Investment and commercial law Entrepreneurs - This is your last chance - check your invoices from 2023 before they expire.
The end of the year is a time for important summaries – including financial ones. You only have until the end of 2025 to recover money from many invoices from 2023 successfully. If you miss this deadline, your debtor will win, and you will lose the chance to get your money back!
Payment backlogs are not decreasing – don't let your debt disappear in the statistics! According to the National Debt Register, Polish companies already owe each other over PLN 9 billion in arrears. Many debtors are just waiting for the statute of limitations to expire. That is why we remind you: don't let them play for time and act now!
So what should you do?
PRO TIP : Set up automatic reminders in your accounting system to check invoices from 2–3 years ago every year (e.g., in November). This will help you avoid stress and rushing right before the end of the year!
Why is this so important?
The statute of limitations does not make the debt disappear, but if the statutory period expires, then
- Your debtor may refuse to pay you without any consequences.
- The court will dismiss the claim if the debtor raises the appropriate objection.
- You are missing out on the opportunity to recover the money you are owed.
A brief guide to the statute of limitations:
Which invoices expire at the end of 2025?
Claims by entrepreneurs related to business activities typically expire after 3 years, but claims arising from sales (e.g., deliveries of goods between companies) expire after only 2 years.
And how do you calculate the statute of limitations?
If the limitation period is two years or more (e.g., three or six years), regardless of the exact date, the debt expires at the end of the year, i.e., December 31.
Example :
Imagine that the company "ABC LLC" issued an invoice for furniture on May 5, 2023, with a payment date of June 6, 2023. After numerous reminders and hopes for repayment, the matter has stalled, and ABC has not taken any formal steps in this regard.
In our case, the limitation period will begin on June 7, 2023, and the claim from the invoice will expire on December 31, 2025. This means that if ABC LLC does not file a lawsuit in court by the end of 2025, in practice, its chances of recovering the money will be minimal.
Interruption of the statute of limitations – the most important methods:
- filing a lawsuit in court;
- acknowledgment of debt by the debtor – e.g., by signing a court or out-of-court settlement in which the debtor acknowledges their debt;
- initiation of enforcement proceedings;
- filing a claim in bankruptcy proceedings
IMPORTANT : Sending payment reminders, conversations, emails, or phone calls—even intensive ones—do not interrupt the statute of limitations!
From 2022, a summons to a settlement hearing or mediation will no longer interrupt the limitation period, but will only suspend it. What does this mean?
The clock "stops" only for the duration of such discussions (in practice, several months), and after they end, the period continues to run. The limitation period is therefore extended only by the period of suspension, and does not start anew.
Summary
Many debtors act with surprising consistency: they delay, dispose of their assets, sometimes reorganize their company, or declare bankruptcy—all to make it difficult for creditors to recover their money.
Ignoring overdue receivables and failing to respond quickly can result in significant financial losses for your company.
Do you have questions, or are you unsure whether your invoices may expire this year? Contact us!
We support entrepreneurs at all stages of debt recovery. If you have doubts about the statute of limitations, how to proceed, or simply want to increase your chances of recovering your money, please contact us. Don't let your money be lost forever. Work with us!