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Around twenty various definitions of an enterprise can be found in Poland. Without judging the importance of definitions included in other legal acts, the key importance, the systematic one, is given to the definition included in the Act on the Freedom of Economic Activity and in the Civil Code, [8] with their normative meaning broadly corresponding to each other. Pursuant to Article 4 of the AFEA, an enterprise is an individual, a legal entity or an organisational unit without legal personality who is assigned legal capacity under a separate statute, performing business activity on its own behalf. In addition, partners in a partnership are considered enterprises within the scope of business activities they perform [9] . Pursuant to Article 43 1 of the Civil Code, an enterprise is an individual, a legal entity or an organisational unit without legal personality, that has legal capacity and performs business or professional activities on its own behalf. The majority of definitions of an enterprise that exist in Poland comprise two elements: an objective one and a subjective one. The subjective element specifies a group of parties that may be considered enterprises, while the objective element describes the activities that these parties must undertake to be considered enterprises. In light of these definitions, all right holders may become an enterprise in Poland. Performing business activities by a certain entity is the condition for it to be considered an enterprise. On the other hand, the professional activity referred to in the definition of an enterprise in the Civil Code, exists alongside business activity, though its scope corresponds to the understanding of professional activity that is included in the definition of business activity in the Act on the Freedom of Economic Activity. As a result, the scope of the definition of an enterprise from the Civil Code corresponds to the scope of the definition of an enterprise in the Act on the Freedom of Economic Activity.
The indicated definitions of an enterprise constitute the basic understanding of the term. However, as already mentioned above, an enterprise is sometimes defined differently, usually broadly, in some legal acts. The Competition Law may serve here as an example, where an enterprise is understood as an individual, legal entity or an entity without legal personality that participates in business operations by performing gainful activities, even to a limited extent. [10]
The Act on the Freedom of Economic Activity also sets out a definition of a foreign enterprise (Article 5 of the AFEA). According to this definition, a foreign enterprise is a foreign entity performing business activities abroad, and a Polish citizen performing business activities abroad. Under this provision, a foreign entity is:
1) an individual who is not a Polish citizen;
2) a legal entity with its registered office abroad;
3) an organisational unit without legal personality who has legal capacity, with its registered office abroad.
Mainly due to the requirements of the state aid law, and in accordance with the regulations of the European Union, Polish enterprises are divided into micro, small, medium and large enterprises. A micro enterprise is deemed an enterprise that, at least in one of the two last financial years:
1) employed less than 10 employees per annum and
2) obtained an annual net turnover from the sale of goods and services and financial operations not exceeding the PLN equivalent of EUR 2 million, or the total assets of its balance sheet, prepared as at the end of one of these years, did not exceed the PLN equivalent of EUR 2 million.
A small enterprise is deemed to be an enterprise that, at least in one of the two last financial years:
1) employed less than 50 employees per annum and
2) obtained an annual net turnover from the sale of goods and services and financial operations not exceeding the PLN equivalent of EUR 10 million, or the total assets of its balance sheet prepared as at the end of one of these years did not exceed the PLN equivalent of EUR 10 million.
On the other hand, a medium enterprise is an enterprise that, at least in one of the two last financial years:
1) employed less than 250 employees per annum and
2) obtained an annual net turnover from the sale of goods and services and financial operations not exceeding the PLN equivalent of EUR 50 million, or the total assets of its balance sheet prepared as at the end of one of these years did not exceed the PLN equivalent of EUR 43 million.
The values expressed in EUR are calculated into PLN according to the average exchange rate announced by the National Bank of Poland in the last financial year, selected for the assessment of the enterprise’s status. On the other hand, average employment per annum is established by counting full-time equivalents. While calculating the average annual employment, employees who are on maternity leave or similar leave, paternity leave, parental leave and child care leave are not taken into account, and nor are individuals employed as apprentices. With regard to an enterprise operating for less than a year, its anticipated net turnover from the sales of goods, products and services and financial operations, as well as average annual employment, is estimated on the basis of information for the last period documented by the enterprise.