There will be no base of persons interested in buying solid fuel
Following comments from UODO (hereinafter: Polish DPA), the provisions providing for the creation of a database of adult natural persons interested in purchasing solid fuel for their own household needs have been removed from the draft Act on special solutions to protect recipients of certain solid fuels in connection with the situation on the market for these fuels.
The Polish DPA has consistently sought to shape the law in a way that there will be no excessive collection of personal data. An example of such actions is an opinion delivered by Polish DPA on the government's draft Act on special solutions for the protection of recipients of certain solid fuels in connection with the situation on the market for these fuels, which provided for the creation of a database of adult natural persons interested in purchasing solid fuel for their own household needs. It was to be maintained by the minister responsible for energy.
Unclear purpose of the base's creation
The Polish DPA in its opinion, pointed out the lack of clarity of the purpose of creating a database of natural persons interested in purchasing solid fuel. The proposed provisions envisaged that compensation for the sale of fuel at a specific price would be paid to entrepreneurs carrying out economic activity in the field of marketing fuel, and not to purchasers of solid fuel for their own household needs. The compensation payments were to be made by dedicated company i.e. Zarządca Rozliczeń J.S.C., referred to in chapter 7 of the Act of 29 June 2007 on the principles of covering the costs incurred by producers in connection with early termination of long-term power and energy sale agreements. Since this task was not the responsibility of the minister responsible for energy, Polish DPA raised a question about the purpose of the creation and maintenance by this minister of a database of adult natural persons interested in purchasing solid fuel for their own household needs. This purpose was even more unclear as according to the proposed provisions, the minister in question was to make the data from this database available, on unspecified terms, to entrepreneurs carrying out economic activity in the field of marketing solid fuels and therefore not necessarily the entrepreneurs seeking compensation.
Violation of the GDPR provisions
The Polish DPA indicated that it was doubtful that the creation of such a database would meet the GDPR requirements in terms of lawfulness, fairness and transparency, and that the processing of the personal data included in it would not breach the purpose limitation principle. In its opinion, consideration of the principles of data minimisation and lawfulness argued against the open catalogue of personal data included in the application for compensation in the proposed Act. Such a solution seemed incorrect, especially since other provision in the proposed Act stipulated a closed catalogue of personal data.
The parliamentary committee takes into account the comments of the Polish DPA
The above position of the Polish DPA was forwarded to the Chancellery of the Sejm, and during the work of the Sejm's Committee for Energy, Climate and State Assets, the provisions on the creation of a database of adult natural persons interested in purchasing solid fuel for their own household needs were removed from the proposed Act. In this form, the proposed Act was passed.
