Tourist Voucher – Answers to Frequently Asked Questions The Polish Tourist Voucher is a tool that aims to provide financial support to both Polish families and the tourism industry, weakened by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The program will start soon! The new benefit is generating tremendous and positive interest among both tourism entrepreneurs and tourists themselves. What will be the value of the voucher, who will be eligible and where can it be redeemed? The Polish Tourist Organization presents answers to the most common questions. The tourist voucher is a new form of support for Polish families as the economy is weakened by the COVID-19 pandemic. It will amount to a one-time payment of PLN 500 for each child up to the age of 18, and one additional benefit in the form of a supplement to the voucher, in the amount of PLN 500 for children with a disability certificate . The voucher will be used to pay for hotel services or travel events provided by a tour operator or a non-profit organization in the country https://www.pot.gov.pl/pl/nowosci/polecane/bon-turystyczny-odpowiedzi-na-najczesciej-zadawane-pytania
1. Who is eligible for the voucher?
Nearly 6.5 million Polish children will be eligible for the travel voucher, including children of parents working abroad.|
A person will be entitled to the voucher if:
on the day the law enters into force will be entitled to:
an upbringing benefit specified in the Law on State Aid for Raising Children (the so-called 500+) or a
an upbringing allowance in the amount of the aforementioned upbringing benefit specified in the Act on State Aid for Raising Children;
during the period from the entry into force of the Law until December 31, 2021, will be entitled to the benefit or allowance specified in item 1, for a child for whom no such entitlement was previously granted.
The voucher will also be eligible for children whose parents are working abroad
2. What is the value of the voucher?
A voucher of PLN 500 will be entitled for each child. In the case of a disabled child, the eligible person will receive an additional voucher also in the amount of PLN 500, i.e. he will receive vouchers with a total value of PLN 1,000.
The voucher is tax-free and is not included in the amount of income.
3. How to apply for the voucher?
There is no need to submit additional applications for the voucher. It will only need to be activated.
The voucher will be generated in the PUE ZUS system. In order to activate the voucher, it will be necessary for an authorized person to log in to the PUE ZUS system (this can be done using a trusted profile or qualified electronic signature) and confirm the correctness of the data, or to update the data regarding email address and phone number.
Vouchers, in the form of a unique 16-digit number, will be transmitted via text message to the phone number or email address indicated.
voucher4.jpg4. By what date will the voucher application be processed?
See the answer to question 3.
5. when will the voucher be generated?
Information about the possibility of activating the voucher will be published on the website of the Public Information Bulletin of the Ministry of Development.
Currently, the exact date from which it will be possible to activate the voucher is not known. It depends on the date of launching the functionality on the ZUS Electronic Services Portal.
6 In what form will the voucher be issued?
The voucher will be in the form of an electronic document in the form of a unique 16-digit number. After activation of the voucher in the ZUS PUE system, it will be transmitted via text message to the phone number or e-mail address indicated.
7 Can the voucher be used to pay several times?
You will be able to use the voucher to make payments multiple times until the amount of the voucher is exhausted.
8. what is the expiration date of the voucher?
The voucher will expire on March 31, 2022.
9. What services can be paid for with the voucher?
The voucher will be used to pay for hotel services or travel events provided by a tour operator or a non-profit organization in the territory of the Republic of Poland. The hotel services or travel events are to be provided to the child for whom the voucher was granted.
Remember that a travel event should be understood as a combination of at least two different types of travel services for the same trip or vacation. This can also be used to finance a child’s stay at a summer camp or camps – scouting, sports, recreational. It can also be participation in a trip organized in Poland.
10 Where will it be possible to pay with a voucher?
The list of entities where it will be possible to pay with a voucher will be published on the website of the Polish Tourist Organization. The list will include entities that have previously registered in the PUE ZUS teleinformatics system.
The date from which it will be possible to register in the ICT system will be published on the website of the Ministry of Development’s Public Information Bulletin. Currently, the date from which it will be possible to register, and thus the date of publication of the list, is not known.
11 Where will the list of entities accepting payment by voucher be made available?
The list of entities where it will be possible to pay with a voucher will be published on the website of the Polish Tourism Organization.
12. Is it possible to pay for a hotel stay with a voucher for children and yourself, or only for children?
The hotel service or tourist event for which payment will be made with the voucher is to be provided to the child for whom the voucher was granted.
A hotel service or travel event is provided to a child when the hotel service is used or a child participates in the travel event, even if no additional payment is associated with the child’s participation due to the child’s age. The condition for the use of the voucher is the participation of the child for whom the voucher was granted.
