Oliwia Kruczyńska | In Principle

The Central Register of Beneficial Owners is a public register maintained by the Polish Minister of Finance, established pursuant to the EU’s 4th Anti–Money Laundering Directive (2015/849). The register has been in operation since autumn 2019, but in connection with harmonisation of provisions on disclosure of information on beneficial owners under EU legislation it is undergoing changes and improvements. Further modifications were made on 9 March 2023.

Over the past decade, Polish lawmakers have taken many efforts to adapt the functioning of businesses in legal transactions to the current technological realities. We have witnessed the launch of electronic registration of companies, as well as the transfer of much of the National Court Register’s activity to the web. More changes are planned for the coming years.

Along with a foundation and a non-profit company, a representative office of a foreign foundation is one of the legal forms through which charitable activities can be carried out in Poland. However, due to a sparsity of regulations, the functioning of representative offices of foundations in Polish law is not entirely clear. The topic is particularly timely, as with the outbreak of war in Ukraine many foreign foundations wanting to operate in Poland have voiced the need to open representative offices here. Previously, such outposts were relatively rare, as there was little need for them.