Chapter 12

The financing of election campaigning shall be public.

1. The expenses of the committees related to elections shall be met from their own resources.

2. The committee may raise and spend funds from the day it acquires legal existence.

3. The committee may spend raised funds exclusively on purposes related to elections.

1. The financial agent of the committee shall be accountable for the management of finances of the committee.

2. The following persons shall not be a financial agent:

3. One person may be a financial agent of one committee only.

Committees shall manage their accounts in accordance with principles specified in separate provisions concerning those entities that do not conduct economic activity, subject to the provisions of this Act.

The expenses of the committee shall not exceed 12,000,000 zl.

1. Natural persons, legal persons and other organizational units, subject to the provisions of Article 86, may donate funds for the purposes of the election campaign carried out by the committee.

2. The funds donated for the purposes of an election campaign by legal persons may be derived exclusively from profits.

3. The provisions of para. 2 shall also apply to the non-reimbursable provision of services.

4. Financial resources of the committee shall be collected in a bank account; however, funds donated by legal persons, excluding political parties, as well as funds raised by public collections from anonymous donors, shall be collected in separate sub-accounts of the committee's account.

5. The total amount of payments from one natural person to one committee shall not exceed the equivalent of 15-fold the minimum monthly wage on the day preceding the beginning of the election campaign.

6. The total amount of payments from any subject other than that referred to in para. 5, excluding political parties, to one committee shall not exceed the equivalent of 100-fold the minimum monthly wages on the day preceding the beginning of the election campaign.

7. Amounts exceeding the equivalent of the two-fold minimum monthly wages, excluding amounts raised by public collection, may be paid exclusively by a cheque, transfer or bank (payment) card.

1. Funds donated to the committee shall not be derived from:

2. The committee shall not accept funds from:

3. The provisions of paras. 1 and 2 shall apply as appropriate to non-cash assets.

1. A financial agent may organize raising of funds for purposes connected with the election in accordance with principles specified in provisions concerning public collections.

2. No permit shall be required for the organization of a public collection as referred to in para. 1.

3. A financial agent shall keep documents concerning public collections during the period of 12 months following the election day.

1. Transfer of financial resources or non-cash assets of one committee to the benefit of another committee shall be prohibited.

2. Raising of funds by the committee and spending them after the day of submitting a report referred to in Article 87e, shall be prohibited.

The expenses incurred by the committee in carrying out of electoral campaign in a way and by methods typical of advertisement, including press advertising within the meaning of the press law, shall not exceed 80% of the amount referred to in Article 84d.

The expenses incurred by the committee from the resources derived from legal persons, with the exclusion of political parties, shall not exceed 60% of the limit referred to in Article 84d.

The expenses incurred by the committee from funds raised by public collections from anonymous donors, within the meaning of the provisions concerning public collections, shall not exceed 10% of the limit referred to in Article 84d.

Any appeals or written information provided by the committee, aimed at raising funds for the election, shall contain information about the content of the provisions of Article 85 paras. 2, 3 and 5 - 7 and Article 86, Article 87f, Article 88f items 1 and 2, and Article 88g item 2.

1. Financial benefits transferred or accepted by a committee in violation of prohibitions specified in Article 84d, Article 85 paras. 2 to 7, Article 86, Article 87a Article 87b, Article 87c or Article 87d shall be subject to forfeiture for the benefit of the State Treasury. If any financial benefit has been used or lost, its value shall be forfeited.

2. The Regional Court in Warsaw shall have jurisdiction in cases of forfeiture of financial benefits referred to in para. 1.

3. An application for forfeiture of financial benefit shall be submitted to the court by the National Electoral Commission.

4. The provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure shall apply in cases concerning forfeiture of financial benefits.

1. Within the period of 3 months following the election day, a financial agent shall submit to the National Electoral Commission a report on receipts, expenses and financial commitments of the committee, hereinafter called an "election report" along with an opinion of a certified auditor concerning the report and with documents referred to in para. 4.

2. A certified auditor referred to in para. 1 shall be selected by the National Electoral Commission.

3. The cost of drawing up of the opinion referred to in para. 1 shall be covered by the State Budget in part 19- Budget, public finances and financial institutions.

4. The minister competent for matters of public finances shall, after seeking an opinion of the National Electoral Commission, specify, by means of a regulation, a specimen for election report and the detailed scope of information to be included therein, as well as the list of types of documents to be appended to the report so that they enable verification of information given in the report. The specimen shall require in particular:

5. In the election report, non-cash donations and services rendered for the benefit of the committee shall be calculated by reference to their attainable net sale prices and which shall not exceed either their buying prices or costs of their production minus depreciation allowances.

6. The provisions of para. 5 shall not apply to non-reimbursable provision of services consisting of dissemination of election posters and slogans by subjects other than businesses.

7. The National Electoral Commission shall announce the election report of the committee within a time limit of 7 days following the day it is submitted to the National Electoral Commission.

8. In the event that the funds obtained for purposes connected with the election exceed expenditures incurred, the financial agent shall apply such surplus to a charitable institution. The financial agent shall announce information about such fact in a daily newspaper with nationwide circulation no later than 30 days after the day of receipt of the election report by the National Electoral Commission.

1. The National Electoral Commission shall, within the time limit of 4 months after the submission of the election report, accept the report, or reject it if the National Electoral Commission has found that the committee violated the provision of this Act concerning the financing of electoral campaigns.

2. In case of any doubts about the correctness of the election report, the National Electoral Commission may invite the committee to remove defects from the report or to give explanations within a specified time limit.

3. When considering the election report, the National Electoral Commission may order preparation of expert appraisals or opinions.

4. When considering the election report, the National Electoral Commission may request necessary assistance from state organs.

5. Within 7 days following the publication of the election report, as referred to in Article 87e para. 7:

may lodge with the National Electoral Commission written reasoned objections to election reports of the committees.

6. The National Electoral Commission shall respond in writing to the objection within 60 days from the day of submission thereof.

1. In the event that the election report of the committee has been rejected by the National Electoral Commission, the committee shall have the right to lodge a complaint with the Supreme Court, within a time limit of 7 days following the day of rejection of the report, against the decision of the National Electoral Commission to that effect.

2. The Supreme Court shall examine the complaint and shall issue a ruling on it within a time limit of 60 days following the delivery of the complaint.

3. The examination of the complaint by the Supreme Court shall be done by a bench of 7 judges, by way of non-litigious procedure.

4. There shall be no legal recourse against the ruling of the Supreme Court.

An election committee shall be dissolved by virtue of law:

1) after the acceptance of the election report of the committee by the National Electoral Commission; or

2) after ineffective expiry of the time limit for lodging of a complaint referred to in Article 87i para. 1; or

3) after the issue of a ruling, referred to in Article 87i para. 2, upholding the complaint against the decision of the National Electoral Commission rejecting the report.

The National Electoral Commission shall announce in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Poland "Monitor Polski" and shall make public, in the form of a communication, information about accepted and rejected election reports of the committees.

1. Expenditures related to the organization of the preparation and conduct of the election shall be covered by the State Budget.

2. The State Budget shall cover expenditures related to:

3. Financial resources for duties ascribed to units of local government shall be transferred no later than within 30 days after the date of announcement of the decision of the Marshal of the Sejm on proclamation of the election.

4. Information on expenditures referred to in para. 2 shall be announced by the Head of the National Electoral Office within 5 months of the election day.

5. The rules of financial planning and execution of the expenditures referred to in paras. 2 and 3 and of financial accounting shall be determined by the provisions concerning public finances.

6. The Head of the National Electoral Office shall be controller of financial resources referred to in para. 1.