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Entering the Polish market means tapping into the largest economy in Central and Eastern Europe, which also serves as a strategic gateway to the EU. With over 37 million consumers and seamless access to the single market, it offers both scale and stability. For new investors, Poland combines dynamic economic growth, competitive operating costs and a business-friendly environment that rewards companies prepared to expand.
Poland’s consistent GDP growth, EU membership and regulatory stability make it a safe yet high-potential destination. Investors gain access to a highly skilled workforce and a market that continues to attract global players across manufacturing, technology and services. For foreign companies, the combination of local know-how, cost advantages and strong infrastructure ensures a rapid and efficient market entry.
High-growth opportunities include:
IT and shared services
Renewable energy
Logistics
E-commerce
Healthcare and life sciences
Financial and business services
Poland is also a leader in setting up regional hubs for payroll, accounting and tax compliance outsourcing, reflecting the strength of its professional services talent pool.
Foreign investors benefit from:
Tax relief in the Polish Investment Zone
EU structural funds
R&D and innovation incentives
State aid for strategic projects
Beyond financial incentives, Poland offers a mature professional services ecosystem. As a consulting and outsourcing firm specialized in law, tax, payroll and accounting, we support investors with full compliance, cost-efficient back-office solutions and local expertise – ensuring that expansion into Poland is smooth, secure and strategically optimized.
Even with thorough preparation and solid business strategies, foreign investors frequently encounter difficulties due to unfamiliarity with local nuances. Drawing on real situations we’ve supported, these are the key pitfalls companies regularly face when entering the Polish market – along with practical steps to help you steer clear of them from the outset.
What mistakes do investors usually make during company formation?
Foreign investors usually choose to open either limited liability company or branch office in Poland. If the process is led by professional legal office, there is no risk of mistakes and whole procedure goes smoothly. Otherwise, foreign investor may come across following issues:
Limited liability company can be established by one or more shareholders but there is one restriction foreign investors should consider. Namely according to Polish Commercial Companies Code limited liability company cannot be established by only one limited liability company with one shareholder.
The court will refuse to register company established in contrary to this rule and the whole process should re-initiated.
Moreover, natural persons establishing the company should be aware that sole shareholders of LLC are treated by the social security office as entrepreneurs. It may cause obligation to pay social and health insurance taxes to Polish system. The amounts are significant and amounts to over 500 EUR monthly.
The digitization of procedures and documents in Poland has accelerated in recent years. More and more public services are available only online. These are for example:
There are still many foreign investors which assume that they can sign documents with wet ink. Nothing could be further from the truth. The electronic signature is needed already at the stage of company establishment. The reason is that the obligation to register UBO must be fulfilled within 7 days since company registration. Failure to comply with this obligation may result in severe penalties. Therefore, the process of obtaining electronic signature should initiated before company registration.
Not each type of electronic signature is sufficient. Although in general all EU signatures should be recognized, we recommend obtaining Polish qualified electronic signature or set up trusted profile (e-PUAP).
Electronic signature is also needed to sign annual financial statements and board report by the board members. It is not possible to sign the documents with wet ink.
The number of electronic signatures needed depends on number of board members and way of company representation. For example, if the company is represented by two board members acting jointly, at least two board members should have proper electronic signatures.
The digitization will continue in the future.
Each company and branch office must be registered in register of entrepreneurs of National Court Register (KRS). The procedure is very formal; each document should be carefully completed. All required fields of registration forms must be filled in. It is also very important to pay attention to correct spelling, especially of foreign names. Mistakes in the names of board members or shareholder will result in further time and costs involvement, because the procedure of each change is also formal and time consuming.
Moreover, the company should choose proper PKD codes – these are codes which reflect the scope of business activity of the company. The description and scope of each code is not intuitive. Therefore, there might be problems with choosing the right one, as well as the correct number of codes.
The limited liability company can be established online within 24 hours in S24 system. This procedure requires qualified electronic signatures from involved persons. Founders of the company need to pay tax on civil law transactions within 14 days from the date of signing Articles of Association. The tax rate amounts to 0.5% of the value of share capital of the company. In case of companies established traditionally at the notary, the tax is paid to the notary. In case of S24 system the board members need to remember to pay the tax and file proper tax return to tax office.
