Debtor’s assets exempt from enforcement

It should be stressed at the outset that the trustee and the bailiff both seize assets on the basis of the same provisions. Debtors facing enforcement by a bailiff, or whose bankruptcy proceedings have been opened, should know that not everything they own is subject to enforcement. The exemptions cover, among other things, food supplies, tools needed to earn a living, and underwear and everyday clothing. If the bailiff acts unlawfully, they must expect a claim for compensation for the damage.

Under the Code of Civil Procedure and other laws in force, the following are not subject to enforcement:

1. household items, bedding, underwear and everyday clothing needed by the debtor and the family members they support, as well as clothing needed for service or for practising a profession;
2. supplies of food and fuel needed by the debtor and the family members they support for one month;
3. one cow, or two goats, or three sheep needed to feed the debtor and the family members they support, together with a supply of fodder and bedding until the next harvest;
4. tools and other items needed for the debtor’s own gainful work, and raw materials they need for one week of production, excluding motor vehicles;
5. for a debtor receiving a regular periodic salary, money in an amount equal to the part of the salary exempt from enforcement for the period until the next payday; for a debtor without a regular salary, the money they and their family need to live on for two weeks;
6. items needed for study, personal papers, decorations and items used for religious practice, as well as everyday items that could only be sold for far less than their value but have considerable practical value for the debtor;
7. medicinal products within the meaning of the Pharmaceutical Law Act of 6 September 2001 (Journal of Laws of 2017, item 2211) needed for a healthcare provider within the meaning of the provisions on medical activity to operate for three months, and medical devices within the meaning of the Medical Devices Act of 20 May 2010 (Journal of Laws of 2017, item 211) needed for it to operate;
8. items needed because of the disability of the debtor or members of their family;
9. sums and benefits in kind allocated to cover expenses or business travel;
10. sums granted by the State Treasury for special purposes (in particular scholarships and grants), unless the claim being enforced arose in connection with achieving those purposes or from a maintenance obligation;
11. funds from programmes financed with the funds referred to in Article 5(1)(2) and (3) of the Public Finance Act of 27 August 2009 (Journal of Laws of 2017, item 2077), paid as an advance, unless the claim being enforced arose in connection with the project for which those funds were intended;
12. non-transferable rights, unless their transferability was excluded by contract and the subject of the performance is suitable for enforcement, or exercising the right can be entrusted to someone else;
13. benefits from personal insurance and compensation from property insurance, within the limits set by regulation of the Ministers of Finance and Justice; this does not apply to enforcement aimed at satisfying maintenance claims;
14. social assistance benefits within the meaning of the Social Assistance Act of 12 March 2004 (Journal of Laws of 2017, items 1769 and 1985);
15. claims due to the debtor from the state budget or the National Health Fund for providing healthcare services within the meaning of the Act of 27 August 2004 on healthcare services financed from public funds (Journal of Laws of 2017, items 1938, 2110 and 2217), before the provision of those services is completed, in the amount of 75% of each payment, unless they are claims of the debtor’s employees or of the healthcare providers referred to in Article 5(41)(a) and (b) of that Act;
16. sums awarded by a judgment of the European Court of Human Rights, if the claim being enforced is due to the State Treasury;
17. the integration benefit within the meaning of the Social Employment Act of 13 June 2003 (Journal of Laws of 2016, item 1828).

What is particularly important from a debt collection defence point of view is that the following are not subject to enforcement: maintenance payments, cash benefits paid when enforcement of maintenance has proved ineffective, family benefits, family allowances, childbirth and care allowances, allowances for full orphans, carers’ allowances, social assistance benefits, child-raising benefits (including 500+), and the one-off benefit referred to in Article 10 of the Act of 4 November 2016 on support for pregnant women and families “Za życiem”. Benefits and allowances under the Act of 9 June 2011 on family support and the foster care system are also not subject to enforcement.

The list of assets that are exempt from enforcement by a bailiff, or subject to it only to a limited extent, is not exhaustive. Specific laws may exempt other assets of the debtor from enforcement: for example, the Act on pensions from the Social Insurance Fund protects certain amounts of the benefits granted from seizure, and the Labour Code sets limits below which wages cannot be touched.

The bailiff’s liability

The law expressly provides that a bailiff must compensate for damage caused by an unlawful act or omission in the course of their duties. This covers both financial and non-financial damage. Because a bailiff is a public official acting on behalf of the state, the State Treasury is jointly and severally liable with them.