Forms of Business organisation in Poland

Forms of business organisation in Poland can be very different. If you are interested in doing business in Poland you should choose the right one for you. Choosing the right one for your business can be a fly or die moment for your startup. In this article we will prepare a brief summary of forms available at your disposal. We will divide them into standard forms of organisation, companies and more exotic constructs.

Standard forms of organisation of business in Poland

There are two most common forms of business organisation. They are “jednoosobowa działalność gospodarcza” –  “sole trader” and “spółka cywilna” – “civil partnership”. Both of these forms require you to have a permit to work in Poland. If you are a EU-citizen this is quite easy. All you have to do is to register at the revenue office in order to obtain a PESEL number.

In case that you are not an EU citizen you will have to go through a formal process that gives you a working permit. This can be a visa or any other document allowing you to work in Poland.

The pros of sole trader and civil partnership forms are that you can use a simplified bookkeeping rules. This makes it cheaper than companies or more exotic forms.

The cons are that you will have to pay social security (ZUS) from the beginning. For the first who years it is around 100-150 dollars per month. But after this period it grows to 300-400 dollars per month. This might seem like not a big deal but this applies for every partner.

Companies

There are many types of companies in poland that are regulated by the Company Code. In this case you have to distinguish two situations.

The first one is that you own shares of a company but you are not a member of the board. In this situation it is easy to start a business in Poland even if you are not an EU-citizen. You would have to hire someone to become a CEO of the company. This means that you would have monthly expenses in form of a salary.

Second one is that you both own the shares of the company and you manage it as a member of the board. In this situation you have to obtain a permit to work in Poland. Just like in previous case if you are an EU citizen all you have to do is to register with local office. In case if you are not an EU-citizen you have to obtain a form of working permit.

The pros of running your business as a company is that it limits your liability depending on the type of company you have chose. This is very convenient for bigger investments and gives you a peace of mind.

The cons of running your business in a form of a company is that you will have to pay more money for accounting and legal services since the rules are more strict about this form of business.

Exotic forms of business

Exotic forms of business are different combinations of companies, foundations or other legals forms that allow you to perform business activities. This can be for example a combination of limited partnership with an LTD company which in practice reduced the liability for the company’s debts to a minimum. Another form that is interesting is a company branch that can issue invoices but operates within a simplified legal framework.

Depending on your needs some of this forms might suit you more than the standard ones or a company.

Forms of business organisation in Poland:

• sole trader,
• civil partnership,

• partnerships:
  • general partnership,
  • partnership,
  • limited partnership,
• capital companies:
  • limited liability company,
  • joint-stock company,
  • partnership limited by shares,
  • simple joint-stock company,
  • limited partnership combined with a limited liability company.

• branch of a foreign entrepreneur,
• representation of a foreign entrepreneur,
• cooperative,
• association,
• foundation,
• european company,
• european economic interest grouping,