The main advantage of opening a company in Poland is easy to access to the European and world markets. Poland is very loyal to non-resident founders. The threshold for entering
Polish business, in comparison with other European countries, is one of the lowest and starts at 500 Euro. And the access to the markets of the EU countries, which is provided by a Polish company, means a huge number of potential, solvent clients. The EU’s policy is such that almost all borders between member states in the movement of goods, people, services, and capital are leveled.
The economy of Poland itself is growing rapidly and currently occupies a leading position in the EU. Taxes are not high, and the attitude of officials towards foreigners to founders is quite favorable.
The form of activity
Poland is dominated by the Romano-Germanic legal system and the forms of business entities are similar to other countries in Europe and part of Asia:
- Limited Liability Company (LLC) – spółka z o.o .;
- Joint Stock Company (JSC) – spółka akcyjna;
- Simple joint-stock company (PJSC) – prosta spółka akcyjna (is an innovative project of the Polish legislator, the provisions of the law on this company should come into force in March 2021);
- Limited partnership – spółka komandytowa;
- Civil or open society – spółka cywilna / spółka jawna;
- Partnership partnership – spółka partnerska;
- Individual entrepreneur – osoba prowadząca działalność gospodarczą.
Individual entrepreneur (IE) in Poland
Only Polish citizens, EU citizens, or foreigners with permanent residence status (or with a Pole Card) can conduct business in Poland as an individual entrepreneur (individual entrepreneur).
The general features of the Polish LLC:
The authorized capital must be at least 5000 zlotys (about 1250 euros). The big plus is that there is no need to deposit this money into the account – the capital is declarative. However, when checking government agencies, you may still be asked to show this money.
There can be from 1 to 25 founders (in an LLC without a supervisory board). The most common are companies with 2-5 founders. If the founder is alone (has 100% of the shares), every month he will be obliged to pay about 350 euros per month to the Polish insurance fund (ZUS). If there are two or more participants, there is no fee to pay.
A company is “born” as a subject of law at the moment when its entry appears in the (LINK) Court Register of Poland – Krajowy Rejestr Sądowy (KRS).
How to open a company in Poland online?
You can register an LLC in Poland in 2 ways:
- through a notary;
- online.
Online company registration is the easiest and most convenient way. The main advantage of this method of opening a company in Poland is the absence of the need for the personal presence of the founders of the company. All procedures are performed remotely using an electronic digital signature.
The second plus of remote registration is speed. Depending on the region, the registration period can take from 24 hours to 7 days. (with notarial registration, information about the company in the court register may appear from 2 weeks to 2 months).
And the third is cost. When registering online, in contrast to notarial registration, you do not bear the notary costs (approx. 800-1000 zl), the costs of the participation of a sworn translator (if the founders do not speak Polish), and the actual costs of travel and residence in the country during the registration process.
The only disadvantage of online registration is that you can choose the charter of the company only by a template and the authorized capital can be contributed in money (the possibility of depositing property as authorized capital is excluded). However, in 99% of cases, the template charter meets all the requirements and wishes of clients.
For most businessmen, at the initial stage of company registration, online registration is an ideal option. After all, you can always make changes with the help of a notary and rewrite the Articles of Association following today’s requirements.
The documents for open a firm in Poland
- Passports of the founders and the founders themselves, already drawn up the Charter of the company – in the case of registration through a notary upon arrival in Poland;
- Copy of passport (translated and notarized);
- Article of Association;
- Power of attorney from the founders for the trustee;
Electronic digital signatures (EDS) of the founders, obtained earlier – for online registration.
Activated trusted EPUAP profiles of founders, created earlier – for online registration.
When registering online (using the S24 public services portal), a visit to Poland for the founders may not be required at all, since the EPUAP profile can be activated completely remotely – without leaving Poland.