What tax-related mistakes do new investors often make?
One of the most common mistakes made by investors entering the Polish market is delaying or failing to complete tax registration, particularly for VAT. The VAT Act clearly requires that the registration form be submitted before performing the first taxable transaction. It is important to note, however, that the status of a VAT taxpayer arises by operation of law – simply by carrying out economic activity on a continuous and profit-oriented basis. This means that an entity that has not formally registered may still be treated as a VAT taxpayer and, consequently, is obliged to account for VAT.
Failure to register carries several serious practical consequences. First and foremost, an unregistered taxpayer cannot deduct input VAT, which increases the cost of doing business. Additionally, in the case of intra-community transactions, the 0% VAT rate cannot be applied, creating the risk of paying the full Polish VAT rate. While it is possible to register “retroactively” and recover some rights, this procedure requires additional formalities (such as submitting a voluntary disclosure) and is not always available—particularly for intra-community trade.
Another frequently overlooked mistake is ignoring the need for a Polish bank account. While the law does not formally require a bank account in Poland to register for VAT, in practice the absence of one can paralyze operations. A local account is necessary for implementing the split payment mechanism and for receiving VAT refunds, which can only be credited to a bank account held in Poland and directly owned by the taxpayer.
Equally important, yet often underestimated, is the risk associated with a permanent establishment (PE). Many investors assume that if they do not set up a Polish corporate entity, they are exempt from CIT obligations. In reality, merely maintaining a fixed place of business, warehouse, branch or even a transparent partnership can create a PE, triggering corporate tax liability in Poland. Misjudging PE risk can lead to tax arrears and disputes with authorities and court rulings indicate that interpretations in this area are often strict.
Finally, group-level tax planning should not be overlooked. Lack of a coherent international strategy often results in double taxation, loss of benefits under double tax treaties and inefficient capital flows. In a context of rapidly changing tax laws, increasing information exchange between tax administrations and stricter anti-abuse regulations, neglecting structural tax planning exposes investors to real financial and legal risks.
What can go wrong when setting up payroll in a new country?
If the company underpays an employee due to a miscalculation, it may violate labour laws, and if the employer overpays the salary, it could lead to financial losses that are difficult to recover.
Company should know that employees expect some benefits. And benefits are treated as income, and the employer must pay social security contributions from that benefit; it causes growth of salary costs.
The calculation G2N is specific, and an incompetent calculation may cause errors in salary payment. It can not only lead to employee dissatisfaction but also to legal disputes and penalties from tax authorities.
There are complicated tax forms, and often employees do not know how they should fill them. It can lead to incorrect personal tax calculations. Employees need support from HR department experts.
If the company registers employees or civil contractors with delay to ZUS, it causes problems with receiving ZUS allowance and health benefits, and may result in penalties during inspections.
We have a complicated insurance system based on civil contracts. The contractor may be subject to various insurance schemes depending on life situation, age, work in another place, earnings in another workplace, and school studies.
If a company fails to comply with the obligation to report to employee capital plans (PPK), the National Labor Inspectorate (PIP) may impose a fine. The employer must pay PPK contributions unless the employee resigns from this program.
The employer must also remember that if they employ more than 25 people full-time, they must report as a payer of an additional public and legal obligation to the Polish State Fund for Disabled Persons (PFRON).
What are the most common labour law issues for foreign employers?
First and foremost, foreign investors should be aware that Polish law provides favourable rules for the protection of employees. There might be significant differences in the treatment of employees comparing to the rules binding abroad. It especially concerns countries where provisions on working time are more flexible and/or stability of employment is not protected.
Foreign investors are usually not aware that besides employment agreement there are other obligatory documents to be introduced by the employers. Examples of such documents include the provision of additional information as required by article 29 § 3 of the Labour Code, as well as announcements regarding working time systems, working time schedules, and settlement periods. Lack of obligatory documentation may result in imposing fines by National Labor Inspection.
