How to select and change PKD codes for your business

What is the Polish Classification of Activities

The Polish Classification of Activities (PKD) is a systematic grouping of economic activities used for public statistics, records and accounting.

In PKD, various industries or sectors of economy have been organized and classified into groups. Each entrepreneur should find among them a group that best and closest describes their business.

PKD codes serve to define the area of business activity and are of a statistical nature.

The PKD has a five-level structure: from general sections, such as agriculture, construction, transport, wholesale trade, through divisions, groups, classes, down to subclasses that describe a given activity in the greatest detail.

The PKD structure:

• section – denoted by a one-letter symbol, it divides the general population into 21 groupings of activities which are broken down into tasks related to each other from the point of view of the general structure of the economy
• division – denoted by a two-digit numerical code, it divides the general population into 88 groupings of activities, which can be broken down into tasks according to their characteristics that are essential both for determining the degree of similarity and for examining the relationships observed in a national economy
• group – denoted by a three-digit numerical code, it includes 272 groupings of activities that can be distinguished from the point of view of a production process, an output of production or the nature of the service or the nature of the service recipient
• class – denoted by a four-digit numerical code, it includes 615 groupings of activities that can be distinguished primarily from the point of view of specialization of a production process or service activity
• subclass – denoted by a five-digit alphanumeric code, it includes 654 groupings. It was introduced in order to distinguish the activities characteristic of the Polish economy and subject to statistical observation. If no further sub-classification has been introduced at the national level in relation to the international level (class = subclass), such subclass is marked with letter Z.

Please note! Specific PKD codes may be subject to specific obligations, for example, certain codes require a specific form of business activity, or a specific form of taxation, the obligation to use cash registers or VAT registration.

Who must have a PKD code

The obligation to use PKD codes applies to:

• persons conducting one-person business activity, entered in the CEIDG register
• bodies subject to the obligation to register with the National Court Register (KRS), i.e., for example, partnerships, companies, cooperatives, foundations.

When you need to select a PKD code for your business

You should specify PKD codes for your business activity when you register your business, upon applying for an entry in CEIDG or upon registering a partnership or a company with the National Court Register. These codes are the basis for assigning a REGON number to your business by the statistical office.

To find the code for your activity, use the PKD code search engine at Biznes.gov.pl (in Polish) or check Statistics Poland webside. On this website you will also find information about the activities that may not be carried out by a natural person.

If you have a problem determining the right code for your activity, you can use the electronic help form (PL) of the Centre for Classifications and Nomenclatures of the Statistical Office in Łódź. All you have to do is describe the object(s) of your future business in some detail, and the office will help you determine the appropriate PKD code(s).

How many PKD codes you can have

One-person business activity

When you register your business with the CEIDG register, you must provide:

• one code of your main activity, that is the one that will account for the largest share of revenues that you will achieve from the sale of goods or provision of services
• any number of codes corresponding to other activities that you carry out as an entrepreneur and that are not your main business activity.

You should include in your CEIDG entry only those PKD codes that actually correspond to what you do. Do not enter any codes in advance for any activities that you may want to carry out in the future – remember that you can update the list of codes at any time. If your business profile changes, you are required to indicate new PKD codes or delete those that no longer apply within 7 days of the change.

Please note! Some codes are reserved for farmers or commercial companies or partnerships. Information on codes which are excluded for natural persons can be found on the website with the PKD code search engine.

Partnerships and companies

If you incorporate your business as a company or partnership in the National Court Register, you can provide a maximum of 10 PKD codes, including one code for the company’s predominant activity at the subclass level.

Please note! In the case of companies and partnerships registered with the National Court Register, it is not necessary to include PKD codes in the company’s or partnership’s articles of association. It is only required to describe the object (activity) of your partnership’s or company’s business. However, including PKD codes in the articles of association is a good practical solution that will make it easier for the court to assess the compliance of the submitted application for entry in the National Court Register with the provisions of the articles of association and will minimize the risk of the application being rejected.

When and how to change the PKD code in a one-person business activity or in a civil law partnership

At any time, you can:

• report a change in the profile of your business – change the code of the main activity
• expand the scope of your business activity – add PKD codes for additional activities
• narrow down the scope of your business activity – delete any outdated PKD codes.

Please note! If you carry out a regulated activity, entered in the register of regulated activities or conducted on the basis of a license or permit, you should inform the authority that issued the permit about any change in the PKD code of your business.

One-person business activity

If you run a one-person business activity registered with CEIDG, you simply change the PKD codes in your entry in the register. Changing the activity codes or other details of your business in CEIDG is free of charge. You should report any change in the type of activity you perform within 7 days from the date of the change.

Check how to change the entry in the CEIDG.

Civil law partnership

To change PKD codes of a civil law partnership you should submit an application to the REGON register.

When and how to change the PKD code in a partnership or a company

The objects (activities) of a company or partnership’s business must be described in the articles of association, but there is no obligation to include the specific PKD codes. PKD codes, however, must be listed under the company's entry in the National Court Register (KRS).

The National Court Register allows you to enter a maximum of 10 codes – one specifying the company’s core activity and no more than 9 codes specifying additional activities.

