Foundation
A foundation as a separate legal form is a subject to the provisions of the Act on Foundations, of 6 April 1984 (Journal of Law from 1991 No. 46, amended pos. 203)
According to art. 1 of the Act on Foundations, the foundation can be established in order to pursue socially or economically useful purposes in accordance with the basic interests of the Republic of Poland .
The foundation can be established by:
- natural persons, irrespectively of their citizenship and a place of residence
- legal persons having registered office in Poland or abroad
It means there are no legal obstacles for /setting up, establishing/ foundations by foreigners and foreign entrepreneurs being legal persons ,under the condition that the registered office of the foundation will be located in Poland.
The declaration of intent on establishing a foundation should be submitted in the form of a notarial act. The statute that is in writing and is signed by the founder, is a necessary precondition for establishing a foundation. One should submit it in the register court at the stage of registering the foundation.
A foundation can also be established in the last will. In the declaration of intent on establishing a foundation the founder should indicate the aim of the foundation and the assets allocated - a foundation has to have its assets contrary to the associations whose activity is based on their members. In the statute the business activity which is supposed to be conducted by the foundations should be indicated..
A foundation must be registered in the National Court Register and henceforth, it receives legal personality. The court registers the foundation provided that legal acts constituting the entry were taken by the authorized person or the organ. The decision on entering the foundation to the National Court Register is made after establishing that the purpose and the statute of the foundation are matching the law provisions.
Foundations registered abroad can establish representative offices in the Republic of Poland. Setting up the representative office requires permission. Obtaining a permit also signifies the consent for undertaking the activity set out in the permission. A competent minister issues a permit on account of the scope of activity?? and aims of creating the representative office.
The provisions regulating establishing and conducting representative offices of foreign entrepreneurs in Poland are also applicable to setting up foreign foundation representative office.
According to art. 5 sec. 5 Acts on foundations, the foundation can conduct business activity that serves its aims. If the foundation is supposed to conduct business activity, the value of funds of the property donations allocated for the business activity cannot be smaller than 1000 PLN. Foundation business activity is supposed to serve the achievement of foundation goals, such as purposes of the public benefit. Business activity cannot be the crucial objective of foundation activity..
Association
Business activity can also be run in the form of associations with legal personality.
Foreigners having a residence place in the Republic of Poland can establish associations according to the terms applicable to Polish citizens. However, foreigners not having a place of residence in the Republic of Poland can join associations, whose statute anticipates such a possibility.
An association acquires legal personality and may commence the activity from the moment of the entry to the National Court Register. The registration fee at the National Court Register is free of charge.
Foundations and associations, as non-governmental organizations, can acquire the status of the public benefit organization according to the Act of 24 April 2003 on activities of the public benefit and on voluntary services (Journal of Laws from 2003 No. 96, amended pos. 87)
Art. 20 of the above mentioned act defines objectives of non-governmental organizations which want to acquire the status of the public benefit organization:
- conducting statute activities for the community or a determined group of entities on the condition that this group is distinguished on account of a particularly difficult situation in relation to the society;
the above-mentioned activity must be exclusively statute activity of the non-governmental organization and must concern the public execution of tasks for the whole communities or a determined group of entities, in the sphere of public tasks determined in art. 4 of this act.
