On 1st March 2020 a new form of company called “simple joint stock company” (SJSC) was established by the Polish legislature as a new form of business organisation. The outbreak of the Covid–19 Pandemic and the difficulties with adapting a new technology serving the registration of SJCS at the Polish Court Registry System have certainly slowed down or practically disabled the setting up and development of business within this newly created corporation among entrepreneurs within this onerous covid- environment. As a result of these obstacles, regulations of SJCS will finally be effective in Poland as of 1st March 2021. It might be expected that the simple joint stock company will become one day one of the favoured forms of doing business in Poland after business life returns to normality. The SJSC has many advantages in comparison with a standard joint stock company It can be formed faster and more easily dissolved. It may also be set up via the internet within the S24-System or in a traditional manner by a notary. The initial share capital of a SJSC shall amount to 1.00 PLN only (approx. 0.25 €)[1] and the inner organizational structure is also simplified and less informalized allowing a SJSC to have one board of directors combining the duties and rights of both a management board and supervisory board within a standard joint stock company. In addition, the register of shares in a SJSC will be maintained in digital form by a notary or by a broker’s office and this will speed up the trade and investment in shares of a SJCS as the purchase of shares will be effective upon entry of a new buyer as a shareholder onto the share register. One innovative feature of a SCJC is certainly the possibility of its winding up and liquidation through the sale of alla company’s assets to a designated shareholder after such action has been approved by SJCS’ shareholders by a majority of ¾ votes and by the appropriate registry court.
We have already written a comprehensive article about the new Polish SCJC which will be published in the Legal Magazine WiRO (www.wiro-zeitschrift.com) soon.
[1] In comparison, the initial share capital of a standard joint stock company amounts to 100 000 PLN (approx €25,000 ). The initial share capital within a limited liability company amounts to 5000 PLN (approx €1250) and this also shows that a SCJS may turn out to be a more attractive form of business organisation than a Polish limited liability company.
