Opening a company branch of a foreign entrepreneur

One of the forms of conducting business activity in Poland is a branch of a foreign company. A branch, contrary to a company, has no legal personality, and therefore is not a separate legal entity but constitutes a part of a foreign business. Any commitment made by the branch becomes a commitment of the head office.

RSM Poland provides a comprehensive service of branch registration in Poland, including entering the branch in the National Court Register and registering with the tax office. Pursuant to the Act on participation of foreign entrepreneurs and other foreign persons in trade in the territory of Poland, the branch may be entered in the National Court Register under a decision of a foreign entrepreneur taken on the basis of legal provisions binding on the territory of their country of origin. We advise our clients establishing branches in Poland and offer consultations on the required form and content of the resolutions on establishing a branch. We support foreign entrepreneurs in obtaining and legalising (if required) statutory documents in their country of origin and preparing sworn translations. At the client’s request we arrange meetings with the notary public in the entrepreneur’s country of origin or with their advisor, in order to minimise the client’s engagement in the procedural matters related to establishing a branch.

Our service also provides for consultations on conducting business activity, including on determining the form and rules governing all the arrangements between the branch and the company’s head office.

Steps in the registration proceedings when establishing a branch:

• Decision to establish a branch; obtaining statutory documents in the entrepreneur’s country of origin;
• Preparing an application for entering the branch in the National Court Register and registering with the tax office;
• Receiving an entry number in the National Court Register, NIP number and statistical number REGON;
• Providing the tax office with the so-called supplementary information, registration of the head office for VAT purposes.
   

The registration usually takes 4 – 5 weeks. In justified cases, at the client’s request, we prepare applications for accelerating the proceedings. Throughout the registration the client is informed of every stage of the process and its current status.

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