Moreover, foreign practice very often aims to include in the employment agreement as much as possible. According to Polish law, quite the opposite approach is more appropriate. Employment agreement should include all obligatory points provided by law and besides that should be as simple as possible. This is because any changes to conditions of work and pay require either specific termination or consent of employee. Including more than needed may result in problems with introducing changes in the future. Moreover, most of the rules are strictly regulated by labour law provisions and cannot be changed anyway. Therefore, there is no point to include these in employment agreement.
More issues can arise when employers want to introduce foreign rules to Polish employment contracts. Foreign investors should be very careful with that. According to Polish law, provisions which are less favourable will not bind the employees anyway.
Other issues we come across is expectation for very flexible working time hours. Polish basic rule provides that working time may not exceed 8 hours per day and an average of 40 hours per an average five-day working week within an adopted settlement period not exceeding 4 months. In basic working time system, the work is usually rendered 8 hours each day. Anything above these 8 hours is overtime.
In basic time system it is not possible to work different number of hours each day. To make the working time more flexible, the employer should introduce another working time system. Still, the possibilities are limited to the working time systems provided by law, and rules of each working time system should be observed. For example, balanced working time system allows to work more than 8 hours a day (but not more than 12 hours). The extended working time hours are balanced on another days where the work is shorter. Nevertheless, in this system working time schedule must be prepared for at least one month and provided to the employee at least 7 days prior to its start.
The issue of terminating an employment relationship causes problems to all employers, not only foreign ones.
Firstly, the termination periods are provided by law and cannot be freely changed by the employer.
Secondly, in case of terminating an agreement concluded for definite and indefinite time, the employer must provide a reason of termination. This reason must be real, concrete and understandable to the employee.
Finally, the employee has the right to appeal to labour court if they disagree with the termination notice within 21 days since it was provided. If the termination violated the law, the court may award the employee with compensation or reinstatement. Therefore, providing correct reason is very important.
Foreign investors should be also aware about the obligation to implement Employee Capital Plans (PPK). This is a voluntary pension saving system for all persons paying the social security contributions, regardless of the form of employment. The employer is obliged to join the PPK in case it employs at least 1 person. There is only one exception for microentrepreneurs, whose all-eligible persons resigned from participation in PPK. Such employer is not obliged to join the program.
To introduce PPK, the employer should follow a specific procedure which requires involvement of employees. In this procedure, employer and representative of employees choose the financial institution which will govern invested funds.
PPK constitutes not only administrative burden but also imposes additional payments on both employer and employee.
More details can be found in our Polish labour law guideline.
What accounting or reporting problems do new companies usually face?
Establishing a company’s financial year is a crucial step both at the outset of business operations and throughout the ongoing functioning of the enterprise. According to the Polish Accounting Act, the financial year may coincide with the calendar year (from 1 January to 31 December) or comprise any other period of twelve consecutive full calendar months, if it is also adopted for tax purposes. If an entity commences its operations in the second half of the chosen financial year, it is permissible to combine the accounting records and financial statements for that period with those prepared for the subsequent year.
In accordance with the Polish Accounting Act, entities maintaining accounting books are required to have an accounting policy that sets out the accounting principles applied by the company. This document is mandatory both for audit firms reviewing the accounting books and for the tax office during inspections. Entities that are part of a larger group may implement the group’s accounting policy, provided it is adapted to comply with Polish accounting regulations.
One of the key elements when establishing a business is the appropriate selection of accounting software. Multiple solutions are available in this regard:
If opting for the first or second solution, it is essential to verify whether the chosen software meets the requirements of the binding accounting and tax regulations in Poland (i.e. JPK-KG, JPK VAT), as well as its readiness for upcoming legislative changes (such as JPK PD, KSeF). By choosing to work with a professional outsourcing office, one can be confident that the software they use will always be compliant with current legal requirements.
Entities conducting business in Poland are obliged to report transactions to both the Central Statistical Office and the National Bank of Poland after exceeding certain thresholds. Therefore, it is crucial for those responsible for maintaining accounting records to systematically monitor these limits, which helps avoid penalties for failing to provide the required information to the relevant authorities.
