corporate | In Principle

A new law introducing an obligation to establish anticorruption compliance procedures entered into force in France on 1 June 2017. The impact of the law may be broader than it might seem at first glance.

The issue of determining when the appointment of a member of the supervisory board of a joint-stock company ends in connection with the expiration of the term of office has been the subject of doubts and disputes for some time. It was particularly problematic to determine when the appointment ends when the term of office does not coincide with the financial year. The Supreme Court of Poland recently addressed this issue.

A proposal for a long-promised act intended to facilitate the operation of businesses was published on the Government Legislation Centre website in February. The proposed Business Law contains a set of rules that would apply in administrative proceedings from as early as September 2017.

An amendment to the Polish Civil Code has created new types of commercial proxies but also raised doubts about the legitimacy of joint commercial proxies granted before the new legislation came into force.

It sometimes happens in practice that auditors proceed to examine a company’s annual financial statement before they are formally selected by the competent authority of the company. Can this practice have negative consequences?

In M&A, one of the key elements of due diligence prior to conducting a share deal is verifying legal title to the company’s shares. Any irregularities discovered in this respect can represent a significant risk for the potential acquirer of the shares. Can a merger or change in corporate form eliminate this risk?

Payment of an advance against anticipated dividends is attractive for shareholders but carries a major risk, particularly for the company. At the end of the financial year it may turn out that there is no basis for paying a dividend. Then can the company require the shareholders to return the advance?

A new tax rate for income of legal persons will enter into force on 1 January 2017. It will not apply to all taxpayers, however, but will depend on the amount of income. The same amending act introduces several other significant changes, particularly affecting the practice of corporate reorganisations (e.g. exchange of shares or in-kind contributions).

A few remarks on the limits of the management board’s decision-making autonomy from the shareholders

The Act Amending the Business Freedom Act and Certain Other Acts entered into force on 19 May 2016. The changes mainly affect Poland’s small business register—the Central Register and Information on Economic Activity (CEIDG).

With economic globalisation, foreign investors often decide to pay capital contributions to Polish companies in foreign currencies. This raises the question of how to convert these amounts into Polish currency.

Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, often family firms, are the driving force behind the Polish economy and the hallmark of Polish entrepreneurship. But Polish law is not ideally suited to the specific nature of family firms. Hence new legal solutions are being proposed that would help family firms pursue their business in Poland.