Voucher2a.jpgPart 2 – questions from entrepreneurs and non-profit organizations:
13. when will it be possible to register entities eligible to receive vouchers?
The date from which it will be possible to register in the ICT system will be published on the website of the Public Information Bulletin of the Ministry of Development. At present, the exact date from which registration will be possible is not known. It depends on the date of launching the functionality on the Social Security Electronic Services Portal.
14 How and where can facilities register for the “facility directory”? If they have previously participated in PTO promotional campaigns, will they be automatically included in the voucher?
Venues wishing to accept voucher payments will have to register in the PUE ZUS ICT system. The date from which it will be possible to register in the ICT system will be published on the website of the Ministry of Development’s Public Information Bulletin. Currently, the date from which it will be possible to register is not known. It depends on the date of launching the functionality on the ZUS Electronic Services Portal.
Tourism entrepreneurs or non-profit organizations will have to provide the following data when registering:
name, surname, or business name;
residence address – in case you represent a tourism entrepreneur who is a natural person; registered office address – in case you represent a legal person or an organizational unit without legal personality, to which a separate law grants legal capacity; business address – in case the place of providing hotel services or offering tourist events is other than the residence or registered office address;
NIP number – in the case of a natural person performing economic activity, in the case of a legal person or in the case of an organizational unit without legal personality, PESEL number – in the case of a natural person not performing economic activity, and if there is no such number – the type, number and series of an identity document;
information on entry in: the relevant register referred to in Article 38(1)-(3) of the Act of August 29, 1997 on hotel services and services of tour guides and tour operators, or the relevant register referred to in Article 22(2) of the Act of November 24, 2017 on tourist events and related tourist services;
the number of entry in the National Court Register or information on entry in the Central Register and Information on Business Activity – if the tour operator or public benefit organization is subject to entry in this register or register;
information on offering hotel services or tourist events;
the number of the bank account kept in the Republic of Poland in Polish zlotys, assigned to the performed activity;
e-mail address assigned to the conducted activity;
telephone number assigned to the activity performed;
name and surname of the person making the registration, authorized to represent the tourist entrepreneur or public benefit organization.
Detailed information is available in the Law of July 15, 2020 on the Polish Tourist Voucher.
Registration in the system, is associated with the obligation to post information about the possibility of making payments with a tourist voucher for hotel services or tourist events where they are carried out and offered, such as on the website or at the reception desk.
Participation in actions organized by the Polish Tourist Organization does not exempt you from registration.
15. is there a timeframe within which one must apply to be on the list of entities authorized to acceptbon3a.jpg voucher payments?
Participation in the program will be possible at any time, until the end of the program’s duration, i.e. March 31, 2022.
The date from which it will be possible to register in the PUE ZUS system will be published on the website of the Public Information Bulletin of the Ministry of Development. Currently, the date from which it will be possible to register is not known. It depends on the date of launching the functionality on the ZUS Electronic Services Portal.
The right to accept voucher payments will expire on March 31, 2022.
16. Is it necessary to have a trusted profile to submit an object to the directory?
Authentication of entities in the ICT system requires the use of a trusted profile, a personal profile or other means of electronic identification issued in the electronic identification system connected to the national node of electronic identification referred to in Article 21a paragraph 1 point 2 letter a of the Law of September 5, 2016 on trust services and electronic identification, data verified with a qualified certificate of electronic signature, if these data allow identification and authentication required for the implementation of the online service, or other technologies, if made available in this system.
17. will the voucher be able to be redeemed at enterprises such as a theme park?
Payments by voucher will be accepted by tourism entrepreneurs or non-profit organizations that will provide hotel services or tourist events in the territory of the Republic of Poland.
A hotel service means short-term, generally available rental of houses, apartments, rooms, accommodations, as well as places for setting up tents or caravans, and provision, within the premises, of related services (Article 3, paragraph 1, item 8 of the Act of August 29, 1997 on hotel services and services of tour guides and tour operators – Journal of Laws of 2019, item 238, and 2020, items 374 and 568).
In turn, a tourist event means a combination of at least two different types of tourist services for the same trip or vacation, meeting the conditions specified by the law (Article 4(2) of the Act of November 24, 2017 on tourist events and related tourist services – Journal of Laws of 2019, item 548 and of 2020, item 568).
If an amusement park operator is included in the group of tourism entrepreneurs or for-profit organizations providing hospitality services or tourist events, and registers in the ICT system maintained by the Social Security Administration, it will be able to accept payments by voucher.
