A technology company based in Mazowieckie had secured a favourable commercial contract worth over PLN 4m. When the counterparty defaulted, the board assumed litigation would be straightforward. Then the finance team calculated the court filing fee – and the number stopped the process cold.

Court fees in Polish civil proceedings are proportional to the value of the claim, subject to a statutory cap. For commercial disputes, the fee is 5% of the claimed amount, with a ceiling of PLN 200,000. A PLN 4m claim therefore carries a filing fee of PLN 200,000 – payable upfront, before the court accepts the case. Failure to pay the correct fee results in the claim being returned without examination.

This case study traces how we helped the client calculate the correct fee, structure the claim to maximise recovery, and avoid procedural pitfalls that routinely derail business disputes in Poland. The lessons apply to any company – Polish or foreign – considering litigation or arbitration in Poland.

What was the background to this dispute?

The client, a mid-sized IT services provider registered in Warsaw, had delivered software implementation work under a fixed-price contract. The counterparty – a retail group – withheld the final two instalments, totalling PLN 4.2m, citing alleged defects. Internal negotiations collapsed after six months. The client's board authorised litigation before the District Court (Sąd Okręgowy) in Warsaw, which has jurisdiction over commercial claims exceeding PLN 100,000.

The initial instruction to our disputes team arrived in late autumn 2025. The client had already drafted a statement of claim internally. The draft correctly identified the defendant and the contractual basis. It had one significant problem: it bundled three separate legal grounds into a single claim figure without distinguishing principal debt, contractual penalties, and interest. That bundling affected both the fee calculation and the litigation strategy.

Under Polish civil procedure, the court fee is assessed on the total value stated in the statement of claim. Contractual penalties and statutory interest are included in that total if claimed simultaneously with the principal. The client's draft would have triggered the maximum PLN 200,000 fee immediately – but also created unnecessary complexity in the evidentiary phase.

How did we calculate and structure the court fees?

Polish court fee rules are governed by the Act on Court Costs in Civil Cases (ustawa o kosztach sądowych w sprawach cywilnych). For commercial proceedings, the proportional fee rate is 5%, with the PLN 200,000 ceiling applying to claims above PLN 4m. Below that threshold, the fee scales linearly. A PLN 2m claim costs PLN 100,000; a PLN 1m claim costs PLN 50,000. These figures are fixed – there is no judicial discretion to reduce them at the filing stage.

We advised the client to file the principal debt claim of PLN 4.2m first, triggering the PLN 200,000 cap. Contractual penalties of approximately PLN 380,000 were reserved for a separate motion to expand the claim, filed after the first hearing. This approach is permitted under the Code of Civil Procedure (Kodeks postępowania cywilnego, KPC). The supplementary fee on the expanded claim was calculated at 5% of PLN 380,000 – an additional PLN 19,000 – payable only when the expansion motion was filed. Total fees: PLN 219,000 rather than a single upfront PLN 229,000. The saving was modest; the procedural clarity was not.

We also flagged the KIO appeal route. Where a dispute arises from a public procurement contract, the National Appeals Chamber (Krajowa Izba Odwoławcza, KIO) offers a faster and cheaper forum – fees are capped at PLN 15,000. This client's contract was private, so KIO was unavailable. However, the point is worth noting for manufacturing and infrastructure clients whose disputes often involve public contracts.

  • Fee base: total value of all claims stated in the filing
  • Rate: 5% of claim value, maximum PLN 200,000
  • Supplementary fee on claim expansion: 5% of the added amount
  • Fee on appeal: 5% of the disputed amount, maximum PLN 200,000
  • Fee refund: 75% if the case settles before the first hearing

The 75% refund rule is one of the most underused tools in Polish litigation. We built a settlement window into the litigation timeline, targeting the period between service of the statement of claim and the preliminary hearing – typically 60 to 90 days after filing. A settlement reached in that window would have returned PLN 150,000 to the client.

What procedural risks arose during the process?

The District Court in Warsaw operates a dedicated commercial division. Cases are assigned to a single judge, who sets a preliminary hearing within approximately three months of filing. Our filing was accepted without defect in January 2026. The defendant's response arrived 28 days later – within the court-ordered deadline – and raised a jurisdictional objection alongside the substantive defence.

The jurisdictional objection argued that the contract contained an arbitration clause. This was a genuine risk. Arbitration Poland practitioners know that an overlooked clause can result in the court staying proceedings and referring the parties to arbitration – at which point the court fee is refunded, but the timeline resets entirely. We had reviewed the contract for arbitration clauses at the outset. The clause the defendant cited had been deleted in a signed amendment. The court dismissed the objection at the preliminary hearing.

A second procedural issue arose around sanctions compliance. The defendant's ultimate beneficial owner appeared on a third-country watchlist, flagged during our standard pre-litigation sanctions screening. Continuing to pursue a money judgment against a sanctions-listed entity without appropriate authorisation can expose the claimant to regulatory liability. We coordinated with the client's compliance function and obtained a legal opinion confirming that the specific restriction did not apply to the recovery of pre-existing contractual debts. For guidance on the broader framework, see our analysis of sanctions screening obligations for Polish companies.

