PKD — Polish classification of economic activity 2022
Which PKD code to choose for a construction or transport company in Poland? Check what is the Polish classification of economic activity and where to look for the PKD code. Find out how to update it in Polish business registers.
What is the Polish PKD code and what is it for?
PKD is an acronym for Polish Classification of Activities (pl. Polska Klasyfikacja Działalności) — it is a system which serves to identify the industry in which a given company operates. Foreign equivalents of PKD are the NACE, SIC and UKSIC codes.
Polish classification of economic activity was created for top-down statistical purposes, but it is also useful for entrepreneurs themselves, e.g.when applying for subsidies or tax discounts (which are usually entitled to specific PKD codes). Many contractors also check whether the PKD code of the company they want to cooperate with is adequate with the services and products they offer — so it constitutes an information useful in risk assessment.
During the registration of a company in the polish business register — National Court Register (pl. Krajowy Rejestr Sądowy, KRS), entrepreneurs can choose one main PKD code for the their company and nine additional. For a sole proprietorship registered in a seperate register CEIDG (pl. Centralna Ewidencja i Informacja o Działalności Gospodarczej), the entrepreneur is also required to provide one main PKD code for the company and may enter six additional codes (or more, but then must submit an additional application).
PKD for the company in Poland: problem with choosing the appropriate PKD code
Choosing the right PKD code sometimes causes problems for entrepreneurs in Poland and it should not surprise us at all. The PKD codes have a five-level classification — it consists of 21 sections, 88 divisions, 272 groups, 615 classes and 654 subclasses.
The official list of polish PKD codes translated to English can be found on the government website: https://www.biznes.gov.pl/en/table-pkd-code
You can find a search engine there, but it takes time to read the entire table.
For those who do not share our opinion on the difficulty of choosing the right PKD code for setting up a polish company, we will try to present the problematic selection of the PKD code on the example of a sole proprietorship that deals with the renovation of houses and apartments (painting and wallpapering walls, mounting drywall, putting on ceilings and other similar works).
According to the guidelines, polish company should be assigned a PKD code:
- Section: F;
- Department: 43 Specialized construction works;
- Group: 43.3 Execution of finishing construction works;
- Class: 43.34 Painting and glazing;
- Subclass: 43.34.Z Painting and glazing.
Doubts as to whether or not it is the correct PKD code appear more or less in the middle of the description of the class of this PKD code. Painting and glazing are two completely different activities that have little in common except that the renovated rooms have windows and mirrors.
The description of the classification of economic activity in Poland contains activities that may not completely correspond to a given company. PKD codes do not describe what companies do in one hundred percent. PKD 43.34.Z is therefore suitable for a company that only renovates houses and apartments inside and outside, i.e. for example only plaster and paints walls (interior and exterior painting of buildings). The same PKD code will also be appropriate for a company dealing with the installation of glass coverings or mirrors (not to be confused with the installation of windows — this kind of activity is assigned to code PKD 43.32.Z). In this situation, it does not matter whether this company paints the walls while installing the glass coverings or not.
How to choose a PKD code for a company in Poland? The most frequently chosen PKD codes
PKD for an electric company:
- 43.21.Z Electrical installation,
- 42.22.Z Works related to construction of telecommunication and power lines,
- 80.20.Z Security services in the area of security systems operation.
PKD for a cleaning company:
- 81.21.Z Non-specialized cleaning of buildings and industrial facilities,
- 81.22.Z Specialist cleaning of buildings and industrial facilities,
- 81.10.Z Supporting activities related to maintaining order in buildings.
PKD for a transport company:
- 49.41.Z Freight transport by road,
- 52.29.C Activities of other transport agencies,
- 52.21.Z Service activities incidental to land transport.
PKD for a hairdressing company:
- 96.02.Z Hairdressing and other beauty treatments,
- 32.99.Z Other manufacturing not elsewhere classified,
- 96.09.Z Other personal service activities not elsewhere classified.
PKD for a training company:
- 85.53.Z Out-of- school forms of driving education,
- 85.59.B Other out-of-school forms of education, not elsewhere classified,
- 85.60.Z Activities supporting education.
If you are interested in how to convert PKD codes to NACE codes, click HERE. If you want to find the equivalents of Polish PKD codes in SIC codes, click HERE.
How to add the PKD code in Polish business registers: CEIDG and KRS?
To change the PKD code for a polish company in CEIDG, just go to the website https://www.biznes.gov.pl/en and submit the CEIDG-1 online application for a change in the entry in the Central Registration and Information on Business in Poland. The PKD code for a company registered in the Polish National Court Register (KRS) can be changed by submitting an e-application via the Court Registers Portal (website in Polish).
It is worth remembering that to classify the nature of your company’s activity, you can enter more than one PKD code — one main code and any number of additional codes in the case of sole proprietorship and up to 9 additional PKD codes in the case of commercial and personal companies.
When choosing PKD codes, remember that certain obligations may be associated with them, such as the need to use a cash register. For example, they can indicate whether there is an option for the entrepreneur to settle the lump-sum tax of recorded revenue. It is worth taking a close look at the descriptions of Polish classification of economic activity codes, as some of them are reserved for farmers or commercial companies. PKD codes are important for financial institutions, which often use it to determine credit risk. A correctly specified PKD code may turn out to be an important factor for an entrepreneur who applies for funding or a loan.
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