Poland plans digital asset register and two-year prison terms for non-filing officials

Digital register and security architecture

The Polish government published a draft bill on asset declarations in its official legislative work program, detailing plans to digitize the public wealth disclosure process. The reform eliminates paper filings and establishes a single centralized database known as the Central Register of Asset Declarations (CROM). All declarations submitted by public officials will be gathered, processed, and maintained within this electronic repository. The register will operate as a component of Poland's broader State Registers System (SRP) and will be integrated into the state digital network. Because of its inclusion in the state network, the repository must comply directly with national data standards.

CROM, as another register operating within the State Registers System (SRP), will be subject to protection resulting from the provisions of the Information Security Policy for the SRP.

Consolidation of fragmented regulations

The primary purpose of the legislation is to standardize and clarify the legal rules governing asset disclosures across all branches of public administration. Polish disclosure requirements are currently distributed across 37 separate normative acts, a situation that has created persistent interpretation doubts among officials and enforcement agencies. This fragmentation has also hindered effective oversight and made systematic audits of declared assets difficult to execute. The new statute aims to comprehensively regulate the principles and filing procedures in a single legal instrument. In doing so, it introduces a complete and unified catalog of individuals subject to reporting requirements, with special emphasis on persons holding exposed public positions.

Submission portal and identity verification

Asset filings will be handled entirely online through a dedicated telecommunications platform developed under the working name "oswiadczenia.gov.pl". The platform will serve as a dual-purpose tool, allowing obliged individuals to submit their declarations electronically while enabling authorized institutions to verify whether required filings were completed. Users must authenticate their identity through the national electronic identification node before accessing the filing system, using services such as the trusted profile (profil zaufany). Additionally, the draft bill makes the provision of the filer's national identification number (PESEL) a mandatory element of the submission process to ensure accurate identification across government records.

Judicial penalties and CBA enforcement

The draft law stipulates that all asset declarations will be submitted under the formal condition of criminal liability. If an individual leaves a public position and fails to submit an exit asset declaration, the head of the Central Anticorruption Bureau (CBA) can petition the court for formal sanctions. In such cases, the court may impose a monetary fine, a sentence of restriction of liberty, or imprisonment for up to two years. The court can simultaneously issue a penalty barring the individual from holding public positions for a period of two years. If an official submits an asset declaration that contains untrue information or data contrary to the actual state of affairs, the court can impose a monetary fine upon a motion submitted by the head of the CBA.