Changes in the Area of Public Finance Discipline – Significance for Audit Bodies During the Pandemic

Rozprzestrzenianie się wirusa SARS-CoV-2 i spowodowanej nim choroby COVID-19 wywarło wielki wpływ na życie społeczne i gospodarcze wszystkich państw. Nowe, nieznane do tej pory zagrożenie wymusiło przyjęcie w latach 2020–2021 szczególnych rozwiązań prawnych, których zadaniem było i jest ograniczanie szkodliwych, także w wymiarze społeczno-ekonomicznym, skutków epidemii. Wprowadzone w Polsce przepisy będą z pewnością wykraczać poza czas jej trwania. Przedmiotem opracowania jest analiza regulacji zawartych w podstawowej dla tych spraw ustawie z 2 marca 2020 r. o szczególnych rozwiązaniach związanych z zapobieganiem, przeciwdziałaniem i zwalczaniem COVID-191, ale także w innych ustawach, które mają istotne znaczenie dla odpowiedzialności z tytułu naruszenia dyscypliny finansów publicznych.The spread of SARS-CoV-2 virus and the related COVID-19 disease has had a great impact on the social and economic lives in all countries. This new threat, which nobody knew before, forced the states to introduce special legal solutions in the years 2020–2021, the aim of which had been to reduce the effects of the pandemic, not only medical, but social and economic as well. It is also related to the regulations introduced in Poland, the results of which will for sure exceed the very duration of the pandemic. The article analyses the regulations included in the Act of 2 March 2020 on the detailed solutions related to prevention, counteracting and fighting COVID-19 – the basic law for the fight against the results of the pandemic, as well as in the other acts of high significance to the responsibility for breaches of the public finance discipline. The vast part of the new legal solutions is related to the very fight against pandemic and the resulting limitations of e.g. business, educational and cultural activity. At different times and in various scope these are also related to the freedom of movement and organisation of family and official events. Apart from limitations, provisions have been introduced foreseeing compensations for specific groups of entrepreneurs who suffer losses due to these provisions. Next to ad hoc solutions, the new legislature has also caused deep changes in some other areas. The article presents the solutions introduced as a result of the epidemic that are of importance from the perspective of the public finance discipline, especially in the context of audit bodies activities. Beyond doubt, the regulations related to the epidemic will have an impact on the scope of responsibility for breaches of the public finance discipline. They will be significant to the audit bodies that operate in the broadly understood public sphere, and that can submit notifications to public finance discipline officials. The highest number of such notifications is submitted by regional accounting chambers, which is evidenced in the annual report of the Chief Public Finance Discipline Officer and other public finance discipline officers. The latest reports read that out of 1,807 notifications submitted in 2020, 441 were submitted by regional accounting chambers. The activity of the Supreme Audit Office is also visible here, as it submitted 73 notifications in 2020