In the article "Factors will find it easier to verify debtors' solvency" in August 2018, I wrote, among other things, that 2018 gave factoring companies the opportunity to review their financial statements. I also wrote about the work on the National Debt Register Law (NCR).
The law on the NCR was signed by the President on December 18, 2018. (details here). Unfortunately, the Law will not take effect until December 1, 2020. So it is only in about 23 months that factoring companies will have the opportunity to take advantage of the NCR.
What does the NCR Act mean for factoring companies?
Factors will find it easier to verify the solvency of the recipient/factor, or at least at a basic level. The NCR will disclose information on entities that are insolvent, at risk of insolvency, or entities against which ineffective enforcement has been discontinued. This means that the NCR will be able to include the data of the following entities, among others:
- against whom restructuring or bankruptcy proceedings are/were being conducted or a ban on business has been declared;
- who are partners in commercial partnerships who are liable for the company's obligations with all their assets (without limitation) if the company is declared bankrupt or the petition is dismissed for lack of assets;
- Against whom enforcement proceedings have been discontinued due to ineffectiveness of enforcement;
- defaulting on alimony obligations, if enforcement is ineffective and the person is in arrears for more than 3 months.
Data will be deleted from the NCR after either 7 or 10 years, depending on the type of data. The data contained in the Register will be public and open to the public, this means that any person via the Internet will be able to access the information contained therein.
To sum up - it is likely that it will not be until 1/12/2020 that factoring companies will have free means of verification not only of factors and recipients (especially those who are companies) but even guarantors or members of bodies and partners of companies. And all this for free, online and without the need for a power of attorney. This will make it possible to verify payment capacity to an absolutely basic extent, however in a fast, efficient and free way. The changes will undoubtedly have a positive impact on the ability to respond dynamically to the situation of debtors and, above all, to enforce contractual provisions.