You may enter in the National Court Register only those PKD codes that are consistent with the objects of the company or partnership as defined in the articles of association. Therefore, it is possible to change PKD codes in the National Court Register without amending the articles of association, provided that the articles already provide for a given type of activity. If the company or partnership starts to engage in a new type of activity, the shareholders or partners – before changing PKD codes in the National Court Register – must first amend the content of the company's articles of association.

Not every change in PKD codes entered in the National Court Register requires an amendment to the articles of association. This is necessary in the case of significant changes that is changes concerning the main (predominant) object (activity) of the company or partnership. These are cases where the object has changed completely or where a new field of the company's activity has become its predominant activity. However, if the company or partnership intends to undertake an activity that falls in the classification group which is already listed under the company’s entry in the National Court Register as a secondary activity of the company, it is not necessary to amend the articles.

Partnerships: general partnership (spółka jawna), professional partnership (spółka partnerska), limited partnership (spółka komandytowa), partnership limited by shares (spółka komandytowo-akcyjna)

In a general partnership and in a professional partnership, an appropriate resolution must be adopted by all partners and an annex to the articles of association containing provisions on a new object/change in the object of the partnership’s business must be signed by all partners in order for the change to be valid. The articles of association may specify the manner of amending the articles (by qualified majority, simple majority) other than unanimity, but may not exclude the possibility of amending the articles of association altogether. In addition, all partners should draw up and sign (on each page) the consolidated text of the partnership’s articles of association including the adopted changes. The consolidated text must be submitted to the National Court Register together with the resolution on the change of PKD codes. This applies both to changes that involve the extension of the scope of activity and its limitation by deleting some PKD codes.

In a limited partnership, a resolution on amending the articles of association requires the consent of all partners and must be adopted in the form of a notarial deed. After its adoption, the changes should be reported to the Register together with appropriate attachments: a notarial deed containing an annex to the partnership’s articles of association and the consolidated text of the articles.

In a partnership limited by shares, a resolution on the amendment of the articles of association requires the consent of all the general partners and must be concluded in the form of a notarial deed. After its signing, the changes should be reported to the Register together with appropriate attachments: a notarial deed containing an annex to the partnership’s articles of association and the consolidated text of the articles.

The regulations do not specify this explicitly, but it follows from the case-law that the amendment to the partnership’s articles of association enters into force upon the moment of signing the annex to the articles. Unlike in the case of companies, in the case of partnerships in order to effectively change the content of the articles, it is not required for the change to appear under the partnership’s entry in the National Court Register.

Changes should be reported to the National Court Register no later than 7 days from the date of adoption of the resolution, via the Court Registers Portal.

Companies: a limited liability company (spółka z o.o.) and a joint-stock company (spółka akcyjna)

In a limited liability company, an amendment to the articles of association is made in the form of a resolution of the shareholders meeting. The resolution must be concluded in the form of a notarial deed. This also applies to single-shareholder limited liability companies.

Depending on whether the change to the objects of the company's business is significant or not, there is a different majority required to adopt a resolution. A resolution concerning a significant change to the company's objects requires a majority of 3/4 of the votes, and in the case of minor changes a majority of 2/3 of the votes.

The management board of the company must report the amendment to the articles of association to the National Court Register within 6 months, counting from the date of adoption of the resolution, via the Court Registers Portal.

Please note! The application to the Register does not have to be accompanied by the notarial deed including a resolution to amend the articles of association. Simply click “Add any document” in the Attachments tab, and then, in the field “Number of the notarial deed in CREWAN”, enter the number of the notarial deed, which can be found on the notification of registration received from the notary.

In a joint-stock company, changing the PKD code means amending the statutes with regard to the objects of the company’s business. The decision to amend the statutes must be adopted by the General Meeting of Shareholders by a majority of 2/3 of votes. When voting on any material change in the objects of the business, no preferential voting rights apply. The resolution must be adopted in the form of a notarial deed.

After the adoption of the resolution, the amendment of the company's statutes and the changed PKD code of the company should be reported to the National Court Register within 3 months, counting from the date of the resolution, via the Court Registers Portal.

You do not need to attach to the application the notarial deed including the resolution to amend the articles of association. Simply click “Add any document” in the Attachments tab, and then in the field “Number of the notarial deed in CREWAN", enter the number of the notarial deed, which can be found on the notification of registration received from the notary.

Please note! The amendment of the articles in a limited liability company and in a joint-stock company becomes effective only after it is entered into the National Court Register, i.e. when it appears under the company’s entry in the Register.

Example

A limited liability company under the name Tynk-Bud has plastering activity listed under its entry in the National Court Register (and in the articles of association) as one of its secondary activities. Plastering falls in division 43 in PKD classification of activities. The company intends to provide services which it has not provided before in the field of wall painting, i.e. painting services marked with PKD code 43.34.Z. Due to the fact that these services fall in division 43 of PKD classification and that this division is already included in the articles of association of the company and is listed in the National Court Register as the secondary activity (object) of the company’s business, no amendment to the articles of association or update to the National Court Register is required.