Record-breaking company registration

Several factors made company registration in Poland strongly popular in 2021. As a result, the number of such companies formed was the highest ever, surpassing the previous record by 10 percent. Most new entities were formed in the trade industry.

According to data from the National Court Register (KRS) and the CEiDG database, 352 thousand companies appeared in the Polish economic turnover in 2021. This is the largest number of registrations of new business entities in history.

A lot of new commercial law companies in Poland

The record-breaking result was comprised of sole proprietorships and commercial law companies. The former were registered in the number of 295.6 thousand, a result close to the multi-year average. On a year-to-year basis, it means an increase by over 11%, i.e. 30 thousand micro businesses.

However, a record number of new corporate law companies was established in 2021. The Register of Entrepreneurs of the National Court Register increased by 56.3 thousand of such companies. This is a result not only by 19 percent (9.1 thousand entities) better than last year, but also by 10 percent (5.2 thousand companies) exceeding the previous record of 2016, when 51.1 thousand companies were established.

In terms of legal form, limited liability companies formation dominated among the newly established entities (about 91 percent of cases). In second place were general partnerships (over 3 percent).

The average share capital of the newly established entities oscillated around PLN 50 thousand. In 233 cases, it was at least PLN 1 million.

Company registration in Warsaw and other metropolises

Investors from three sectors most often decided to establish a company in Poland in 2021. These include:

• trade – 16.2 percent of all established entities,
• construction – 16 percent,
• professional activity, which includes, among others, law firms – 13.7%.

The three mentioned together accounted for almost half of the new incorporation agreements. In none of the remaining sectors defined by the PKD code did more than 5 thousand companies get established.

Among the cities where registration of a company was most popular last year, agglomerations dominated. Most new entities were established in Warsaw (14,300), Kraków (3,300), Wrocław (3,200) and Poznań (2,800).

In regional terms, the unquestionable leader was Mazovia. Every third new company was established there. One in ten was established in the Wielkopolska region.

A good time to set up a company

According to Dudkowiak Kopeć & Putyra Law Firm experts, several factors have contributed to the highest interest in establishing companies in recent years:

1. economic prosperity

2. pandemic, which made many entrepreneurs aware of greater safety of running business in a form of company (separation of private and company assets)

3. high activity of developers, who are willing to set up new companies to handle a specific construction project

4. Polish Order, i.e. a package of changes in taxes.

Works on amendments to Polish Tax Law – PIT, CIT and VAT acts, which began in the middle of the previous year, have increased interest in companies, which in the new legal environment have become more favourable forms of conducting business. This can be seen in the statistics of the National Court Register.

Since September 2021, over 5,000 people have been appointed each month. entities of this kind. In December, the number of registrations exceeded 7,000.