The process of establishing business in Poland should start with the selection of the most appropriate legal form (see: Forms of enterprises), and with signing the Articles of Association or Deed of Formation. The fees, depending on the selected forms of activity, are varied.
Establishment of individual enterprise (enterprise run by a natural person) or registered partnerships are the cheapest. The registration of the business in such case costs PLN 100. The Economic Activity Record (Ewidencja Działalności Gospodarczej) is managed by the local government of the community where the business is to be located.
In case of partnerships (registered partnership, limited partnership, professional partnership and limited joint-stock partnership), the cost of registration is PLN 1000. There is also the fee for obligatory advertisement in “Monitor Sądowy i Gospodarczy” (Journal of the Ministry of Justice) – PLN 500 – and the notary fee for confirmation of the Articles of Association (does not apply in case of registered company).
Two other legal forms, recommended in case of a large-scale economic activity (corporations), are limited liability company and joint-stock company. In both these cases the costs of registration are the same as in the case of partnerships, but there is an additional important requirement: initial capital. In case of limited liability company, the required capital is PLN 50.000, and in case of joint-stock company it is PLN 500.000.
The registration in the National Court Register is also required in case of establishment of a branch office, while creation of a representative office requires registration in the Register of Representative Offices of Foreign Business Entities kept by the Ministry of Economy.
Purchase of real property in Poland by the non-EU and non-EEA citizens requires permission from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration
The list of activities that require license or permission, and procedures necessary to obtain these, are available in English on the website of Polish Agency for Information and Foreign Investment, at:
http://paiz.gov.pl/index/?id=fe9fc289c3ff0af142b6d3bead98a923
*addresses of these institutions, as well as the territorial scope of their authority, are available at: www.ms.gov.pl/krs/krs.shtml.
