From 1 January 2012, foreign entity performing business in
Poland through a branch office will be required to complete a
liquidation procedure, in accordance with the provisions of the
Polish commercial companies code concerning the liquidation of a
limited liability company, to close down its Polish branch.
Until now, in accordance with the Supreme Court's ruling, such
procedure was solely required in the case of a compulsory closure
of the branch office, due to the decision of the ministry of
economy, prohibiting to perform business in Poland.
The above interpretation of the law has been, in majority of the
cases, accepted by the registry courts. In consequence, foreign
entities were able to close their branched in time and cost
effective manner.
The new law directly provides that the liquidation procedure is
mandatory for both compulsory and voluntary closure of the
branch.
As a result of the amendment, time and cost of the voluntary liquidation of the branch will increase considerably. What is more, the closing foreign entity will be subject to additional obligations, in particular concerning preparation of financial documents and publication on the planned closure of its branch.
This article was written for Law-Now, CMS Cameron McKenna's free online information service. To register for Law-Now, please go to www.law-now.com/law-now/mondaq
Law-Now information is for general purposes and guidance only. The information and opinions expressed in all Law-Now articles are not necessarily comprehensive and do not purport to give professional or legal advice. All Law-Now information relates to circumstances prevailing at the date of its original publication and may not have been updated to reflect subsequent developments.
The original publication date for this article was 02/11/2011.