It is also important to note that the reporting obligation is based on the assumption that the financial year coincides with the calendar year, rather than the period adopted by the company. This results in additional workload when the company’s financial year differs from the calendar year.
Preparing the financial statement closing the financial year is a major challenge for every company. Before commencing this process, it is vital to carefully verify which simplifications may be applied when preparing the financial statement. An incorrect choice of format may cause difficulties during the audit conducted by a statutory auditor, as well as generate additional work.
Find out more in our dedicated article about accounting in Poland.
What risks do companies face when trying to manage everything remotely or alone?
From a tax perspective, for foreign investors, trying to manage everything alone without support of local advisors is hardly possible. Although some taxes (i.e. VAT) are harmonized within the European Union, there are still significant differences and specifics of Polish local jurisdictions which disable proper VAT settlement based solely on knowledge of VAT provisions from other European countries.
Polish tax provisions are complex. For example, under income tax we have:
Regular CIT
Minimum global tax
Tax on foreign controlled entities
Minimum Polish tax
Tax on the income from properties
Tax on transferred assets
Moreover, tax provisions are subject to frequent changes, so it is difficult to monitor all the changes and verify the impact of a given change for the company by the company itself. Not only provisions change, but sometimes the standpoint of the tax authorities changes.
In case of taxes, even a small difference in actual status can change tax consequences, so it is important to make an analysis considering all relevant aspects, current provisions, and standpoint of tax authorities and court judgements.
In case of some checking activities or tax control, all information needs to be provided to the tax authority in Polish, which is usually challenging for foreign investors. So generally, relying only on online research would likely lead to missing local obligations and/or costly mistakes.
What compliance problems arise when internal systems are not adjusted to local regulations?
The first common mistake is the lack of full localization of the ERP system to Polish requirements. We often see implementations based on a global template designed for the needs of the parent company, which frequently fails to address Polish tax and reporting requirements. As a result, the system may not cover mandatory structures such as JPK files, does not ensure integration with KSeF, or lacks a chart of accounts aligned with JPK CIT requirements. If these elements are not addressed from the outset, companies are forced to use workarounds such as additional Excel reports or reliance on external applications. In the long run, workarounds and multiple data sources often lead to inefficiencies, increase the risk of errors and non-compliance, and expose the company to potential penalties. Proper localization of ERP and coverage of compliance processes within the system significantly reduces these risks. It enables the organization to maintain consistent data, better control, and lower costs.
The second common mistake is treating ERP implementation as a one-off exercise focused only on today’s obligations. Systems configured only for the current scope may appear sufficient at first, but gaps quickly surface when new transaction types or reporting requirements emerge. Whether driven by regulatory changes such as KSeF or JPK CIT or by business growth, each adjustment then becomes costly. Without proper choice and preparation, new obligations force ad-hoc solutions that are error-prone and increase the likelihood of penalties.
These mistakes show that ERP implementation in Poland is not just a technical exercise. Addressing tax compliance at the implementation stage and aligning the system with the company’s actual needs helps reduce long-term costs and risks, while ensuring the ERP supports the organization effectively over time.
Launching your business in Poland doesn’t have to be complicated. With our comprehensive company incorporation services, we’ll help you select the most suitable legal structure, manage all necessary documentation and ensure your setup is both seamless and compliant from the very beginning.
If you’re still exploring your options or unsure where to begin, book a free market entry consultation with our local experts. We’ll walk you through the key steps and help you avoid the most common pitfalls of entering the Polish market.
About Accace
Accace is a proactive consultancy and outsourcing partner who bridges the gap between needs and solutions. Combining smart and streamlined technology with a holistic approach, we provide an all-round care to clients and consider their matters as our own. With over 800 experts and approximately 2,000 customers, we have vast experience with facilitating the smooth operation and growth of small to large-scale, global businesses.
About Accace Circle
Accace operates internationally as Accace Circle, a co-created business community of like-minded BPO providers and advisors who deliver outstanding services with elevated customer experience and erase the borders of service delivery. Covering over 60 jurisdictions with more than 7,000 professionals, we support over 80,000 customers, mostly mid-size and international Fortune 500 companies from various sectors, and process at least 800,000 pay slips globally.
