The President of UOKiK is clearly stepping up pressure on companies that fail to pay their business partners on time. Since the beginning of 2026, the authority has already issued eight decisions imposing more than PLN 2.6 million in fines for payment backlogs. At the same time, it has launched seven new proceedings and sent disciplinary notices to a further 69 companies.
According to information provided by UOKiK, this year’s decisions concerned companies that had caused payment backlogs with a total value exceeding PLN 200 million. These included businesses operating in the pharmaceutical, industrial, freight forwarding and construction sectors. The companies fined were Teva Pharmaceuticals Polska, Volvo Polska, Elektrobudowa, Delpharm Poznań, Expres-Konkurent, Optima Logistics Group, SPX Flow Technology Poland and Nivea Polska.
The scale of the authority’s actions shows that late payments remain a serious challenge for the market. Payment backlogs affect not only direct creditors, but also entire supply chains. When one company does not receive payment on time, it may itself struggle to meet its own obligations, which worsens the financial liquidity of other businesses further down the chain.
For comparison, throughout the whole of 2025, the President of UOKiK issued 29 decisions and imposed more than PLN 10 million in fines. Importantly, only four companies requested a reconsideration of their cases at that time. The remaining 25 entities did not challenge the authority’s findings and paid the fines, taking advantage of the option to reduce them by 20% compared with the maximum amount.
However, the authority is not limiting itself to issuing formal decisions. In March 2026, seven new proceedings were opened against companies suspected of delaying payments to their contractors. These companies are Bialmed, Grupa PSB Handel, Inter-Team, Aluprof, Roche Polska, Moto-Profil and Motorol Automotive. The proceedings concern businesses from the pharmaceutical, construction and automotive sectors.
UOKiK stresses that such cases are initiated exclusively ex officio, on the basis of its own analyses. Notifications from businesses may serve as warning signals, but the decision to open proceedings rests with the authority. This means that the regulator is actively monitoring the market and independently identifying companies that may be creating payment backlogs.
Alongside formal proceedings, the authority also uses so-called soft measures. At the beginning of 2026, 69 companies received notices informing them of identified irregularities and the possible consequences of continued payment delays. The purpose of these measures is to encourage companies to improve their payment practices without the need to launch full administrative proceedings. Throughout 2025, 177 companies received similar warnings.
As UOKiK President Tomasz Chróstny points out, soft interventions often prove effective. Around half of the companies receiving such letters quickly improve their payment discipline. Most also provide explanations regarding the reasons for the delays. Only when no improvement follows does the authority move on to more firm administrative action.
UOKiK also notes that periods of economic slowdown tend to encourage the build-up of such problems, although they are not the only cause. Business ethics and payment culture also play an important role. Some companies knowingly exceed payment deadlines and use funds owed to suppliers to finance their own operating activities.
