on 30 day following the publication in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Poland “Monitor Polski”of an information of the National Electoral Commission on accepted and rejected election reports submitted by election committees.
 6. The Minister responsible for public finance, in a resolution, shall raise the value of the subvention mentioned in paragraph 1 above in an amount equal to the index of price increases if the index of prices of consumer goods and services rises above five per cent.
 7. That index shall be fixed by the Central Statistical Office and published as a communiqué of the President of the Office, in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Poland “Monitor Polski”, no later than the 20th day of the first month of a quarter of the year.
 Article 30. 1. A political party shall create an Expert Fund.
 2. Financial resources collected in the Expert Fund may be derived solely from payments from their own party.
 3. A political party that receives subvention shall transfer from five per cent to fifteen per cent of the subvention to the Expert Fund.
 4. Financial resources collected in the Expert Fund may be used top finance expertise in the field of law, politics, sociology, social-economic matters, as well as for financing education publications connected with the statutory activity of the political party.
 5. The financial resources of the Expert Fund shall accrue in a bank in a separate sub-account of the political party.
 Article 31. 1. In event of a merger of a political party with another party or parties the subvention referred to in Article 28 above shall be granted to the new political party in an amount equal to the subventions for the parties that are merging.
 2. The subvention shall be paid on the basis of a request, submitted by the proper body of the new political party, beginning from the month in which the Court registered it.
 3. In the case referred to in Article 45[1] the subvention granted to such a political party shall not be paid, beginning from the month following the month of dissolution or decision of the Court on the liquidation of such party.
 Article 32. If the term of office of the Seym is shortened, the rights to the subvention granted to political parties shall expire at the end of the quarter of the year in which the term of office of the Seym expires.
 Article 33. 1. The expenses connected with subvention shall be covered by the State budget’s section on the Budget, public finances and financial institutions.
 2. The Minister responsible for public finance shall, by order:
 1) specify the method of submission of the request referred to in Article 29, paragraph 3, as well as the rules for transferring the subvention;
2)   determine a specimen of the form of the request referred to in Article 29, paragraph 3, after seeking the opinion of the National Electoral Commission.
 Article 34. 1.  Political parties shall prepare a yearly financial statement of the subvention received and the expenditures covered by this subvention, later called “information”.
 2. Political parties shall submit information covering a calendar year no later than 31 March of the following year.
 3. The Minister responsible for public finances, after seeking an opinion of the National Electoral Commission, shall determine by order, a specimen, with necessary explanations, that enumerates detailed scope of the information to be included therein to enable especially the honest verification of all the data concerning the expenses covered by subvention, including expenses covered by Expert Fund.
 4. The information shall be submitted together with the opinion of an auditor appointed by the National Electoral Commission. The National Electoral Office shall cover the cost of the preparation of the above opinion and of the enclosed information.
 4a. The information shall be submitted in a written form as well as in a form of electronic document, made in database application programming language, described in an order, referred to in paragraph 3, by the Minister responsible for public finances.
 4. The information shall be published by the National Electoral Commission in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Poland “Monitor Polski” within 14 days following its submission to the National Electoral Commission.
 Article 34a. 1. The National Electoral Commission shall, within four (4) months following the day of submitting information:
1) accept the information with no reservation;
2) accept the information with reservations specified;
3) reject the information.
 1a. The information is rejected, if it is found that the political party has spent resources of the subvention for purposes not connected with its statutory activity.
 2. In the event of doubts concerning the accuracy of the information, the National Electoral Commission may ask the political party concerned to remove defects or submit explanation within a specified time limit.
 3. In its examination of election reports, the National Electoral Commission may order submissions from experts.
 5. In its examination of election reports, the National Electoral Commission may request necessary assistance to be given by the State organs.
 5. Within 14 days following the publication of the information referred to in Article 34, paragraph 5:
 
1) political parties;
2) associations and foundations which in their statutes include tasks connecting with the analysis of political party finance –
-          may submit to the National Electoral Commission their written reservations on committees’ election reports, specifying reasons.
 
6. The National Electoral Commission shall, within 60 days following the submission of the reservations referred in paragraph 5 above, respond in writing.

Article 34b. 1.In the event that the National Electoral Commission rejects the information lodged by a political party, within 7 days following the delivery of the decision rejecting a report, a complaint may be issued to the Supreme Court against the decision of the National Electoral Commission in that case.
 
2. The Supreme Court, by bench of 7 judges, shall examine the complaint. The complaint shall be examined pursuant to the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure in a non - litigious procedure.
3. The Supreme Court shall examine the complaint and shall issue a ruling within 60 days following the delivery of a complaint. There shall be no legal recourse against the ruling of the Supreme Court.
4. If the Supreme Court upholds the complaint referred to in paragraph 1, the National Electoral Commission shall immediately issue a resolution accepting the information in question.

