Publication date: June 13, 2025
When can the creditor call for payment – when does the claim become due?
A call for payment (payment demand) is a basic action of the creditor aimed at amicable satisfaction of the claim before initiating legal proceedings. In the case of a debtor who is a citizen of another country, a properly formulated payment demand plays a special role, both in terms of effectively making the claim due and in the context of further procedural activities.
1. Based on the judgment of the Court of Appeal in Katowice, file reference V AGa 464/18, Article 120 of the Civil Code should be taken into account, which states that the due date of a claim should be understood as the day on which the debtor can fulfill the obligation in a manner consistent with the content of the obligation.
Article 455 of the Civil Code defines the issue of the maturity of a claim and states that the maturity of a claim occurs at the time from which the creditor is entitled to demand performance from the debtor.
This article also provides for a situation in which the deadline for fulfilling the obligation has not been set. In order to be entitled to claim the debt in court, the creditor must first call on the debtor to fulfill the obligation. In a situation where this proves ineffective, the other party to the obligation relationship does not fulfill the obligation despite the call, the claim becomes due.
The term “immediately” is determined based on the nature of the service. It has been accepted in case law that the term for “immediate performance” will be 14 days from the date of sending the payment demand to the obligated party. After this date, the claim will become due. Thus, the claim becomes due upon the payment deadline, if it has been specified in the contract or invoice, and also upon the effective payment demand, if the deadline has not been specified.
2. Interest calculation.
Delay interest is due from the day following the due date of the claim, pursuant to Article 481 paragraph 1 of the Polish Civil Code, the creditor may claim statutory interest for delay, unless the parties have agreed otherwise. If the debtor is late with the payment of a monetary obligation, the creditor has the right to claim interest for the period of such delay – regardless of whether they have suffered any damage and regardless of the reasons for the delay, even if the debtor is not at fault.
If the parties have not agreed on the amount of interest for delay, statutory interest is due, which corresponds to the sum of the reference rate of the National Bank of Poland and 5.5 percentage points. However, if the claim was previously subject to higher interest, the creditor may claim interest for delay at this higher rate.
Default interest cannot exceed twice the statutory default interest rate per year – this is the maximum level of default interest. If the agreed interest rate exceeds the maximum level, interest is due at this maximum rate. The agreement cannot exclude or limit the provisions on maximum default interest, even if the parties decide to apply foreign law. In such a case, Polish regulations apply. The Minister of Justice publishes, in the form of a notice in the public journal [Polish: “Monitor Polski”], the current rate of statutory default interest.
In addition to interest, in the event of the debtor’s default, the creditor may also claim compensation from the debtor under general principles of civil liability.
The creditor is entitled to demand interest from the day following the due date of the claim.
3. Putting the debt into due condition
The declaration of maturity (state of being due) means that the creditor may seek the fulfillment of the obligation by means of coercion (e.g. court proceedings). In practice, it most often occurs by effective delivery of a demand for payment or by the expiry of the period specified in the agreement. According to the ruling of the District Court in Łódź, file reference III Ca 1661/20, the maturity of the claim should be understood as the last day on which the debtor can fulfill the obligation in a manner consistent with the content of the obligation, while the maturity of timely obligations is usually connected with the arrival of the deadline for fulfilling the obligation.
4. Elements of a payment request.
An effective payment request should include:
A reminder of payment with the amount and deadline for repayment of the debt. The payment reminder form should also include a warning of the case being referred to court if the document is ignored. If one is sending a pre-trial reminder, this should be noted so that the debtor is aware of the consequences of further delays in payment.
5. An electronic payment request will be effective when all conditions are met, such as delivery of the message to the email address previously used by the debtor (e.g. indicated in the agreement or previous correspondence). The message contains all the essential elements of the request, the creditor is able to prove the fact of sending and the content of the request (e.g. confirmation of the request, screenshot). In the case of legal proceedings, the creditor is obliged to prove effective delivery of the payment request, if it is a condition for the claim to be due. This is provided for in Article 61 §1 of the Civil Code, where it is indicated that the declaration of will is effective when it has reached the debtor and he was able to familiarize himself with it.
6. If the debtor fails to fulfil the obligation within the time specified in the summons, the creditor may file a lawsuit, e.g.
In each of the above procedures, the court examines whether the claim is due and whether the demand for payment was properly served, especially in the case of claims without a specified payment deadline.
Every debt collection process should begin with an attempt to amicably resolve the dispute. Regardless of whether the debtor is in the country or outside it, it is worth calling on him to voluntarily fulfill the obligation.
The European order for payment procedure was created for the purpose of claiming amounts of a specified amount that are due at the time of filing the application for a European order for payment. A given amount is due when, for example, the payment deadline has passed.
In Poland, the courts competent for the European payment order are the district court or the regional court. The choice of jurisdiction is made on the basis of Regulation 1215/2012. The general rule is that persons who are domiciled in the territory of a given Member State may be sued in the courts of that Member State. Regulation 1215/2012 allows for the case to be heard in the debtor’s country, in the place of performance of the contract and before a Polish court.
The European order for payment procedure is a special procedure for pursuing claims in cross-border cases, regulated in Chapter 1 of Title VII of the Code of Civil Procedure. This procedure may be conducted if the conditions set out in Regulation (EC) No 1896/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2006 establishing a European order for payment procedure are met. In cases examined in this procedure, the provisions on other separate procedures do not apply. The European order for payment can be used in civil and commercial cases. Only cross-border monetary claims can be pursued in this procedure. This applies to parties in which at least one of the parties is domiciled or habitually resident in a Member State other than the one in which the court seized of the case is located. The claim must be filed in paper form or by another means of communication, such as electronic communication, accepted by the Member State in which the court is located. The claim must be signed by the claimant or his/her representative and must be prepared in a language accepted by the foreign court.
