Economic Information Bureaus in Poland
Find out what Economic Information Bureaus operate in Poland for 2022 and what data and services they offer.
Economic Information Bureaus in Poland — introduction
As in many different countries, there are also specialized Economic Information Bureaus in Poland. Their main task is to collect and share information about debtors, most precisely companies that owe some money due to unpaid invoices and consumers that have private debts.
Finding your company on the list of debtors of Economic Information Bureau is primarily aimed at hindering the company functioning on the market. In this way, unreliable entrepreneurs may lose credibility among their contractors, and private individuals may face difficulties, for example, with installment purchases or subscription contracts. These problems effectively motivate many enterprises to pay off their liabilities.
Information in Economic Information Bureaus databases is also a tip for customers or contractors who are considering establishing cooperation with a given company. The no-debts message is often the reason why the customer often chooses this and not another company. Such knowledge also protects against losing money as a result of cooperation with dishonest business entities.
Economic Information Bureau in Polish language is ‘Biuro Informacji Gospodarczej’ (so called ‘BIG’)
What Economic Information Bureaus exist in Poland?
There are currently five Economic Information Bureaus in Poland, supervised by the minister responsible for economy. They are all private offices and verifying a company on their list or adding a debtor is paid. Importantly, the activities of Polish Economic Information Bureaus are precisely regulated in the Act of April 9, 2010 on disclosure of economic information and exchange of economic data (Dz.U. 2010 nr 81 poz. 530), what means that not every Polish company data provider may process, collect and share such information.
Five Economic Information Bureaus in Poland that are active in 2022 are:
- Krajowy Rejestr Długów Biuro Informacji Gospodarczej S.A.
- ERIF Biuro Informacji Gospodarczej S.A
- Krajowa Informacja Długów Telekomunikacyjnych Biuro Informacji Gospodarczej S.A.
- BIG InfoMonitor S.A.
- Krajowe Biuro Informacji Gospodarczej S.A.
What debtors data is shared by Polish Economic Information Bureaus?
The information provided by the Economic Information Bureaus includes details of the contractor or consumer, which support the effective assessment of their financial situation. Among other things, we can find out if they have any unpaid obligations, and if so, for what amount and for whom. Knowing the amount of debt of a given company and the date of the expected repayment, makes easier to estimate whether it will be safe to enter into any business with such an entity.
For example, one of the Economic Information Bureaus in Poland, Krajowy Rejestr Długów Biuro Informacji Gospodarczej S.A. (KRD BIG SA), provides its customers with the so-called Extended Report, which includes, among others:
- basic registration data about the contractor (company name, tax identification number, address, date of registration, etc.),
- negative and positive information about it in the KRD BIG SA database (value of liabilities, number of creditors and number of liabilities, due dates, number of days of delay in payment, creditors’ data),
- information on the financial situation entered in the Economic Information Bureau (e.g. arrears with payments in social security, the Tax Office, information on bankruptcy, arrangement and reorganization proceedings),
- profit and loss account from the last three financial statements submitted by the company,
- and current capital and personal ties.
Link to a sample Extended Report of one the Polish Economic Information Bureau:
https://krd.pl/Dokumenty-dodatkowe/Raport-Rozszerzony-KRD-(wzor)
Polish Economic Information Bureaus and the National Register of Debtors
Although the name may indicate some similarity, it should be known that the Polish National Register of Debtors (Krajowy Rejestr Zadłużonych, KRZ) is not an Economic Information Bureau. It is a register kept by the Minister of Justice of Poland, where we can find information about natural persons against whom bankruptcy or restructuring activities are carried out, and also proceedings against the prohibition of business activity, information on court enforcement and entities against which enforcement maintenance payments or budget receivables are pending countries. However, in KRZ there is no information on debts owed to companies or private persons.
How much does it cost to verify a company in Economic Information Bureau in Poland?
The prices of verification of the company in the Economic Information Bureaus in Poland vary depending on the office and available service pricing packages. These can be prices from 100 PLN (21,5 EUR) to even 800 PLN (172,5 EUR).
However, it is worth paying attention to what services are available as part of the package, because sometimes a small surcharge can give us many more possibilities. Polish Economic Information Bureaus may also offer other, additional options than just verification of debtors and the possibility of adding information about unpaid receivables.
For example, when deciding to subscribe to the KRD BIG SA, we also get the opportunity to purchase preventive seals with the KRD logo to be placed on company documents, download a report about yourself, or enable monitoring of companies around the clock. Such activities can increase the chances of recovering money, warn contractors against the consequences of late payments and give us time to react quickly when the financial situation of the contractor with whom we cooperate unexpectedly changes.
When can a Polish debtor be reported to Economic Information Bureau?
As for the deadline for reporting the debtor to the Economic Information Bureau in Poland, following the information from the KRD BIG SA, the payment deadline should exceed 60 days. After this time, we have the opportunity to send the debtor a request for payment, which contains information about the intention to add to the debtors’ register. If the entrepreneur does not pay their liability after 30 days from sending the summons, then we have the right to add such a person or company to the Economic Information Bureau, which will significantly hamper its functioning on the market.
If the status of the case changes, i.e., for example, the liability is partially repaid, the entry about such a contractor will be updated, and in the case of full repayment, the debtor will be removed from the database of Economic Information Bureau.
Do Economic Information Bureaus in Poland really help recover debts?
Thanks to the functioning of Economic Information Offices, both entrepreneurs and consumers can manage risk more effectively. There is no summary report with concrete numbers, but as reports the KRD BIG SA, the total amount of money recovered from the beginning of their operation is over PLN 123 billion, and only in 2021 it was over PLN 21 billion.