Article 34c. A political party shall forfeit the right to subvention in the following year, if:

1) it does not submit the information within the time limit referred to in Article 34, paragraph 2; or

2) the information submitted is rejected by the National Electoral Commission; or  

3) the Supreme Court has decided to reject the complaint referred to in Article 34b, paragraph 1.
The forfeit by a political party of the right to subvention shall have place in the next calendar year after the year, in which the event, referred in paragraph 1, took place.

Article 35. 1. A political party shall create an Election Fund to finance the participation of such political party in elections to the Seym, Senate, to the office of the President of the Republic of Poland, in elections to the European Parliament as well as in local elections.
2. The expenditures of a political party connected with the tasks referred to in paragraph 1 shall be covered, from the day that begins election or referendum campaign, exclusively by the Election Fund. To this effect, the financial resources shall be transferred to the separate bank account of a respective election committee or referendum committee.
3. A political party shall notify the National Electoral Commission on the establishment or liquidation of the Election Fund.
4. An Election Fund shall bear the name: ”The Election Fund of:..............................................……………(name of the political party)”.
Article 35a. 1. The financial agent realises and is responsible for the administration of the Election Fund.
2. The following person shall not be a financial agent:
1) a candidate for:  the office of the President of the Republic of Poland, a deputy or a councillor;
2) a public functionary, within the meaning of Article 115 paragraph 13 of the Criminal Code.
3. A person may be a financial agent of one Election Fund only.
Article 36. 1. Financial resources collected for the Election Fund may be derived from transfers of political party’s own resources, donations, legacies, and instruments of donations.
2. deleted
3. Financial resources of the Election Fund shall be deposited in a separate bank account.

Article 36a. 1. Total amount of the sum contributed by an individual for one election committee of a coalition or an election committee of electors cannot exceed 15-times the minimum wage for work, established on the basis of separate provisions on the day preceding the day of the announcement of elections.
2. If in a given year more than one election or national referendum is held, the total amount of contributions for the Election Fund referred to in paragraph 1 shall be increased up to 25-times the minimum wage for work, established on the basis of separate provisions on the day preceding the day of. payment. The provision of the first sentence does not apply to by-elections to the Senate or generally to by-elections, re-elections or premature elections, or to new elections to the organs of the legislatures of territorial self-government units, held during the term of office.
3. The contribution shall be made by cheque, bank transfer, or credit card only. 

Article 36b. All appeals and written information issued by a political party to raise resources for elections or referendum shall bear information with the content of the provisions of Article 25, Article 36a, Article 49c subparagraph 3, and Article 49g, subparagraph 2.”
Article 37. Financial resources of the Election Fund of a political party:
1) in the event of a merger with another party or parties, shall be transferred to the Election Fund of the new party;
 
6. in the event of the division of a party, shall be transferred to the newly created parties in equal parts, unless the dividing parties fix another proportion.
7. In the event of dissolution of a party, its financial resources shall be transferred to a charitable institution.
Article 38. 1.  No later than 31 March each year, a political party must submit to the National Electoral Commission a report, later called “report”, covering the sources of financial funds gained, including bank loans and specification of conditions set forth to the political party and to the Election Fund by a lending institution, and on expenditures paid from the Election Fund in the previous calendar year.
2. The Minister responsible for public finance, after seeking the opinion of the National Electoral Commission, shall specify, in a regulation, the form of the report as well as necessary explanations concerning its preparation and a list of documents annexed. The form shall describe, in particular, the method of separately accounting the resources of the Election Fund of a political party.
3. An opinion and an auditor’s report on funds raised by an Election Fund of a political party shall be annexed to the report. The National Electoral Commission shall appoint the competent auditor and the National Electoral Office is obliged to cover the cost of preparing of such opinion and report.
3a. The report shall be submitted in a written form as well as in a form of electronic document, made in database application programming language, described in an order, referred to in paragraph 2, by the Minister responsible for public finances.
4. The report shall be published by the National Electoral Commission in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Poland “Monitor Polski” within 14 days following its submission to the National Electoral Commission.

Article 38a. 1. The National Electoral Commission shall, within four (4) months following the day of submitting a report:

1) accept the report with no reservation;

2) accept the report with reservations specified;

3) reject  the report.
1a. The report shall be rejected, if it is found that:
 
1) the political party has conducted business activity;
2) the political party has organised public collections;
3) financial resources of a political party has been deposited apart from the bank account with violation of the provisions of Article 28, paragraph 8;
4) financial resources of the party has been received from individuals, referred to in Article 25, paragraph 2, or from other illicit sources;
5) financial resources of a party has been collected or spent for election or referendum campaigns apart from Election Fund, with violation of Article 36, paragraph 1;
6) financial resources of an Election Fund have been deposited apart from separate bank account, with violation of Article 36, paragraph. 3.
Article 38b. In the event that the National Electoral Commission shall reject the report, a political party may lodge, within seven days following delivery of the decision rejecting the report, a complaint to the Supreme Court against that decision. The provisions of Article 34b, paragraph 2-4 shall apply accordingly.”