Application for a European payment order – formal requirements
An application for a European order for payment is submitted using form A, set out in Annex I to the Regulation.
Such a claim should contain the following elements:
(a) the parties to the proceedings – their names and addresses and, where necessary, their representatives, as well as the court to which the claim is being brought;
(b) the amount of the claim – both the principal amount and any interest, contractual penalties or costs of the proceedings;
(c) in the event of a claim for interest – the rate and the period for which it is due, unless it is automatically added to the principal claim under the law of the Member State of origin;
(d) justification of the claim – a description of the factual circumstances and, where applicable, the justification for the claim for interest;
(e) a description of the evidence supporting the claim;
(f) an indication of the grounds for the court to assume jurisdiction;
(g) an explanation that the case is of a cross-border nature within the meaning of Article 3 of the Regulation.
In the lawsuit, the plaintiff declares that all information provided is true to the best of his knowledge and that he is aware of the legal consequences resulting from deliberately providing false information.
The claimant may attach an annex indicating which of the procedures provided for in Article 17(1)(a) or (b) should be applied in the event of an opposition by the defendant to the European order for payment. In this annex, he may also object to the transfer of the case for further civil proceedings in the event of an opposition. This declaration may also be made later, but at the latest before the order for payment is issued.
The application may be filed by electronic means of communication as specified in Article 4 of Regulation (EU) 2023/2844, in paper form or by any other means accepted by a Member State and available to the court concerned.
The application must be signed by the claimant or his representative. If it is filed electronically, the signature must meet the requirements set out in Article 7(3) of the Regulation. Such an electronic signature is recognised without additional requirements in the Member State of origin. However, if an alternative electronic communication system is in place in a country reserved for verified users, which allows for their secure identification, an electronic signature may not be required. Member States shall inform the Commission of the existence of such systems.
The court checks whether:
If the claim does not meet the requirements set out in Regulation 1896/2006, the court will give you the opportunity to supplement or correct the claim (unless your case is unfounded or the claim is inadmissible). If the party is called upon to supplement or correct the claim, the court will set a deadline for supplementing or correcting it. The court may extend this deadline.
In some situations, the court may contact the applicant – using form B, set out in Annex II to Regulation 1896/2006 – informing of the need to reduce the amount claimed.
If the court finds no deficiencies in the claim, it will issue a European Payment Order.
The court will dismiss the lawsuit if:
If it is possible to file a lawsuit in a Polish court in a given case, the lawsuit fee is determined according to the value of the subject of the dispute, which is:
In property rights cases where the value of the subject of the dispute exceeds PLN 20,000, the fee is 5% of that value, but not more than PLN 200,000. The value of the subject of the dispute is the amount the plaintiff wants to recover.
Electronic writ of payment proceedings (Polish: EPU) are a type of separate procedure in Polish civil proceedings. Thanks to EPU, it is possible to pursue monetary claims without having to participate in hearings and submit handwritten documents, along with attachments, to the court. To file a lawsuit, the applicant logs in to the e-court website and fills out an electronic form.
Organizationally, the e-court is the 6th Civil Division of the District Court Lublin-Zachód in Lublin. It is the only court in Poland that adjudicates in procedural proceedings in cases filed via the Internet.
A creditor who has obtained a judgment against a debtor living abroad, issued by a court in Poland, may only commence enforcement after obtaining an enforceability clause. If the debtor is in the European Union, this clause is issued in the country where he or she is resident. Under the EU Regulation Brussels I bis, judgments of courts of EU Member States are automatically recognised in other Community countries, which significantly simplifies the enforcement process. This means that a judgment that has become enforceable in the country of its issuance may be enforced in another EU country without the need for a separate procedure for recognising enforceability.
In turn, if the debtor lives outside the European Union, it is necessary to check the regulations in force in the given country regarding the recognition and enforcement of foreign court decisions. In such a situation, it will be helpful to use the services of a local lawyer who will prepare and file the appropriate application in the debtor’s country of residence.
A summons addressed to a person from outside Poland should meet the general conditions of effectiveness arising from the provisions of civil law, however, in practice it requires careful selection of the delivery channel and sending the summons in a bilingual version.
Payment request/ payment demand notice
[Place, date ]
To:
[Name and surname / company name of the debtor]
[Address]
[Country]
[E-mail]
From:
[Name and surname / Name of creditor]
[Address]
[Tax number or other registration data – if this is a company]
[Email, phone]
SUBJECT: DEMAND FOR PAYMENT
I hereby request payment of the amount of:
[principal amount, e.g. PLN 8,000.00]
(in words: eight thousand zlotys and zero groszy)
together with statutory default interest due, calculated from [due date] until the date of payment.
BASIC OF THE CLAIM:
Contract/invoice no.: [contract or invoice number]
Date of service/delivery: [date]
Payment due date: [date]
PAYMENT DATE /
PAYMENT DEADLINE:
I request that the entire amount due be paid within 7 days from the date of delivery of this request, to the following bank account:
Bank: [bank name]
IBAN: [account number]
SWIFT/BIC: [SWIFT code]
Transfer title: [debtor’s name, invoice or contract number]
Instructing you to settle the entire amount within 7 days of receipt of this letter by transferring funds to the following bank account:
Bank: [bank name]
IBAN: [account number]
SWIFT/BIC: [SWIFT code]
Transfer reference: [your name/company name, invoice number]
FAILURE TO PAY:
If payment is not made within the specified time, the case will be immediately referred to court and enforcement proceedings, which will result in additional costs for you.
[Signature] [Name]ATTACHMENTS:
Copy of invoice
Agreement / Contract (if applicable)