The real scale of payment gridlocks
It is extremely important to determine the real scale of the payment gridlock phenomenon.
Doubts arise as to the data collected in the register of payment terms. They result from the growing discrepancies between the disturbing data about the difficulties with regular payment of receivables and the relations of companies that occupy the highest place in the aforementioned register, and thus are considered to be unreliable. The presented data are not optimistic. They show that as many as 40% of companies fail to pay nearly 20% of their obligations on time. The scale of the resulting debt is estimated at PLN 415 billion. On the other hand, the leading companies in this ranking declare that they do not pay their debts on time, but the delay does not exceed a few days. The aforementioned delays are a derivative of several events. First of all, companies indicate that transfers are cyclically made or an invoice is issued by the contractor earlier than fulfillment of the contract or questioning the performance of the service, which suspends the payment for it.
The Ministry of Development, Labor and Technology, which keeps the register, emphasizes that the form of reports submitted by companies is simplified and does not include information on the scale of delays. The Ministry does not rule out, however, that it will take these suggestions into account when amending the act on the basis of which the register was created.