Article 38c. 1. In the event that the report is not provided within the time limit referred to in Article 38, paragraph 1, the National Electoral Commission shall notify the Court of its motion to remove that political party from the register.
2. The Court after hearing the case, referred to in paragraph 1 above, shall decide whether to remove the political party from the register.

Article 38d. If the National Electoral Commission rejects a report or – if the appeal against a decision to reject report is refused by the Supreme Court - the political party is deprived of the rights to obtain subvention for the next three years during which it has such entitlement.
This time limit shall start on the beginning of a quarter which follows the quarter of the year when the report has been rejected, and in the event of complaint being lodged against the decision on rejection of the report, the time limit comes from the beginning of the quarter of the year that follows the quarter in which the complaint was refused by the Supreme Court.
Article 39. deleted
Article 39a. 1. Material benefits transferred or accepted by a political party or by an Election Fund in violation of provisions of Article 24, paragraphs 3, 6, and 8, Article 25,  Article 36, paragraphs 1 and 3, or Article 36a – shall be forfeited to the State treasury.
2. The provision of paragraph 1 above shall not apply  to material benefits transferred to a political party or Election Fund in violation of provisions of this Act., if those benefits have not been accepted or have been returned to the donor within the time limit of 30 days following the day on which the donation was made.
3. If that benefit is exhausted or lost, its equivalent shall forfeit. The fact of acceptance of the donation shall be determined by the National Electoral Commission in a decision concerning the report covering the sources of financial funds gained, including bank loans and specification of conditions set forth to the political party and to the Election Fund by a lending institution, and on expenditures paid from the Election Fund in the previous calendar year.
8. A political party may, within 60 days following the issue of a decision of the National Electoral Commission, referred to in paragraph 3 above, transfer voluntarily material benefits gained in violation of the law, to the bank account of an Excise Office, respective to its seat. The political party have to submit to the National Electoral Commission a document confirming transfer of benefits.
9. In  event, a political party refuses to transfer material benefits for State treasury in a time limit referred to in paragraph 4, the Minister responsible for public finances shall, on a motion of the National Electoral Commission, enter a motion with the regional Court in Warsaw for ruling the forfeit of material benefits.
10. Appropriate provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure, related to non-litigious proceedings, shall apply to the forfeit of material benefits.
11. The Excise Office, respective to the seat of a political party shall represent the State treasure in proceedings at the Court, concerning forfeiture of material benefits and in execution proceedings connected with the case.

Article 40. The provisions on income tax shall apply to political party taxation.
Article 41. The Minister responsible for public finances shall, after seeking the opinion of the national Electoral Commission, shall determine by order, the rules on keeping financial records by a political party, especially records of receipts, disbursements, reckonings and property items as well as filling of financial reports, including evidence and clearance of public resources received”.
20)*  Chapter 6a shall be added, as follows:
 
Chapter 6a
Punitive provisions
 
“Article 49a. Any person who organises public collections in violation of the interdicts referred to in Article 24, paragraph 6 -
shall be punished by a fine.
Article 49b. Any person who:
1) acting on behalf of a political party hands over its property or premises for other purposes than for use as offices for deputies, senators, and counsellors of a commune, a district or a voivodeship;
2) violates the rules described in Article 24, paragraph 8, concerning methods of collecting financial resources of a political party –
-          shall be punished by a fine.
Article 49c. Any person who:
1) provides funds of a political party for other purposes than determined by Article 24, paragraph 2;
2) conducts economic activity on behalf of a political party in violation of Article 24, paragraph 3;
3) transfers to a political party or receives on behalf of a political party financial resources or non-cash assets in violation of the interdicts referred to in Article 25 –
-          shall be punished by a fine of between 1,000 and 100,000 Zl.
Article 49d. Any person who fails to realise or obstructs the performance and submission of the information referred to in Article 34, paragraph 1, or who gives untrue information in such a report –
            -          shall be punished by a fine, or limitation of liberty, or deprivation of liberty for up to 2 years.   
Article 49e. Any person who provides financial resources accrued in the Election Fund for other purposes than determined by Article 35, paragraph 1 –
          shall be punished by a fine of between 1,000 and 100,000 Zl.
 
Article 49f. Any person who:
1) spends funds belonging to a political party for financing election or referendum campaigning apart from the Election Fund;
2) fails to realise or obstructs the preparation or submission of the report referred to in Article 38 or who gives false information in such a report –
-          shall be punished by a fine, or limitation of liberty, or deprivation of liberty for up to two years.
Article 49g. Any person who:
1) violates the rules described in Article 36, paragraph 3, concerning methods of collecting the financial resources of an Election Fund,
2) contribute funds to an Election Fund in an amount that exceeds the limitation specified in Article 36a, paragraphs 1 or 2;
3) fails to specify in an agreement concluded on behalf of the Election Fund with the bank holding the account that contributions to the Election Fund may be realised pursuant to the rules specified in Article 36a, paragraph 3 -
                        -          shall be punished by a fine.
 
Article 49h. The appropriate provisions on procedure in cases of misdemeanour shall apply to proceedings in the matters referred to in Articles 49b and 49g”.