Poland

Business Environment

Business practices

For further information: Executive Planet
For further information: Kwint Essential
For further information: Business Mobile
Closed hours and days: Saturday and Sunday, except some public administrations which are closed on Saturday morning.
In the week, banks and administrations close at 4 pm.

Public holidays

New Year's Day	1 January
Easter	April (no fixed date)
Labor Day	1 May
Constitution Day 1791	3 May
Corpus Christi	May-June (no fixed date)
Ascension	15 August
All Saints	1 November
National Independence Day	11 November
Christmas	25 and 26 December

Compensation day

Periods when companies usually close

Standards

National standards organizations: Polish Standardization Committee
Integration in the international standards network: Poland has developed a widespread system of standards and certifications of its own, not always harmonized with international standards. It is a member of different international standards organizations: ISO, IEC, CEN, CENELEC, ETSI. It also cooperates with other international organizations for the harmonization of standards and certifications, such as UN/ECE (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe), ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials), WTO/TBT (WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade).
Classification of standards: Concerning marketing, in Poland, products subject to the field of application of New Approach European directives: since 1 May 2004 they must carry the "CE" mark. For further information about CE marking, please consult the Guide to New Approach directives.
Online consultation of standards: Catalog of Polish Standards
Certification organizations: Polish Center for Analysis and Certification
Polish Center for Accreditation

Legal framework

Independence of justice: Judicial power in Poland is independent, but the Courts are well-known for their long administrative delays in dealing with cases.
Equal treatment of nationals and foreigners: Poland is a constitutional State. Foreign nationals can expect to obtain impartial proceedings in legal matters.
The language of justice: Polish is the language of justice used.
Having recourse to an interpreter: It is possible to obtain an interpreter.
Sources of the law and legal similarities: The main source of the country's law is the Constitution of 1997. The legal system is a mix of Continental civil law (Napoleonic) and remains of communist legal theory; changes are being brought in rapidly with the process of democratization. Poland accepts the obligatory jurisdiction of the ICJ (International Court of Justice) but with reservations. As Poland is a member of the European Union, its national law must abide by the conditions of the country's legislation.
Consulting national laws online

Intellectual Property

National organizations: The organization responsible for the protection of intellectual property in Poland is the Urzad Patentowy RP, it is a member of the European Patent Office (EPO).
Regional organizations: Copyright Office
Industrial Property Office
International membership: Member of the WIPO
Signatory to the Paris Convention

National regulation and international agreements

Type of property	Law	Validity	International agreements signed
Patent	Law on inventive activity 19 October 1972, modified by the law of 16 April 1993	20 years	Patent Cooperation Treaty Strasbourg agreement concerning the International Patent Classification
Trademark	Law on Trademarks 31 January 1985	10 years, renewable for a consecutive period of 10 years.	Trademark law treaty Nice agreement concerning the International classification of goods and Services for the Purposes of the registration of Marks Protocol relating to the Madrid Agreement concerning the International Registration of Marks
Design
Copyright			Berne convention for the protection of Literary and Artistic Works Rome convention for the protection of performers, producers of phonograms and Broadcasting organizations WIPO copyright treaty WIPO performances and Phonograms treaty
Industrial Models

Tax rates

Consumption taxes

Nature of the tax: Podatek od towarów i usług (PTU/VAT)
Tax rate: 22%
Reduced tax rate: 7%, 3%, 0%

Corporate taxes

Tax rate

normal rate

19%

Tax rate for foreign companies

Polish companies are taxed on their national and worldwide income, while foreign companies (non resident) are taxed only on their income earned in Poland.

Capital gains taxation

Long term capital gains are incorporated into the company's profits and are therefore subject to corporate tax.

Individual taxes

Tax rate

Income tax

Progressive rate from 19 to 40%.

Allowable deductions and tax credit

In Poland tax payers benefit from various deductions:
- Various donations (to science, charities, etc.) are deductible up to 10%, or even 15% in some cases.
- Deductions on purchasing and building real estate.

Sources of fiscal information

Tax Authorities: Ministry of Finance
Other domestic resources: Taxonline

Accounting rules

Tax year: The tax year begins on 1 January and finishes on 31 December of the same year.
Accounting standards: The Polish Accounting Standards Committee was set up in 2003 to implement the accounting law as standards.
Accounting regulation bodies
Accounting reports: Companies are bound to draw up a balance sheet, a profit and loss account and notes. The accounts must be published in Polish, the unit of currency being the Zloty. Companies subject to audit must also prepare a statement of cash flows and a statement of changes in equity. Limited liability companies and companies listed on the Stock Exchange must also prepare a management report. Companies listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange must prepare financial reports observing the constraints of form defined in the decree of the Council of Ministers of 22 December 1998.
Publication: Listed companies must prepare quarterly accounts (in a simplified form) and six-monthly accounts as well as consolidated accounts.
The accounts must be sent to the Registration Court or to the Committee for Stock Exchange Operations (Komisja Papierów Wartościowych i Giełd) for listed companies. Audited companies must also send their accounts to the commercial gazette (Monitor Polski B).
In addition, the European Directive of 19 July 2002 obliges all European companies listed on the Stock Exchange to draw up their annual consolidated accounts according to IAS standards from the 2005 tax year on.
Professional accountancy bodies: The National Chamber of Statutory Auditors (KIBR)
The association of accountants in Poland (AAP)
Certification and auditing: National Chamber of Auditors (KIBR)
Accounting news