18. will canoeing organizers be able to make payments by tourist voucher?
Payments by voucher will be able to be accepted by tourism entrepreneurs or non-profit organizations that will provide hotel services or tourist events on the territory of the Republic of Poland.
A hotel service means short-term, generally available rental of houses, apartments, rooms, accommodations, as well as places for setting up tents or caravans, and the provision, within the facility, of related services (Article 3, paragraph 1, item 8 of the Act of August 29, 1997 on hotel services and services of tour guides and tour operators – Journal of Laws of 2019, item 238, and 2020, items 374 and 568).
In turn, a tourist event means a combination of at least two different types of tourist services for the same trip or vacation, meeting the conditions specified by the law (Article 4(2) of the Law of November 24, 2017 on tourist events and related tourist services – Journal of Laws of 2019, item 548 and of 2020, item 568).
If the organizer of canoeing trips is included in the group of tourism entrepreneurs or for-profit organizations providing hospitality services or tourist events and registers in the information and communication system maintained by the Social Security Administration, it will be able to accept payments by voucher.
19 Will the facilities in the database be “given” by the PTO or will it be possible to apply to it?
Entities wishing to accept payments by voucher will have to register in the PUE ZUS teleinformatics system. The date from which it will be possible to register in the ICT system will be published on the website of the Public Information Bulletin of the Ministry of Development.
20 Do tourism entrepreneurs have to additionally register in PUE ZUS to become a beneficiary of the program, or is this an automatic process that will take into account all entities with the status of tourism entrepreneurs?
Entities wishing to accept voucher payments will have to register with PUE ZUS. The date from which it will be possible to register in the ICT system will be published on the website of the Ministry of Development’s Public Information Bulletin.
bon4a.jpg21. Will there be a separate tab on PUE ZUS for registration?
ZUS will adapt the ICT system to the requirements of the registration process after the law comes into force. At this stage, it is not possible to determine the functionality of the system.
22. can tourist vouchers be redeemed at an agritourism farm on the basis of a simplified bill (i.e. without VAT)?
If the person running the agritourism farm registers in the ICT system maintained by the Social Security Administration, he will be entitled to accept payments by voucher.
23. can overnight stays in private accommodation be paid for with a voucher?
If a person providing hotel services in private accommodation registers in the ICT system maintained by Social Security, he will be entitled to accept payment by voucher.
24 How will the voucher be used?
The vouchers will be transmitted, in the form of a unique 16-digit number, via text message to the phone number or e-mail address indicated by the authorized person. This number must be presented at the time of booking the stay or, at the latest, at the accommodation. Payment by voucher will be made using the Social Security PUE system.
25. will it be possible to make payment by voucher when the amount of accommodation exceeds the value of the voucher?
Payment by voucher will also be possible when the value of the hotel service or travel event exceeds the value of the voucher. In such a situation, payment of the balance should be made in cash, by wire transfer, etc.
(26) As the owner of a summer camp center engaged in the leisure activities of children and adolescents, can we apply to be included in the list of entities authorized to accept payments by voucher, and how to do it?
Payments by means of a voucher may be accepted by tourist entrepreneurs or public benefit organizations that provide hotel services or tourist events in the territory of the Republic of Poland.
A hotel service is defined as short-term, generally available rental of houses, apartments, rooms, accommodations, as well as places for setting up tents or caravans, and provision, within the facility, of related services (Article 3, paragraph 1, item 8 of the Act of August 29, 1997 on hotel services and services of tour operators and tour guides – Journal of Laws of 2019, item 238, and 2020, items 374 and 568).
In turn, a tourist event means a combination of at least two different types of tourist services for the same trip or vacation, meeting the conditions specified by the law (Article 4(2) of the Law of November 24, 2017 on tourist events and related tourist services – Journal of Laws of 2019, item 548 and of 2020, item 568).
Thus, if the entity in question falls within the group of tourism entrepreneurs or for-profit organizations providing hospitality services or travel events and registers in the ICT system maintained by the Social Security Administration, it will be able to accept payments via voucher.
27. will it be possible for accommodation facilities and others in the tourism industry that do not have payment terminals, cash registers to redeem the voucher?
There will be such a possibility. It will be sufficient for entrepreneurs to register in the PUE ZUS teleinformatics system. The date from which it will be possible to register in the ICT system will be published on the website of the Public Information Bulletin of the Ministry of Development. Currently, the date from which it will be possible to register is not known. It depends on the date of launching the functionality on the ZUS Electronic Services Portal.
