Incorporation - Types of Business Entities

There are several types of entities that can be incorporated in Poland are as mentioned below:

·       Limited Company – LTD (Spółka z ograniczoną odpowiedzialnością – Sp. z o.o.)

·       Joint-Stock Company (Spółka akcyjna – S. A.)

·       Registered Partnership (Spółka Jawna – Sp.J.)

·       Limited Liability Partnership – LLP/LLC (Spółka Komandytowa – Sp. K.)

·       Limited Joint-Stock Partnership (Spółka Komandytowo-Akcyjna – S.K.A.)

Time Frame for Incorporation of Company in Poland varies from depending on the type of entity selected. Each business type has its own advantages and disadvantages. YourGlobalPro estimates the time required for the process of Company formation to be completed in 7-8 weeks 

Benefits of Registration of a Company

The Country is Leader in Central Europe in foreign direct investment. Below are the advantages of company formation in Poland:

·       Strategic geographical location of Poland & wide trade opportunities.

·       Successful and fast-growing economies in Central Europe

·       Important and dynamic market and benefits from a free flow of goods and services as member of EU

·       Great opportunities for companies involved in defense or defense-related products, Engineering and green-building services firms

·       Legal system is moving towards full harmonization with Western standards

·       Government is in favor of foreign investments

·       Business-friendly reforms to lower taxes Introduced.

·       Large qualified workforce and lower production costs

Tax Registration and Filing

All Business entities including companies in the process of incorporating or registering are subject to corporate tax on their worldwide income and capital gains.

Double Tax Treaty

Double Tax Agreements regulates the tax treatment of income or capital gains in situations where the same taxpayer is taxed twice in two countries for the same subject. Poland has double taxation treaties with about 80 countries.

Trademark registration

For trademark registration in Poland, an application needs to be made to the Polish Patent Office. It takes approximately 25-28 months’ timeframe to complete the trademark registration process. A Trademark Registration in Poland is valid for 10 years from the application date and can be renewed 12 months before the trademark right expires by payment of renewal fees for 10 years indefinitely. Also, renewal of expired trademark is possible within six months after the renewal due date by paying the extra fee.

YourGlobalPro professionals are fully equipped to assist you with the process of trademark registration in Poland for your business. For assistance or advice in the matter of the trademark registration in Poland or intellectual property – please feel free to write or contact us.

Secretarial Compliance

Below are some of the important points in relation to Company Secretarial Compliance in Poland:

·       No nationality restrictions for manager and company Directors.

·       The foreign nationals who are management board members do not need work permits if they do not stay in Poland for more than six months in any consecutive 12-month period

·       Accounting and other records may be kept using ledgers, electronic media, and other means as approved by law.

·       Minimum corporate accounting books to be maintained are Book of Share Certificates, Share Record Book, Book of Acts, General Journal

Accounting Services

In Poland, the Accounting Act permits or requires some business entities to apply IFRS as adopted by the EU as their primary basis. For all the entities, it is mandatory to maintain book and other documentation and financial statement should be drawn up in Polish language and presented in the Polish currency.

YourGlobalPro professionals can assist you with the entire bookkeeping and accounting services for your Poland Business Setup as per your business needs including implementation of financial accounting software, accounting records preparation and time to time preparation of budgets, forecasts. 

Auditing service

Financial statements consisting of Balance Sheet, Income Statement, cash flow statement, Statement of Changes in Equity and notes to the financial statement must be prepared the Polish currency. Polish statutory audit requirements apply to statements of the Banks, Insurance companies, reinsurance companies, pension funds, investment funds, joint stock companies, public companies and such other entities who meet the prescribed criteria under the law as amended from time to time.

Based on the size of the business – the companies are required to prepare and file financial statements with the Authority. YourGlobalPro professionals provide you auditing services as required by your business.

Banking

In Poland majority of Banks offer internet access to the account, some are even internet-only and have no physical branch. The documentation requirement differs from Bank to Bank and need to be complied for the Bank account opening.

The major banks in Poland are PKO BP, Pekao, Bank Handlowy, Powszechny Bank Kredytowy, Bank Przemyslowo-Handlowy, Bank Slaski, Kredyt Bank, ING Barings Warsaw, NBP – National Bank of Poland, Citibank, Raiffeisen Bank Polska, AmerBank, Bank Austria Creditanstalt Polen. All banks are stable, reliable and offer the same level of services.

YourGlobalPro professionals can facilitate all the paper work in relation to banking need and can assist you in opening bank account for your business plan in Poland.

Legal and Compliance

In Poland, the responsibility of legal compliance is not a one-time affair, but a continuous process. Below is the various Poland legal and compliance requirement to be followed by incorporated entities:

·       Listed companies are additionally obliged to publish semi-annual and quarterly reports

·       The statements should be prepared within three months after the balance sheet date balance sheet date.

·       In addition to financial Statement the management report (the Director’s report) needs to be prepared by the Joint -stock companies, selected partnership, mutual insurance companies, co-operatives, state-owned companies, investment funds and investment companies.

·       Groups of related companies may report combined taxable income and pay one combined tax for all companies belonging to the group.

·       Reporting requirements are imposed for certain loans and credits granted from abroad.

·       Taxpayers must report foreign related-party transactions if the total amount of the transactions exceeds EUR 300,000 to the tax office by the end of the third month following the end of the tax year.

·       Taxpayers will be also required to submit with annual corporate income tax return a signed declaration confirming that transfer-pricing documentation is in place

YourGlobalPro professionals can assist you on Poland Legal and compliance requirements.

HR and Employment Law and Immigration / VISA

Below are some of the important points in relation to HR & employment law in Poland:

·       The employment relationship is governed by Polish law, the Labour Code and other provisions of Poland Law.

·       The minimum wage in Poland is set annually for the entire country – applying to full-time employees

·       Foreign Residents who are interested in working in Poland are required to obtain a work permit and a working visa – the same is granted by the Authority subject to an examination to verify that it is in respect of skilled work that is not prejudicial to local employment.

·       Also, on the basis of the work permit, an application must be made for a working visa. The approval of the working visa is granted only outside Poland. In case the employee is in Poland, he must leave Poland to obtain the visa.

·       The working visa remains valid for a maximum of one year with an option to extend it, as required.

·       No statutory age restrictions for employees -Only law prohibits the employment of minors under the age of 16

·       The working hours cannot exceed eight hours a day and average of 40 hours per week in an average five-day working week. And at least 11 hours of undisturbed rest per day and at least 35 hours of undisturbed rest per week.

·       Statutory minimum holiday is either 20 or 26 days in a calendar year and here are 13 public holidays in each year – which is not included in statutory holiday entitlement.

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