We also reviewed whether any employment-related counterclaim was plausible. The defendant had hinted at claims arising from the conduct of the client's project manager, who was an employee. Polish employment law creates a separate liability track for employer responsibility. Our employment practice confirmed that no counterclaim of that nature had legal merit on these facts. For context on employer liability exposure, see our overview of employment law in Poland.

What were the transferable lessons for business disputes?

The case reached a negotiated settlement in spring 2026. The client recovered PLN 4.05m – 96% of the principal claim – plus PLN 160,000 in costs, including a partial fee refund. The contractual penalties were waived as part of the settlement. Total elapsed time from instruction to settlement: five months. The outcome was better than the client's initial litigation budget had projected.

Four lessons from this matter apply broadly to any business considering litigation in Poland. First, calculate the court fee before drafting the claim. The fee affects cash flow and sometimes determines whether litigation is economically rational. Second, check every version of the contract for arbitration clauses. A deleted clause that survives in an unsigned draft can still be raised as a defence – and resolving it costs time and money. Third, run a sanctions screen before filing. The National Court Register (KRS) and beneficial ownership register (CRBR) are the starting points, but they do not cover all watchlists. Fourth, preserve the fee refund window. Settling before the first hearing returns 75% of the filing fee – a significant sum on large claims.

For cross-border matters, the fee structure interacts with enforcement questions. A Polish judgment against a foreign defendant requires exequatur proceedings in the defendant's jurisdiction. Understanding that cost layer at the outset shapes the litigation strategy. Our guide to enforcing a French judgment in Poland illustrates how that process works in reverse.

One further point on dispute lawyer selection in Poland: the court fee is only one component of the total cost of litigation. Legal fees, expert witness costs, and the cost of management time spent on disclosure are often larger. A dispute lawyer in Poland who focuses only on the filing fee – and not on the full cost-benefit matrix – is not giving complete advice.

Our team secured recovery of over PLN 4m for an IT services client in Mazowieckie (spring 2026), resolving a multi-ground commercial dispute within five months through a combination of precise fee structuring and a targeted settlement strategy.

What to prepare before filing a commercial claim in Poland:

  • Final signed version of all contract documents, including amendments
  • Calculation of principal debt, penalties, and interest – itemised separately
  • Beneficial ownership information for the defendant (KRS extract, CRBR entry)
  • Sanctions screening report covering all relevant watchlists
  • Budget for court fees, legal fees, and expert costs over an 18-month horizon

Every commercial dispute in Poland has a specific fee, a specific procedural timeline, and a specific set of risks that depend on the contract, the counterparty, and the forum. Acting without a complete picture of those variables forfeits negotiating leverage and, in some cases, precludes recovery entirely.

To receive an expert assessment of your dispute and the applicable court fee calculation, contact info@kordeckipartners.com.

Frequently asked questions

Q: Can the court fee be paid in instalments or deferred?

A: In principle, no. The filing fee must be paid in full at the time of submission. A party that cannot afford the fee may apply to the court for exemption from court costs, but this exemption is granted only to natural persons who demonstrate insufficient means – not to commercial entities in the ordinary course. A company that files without paying the correct fee will have its statement of claim returned, and the statute of limitations continues to run during that period.

Q: Is arbitration cheaper than court litigation for large commercial claims in Poland?

A: Not necessarily. Arbitration in Poland – whether before the Court of Arbitration at the Polish Chamber of Commerce or another institution – involves registration fees, arbitrator fees, and administrative costs that can exceed PLN 200,000 on large claims. The advantage of arbitration is confidentiality, speed, and the ability to choose arbitrators with sector expertise. The cost comparison depends on the claim size, the complexity of the dispute, and the arbitration rules chosen. For claims below PLN 1m, court litigation is generally more cost-efficient.

Q: What happens to the court fee if the claimant wins?

A: Under Polish civil procedure, the losing party bears the costs of the proceedings, including the court fee paid by the claimant. The court awards costs in the judgment. If the claimant wins in full, the defendant is ordered to reimburse the entire filing fee plus reasonable legal costs. If the claimant wins only in part, costs are allocated proportionally. The reimbursement is enforced as part of the judgment – it does not require a separate enforcement action.

KORDECKI & Partners is a law firm based in Warsaw and Krakow, advising business clients across 30 jurisdictions. Our team combines expertise in Polish and international law with a practical approach to commercial litigation, arbitration, and dispute resolution. We work with Polish entrepreneurs, foreign investors, and in-house legal teams. To discuss your situation, contact info@kordeckipartners.com.

Disclaimer: This publication is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. The information herein should not be relied upon as a substitute for professional legal counsel tailored to your specific circumstances. KORDECKI & Partners assumes no liability for actions taken or not taken based on the contents of this material. For advice regarding your particular situation, please contact info@kordeckipartners.com.