A flood of companies with Russian and Belarusian capital. MPs on “tacit approval of the Law and Justice Party government”

Interrogation regarding the registration of carriers z Russia and Belarus in Poland and its impact on the Polish transport industry are reported by Mirosław Suchoń and Tomasz Zimoch of Poland 2050. “Entrepreneurs dealing with transport, logistics and freight alert us to the threat posed by the transport industry, but also to the security and stability of the economy, through Locating Russian and Belarusian carriers in Poland “- wrote the parliamentarians.

As they added, the entrepreneurs point to “the inconsistency in servicing the eastern directions, which were largely closed to Polish companies, while the branches of companies across the eastern borders that were opened in Poland actually take over existing contracts.”

The actual tacit approval of the government PIS This practice helps remove Polish companies from the market. Moreover, there are fears that with the complete passivity of the government in contacts with the EU countries, companies from the sanctioned countries will replace Polish transport in European markets. This means the collapse of the industry, which is a very important Polish export product, which employs about a million people and generates, according to various estimates, about 6 percent gross domestic product– Poland 2050 deputies added.

Deputy Minister of Infrastructure Rafa Weber announced this as of January 10 this year. In 2018, there were 1,474 companies operating in Poland where at least one shareholder is a Russian business entity or natural person with Russian citizenship (or beneficial owner). Of these entities 97 running a business Under PKD code 49.41.Z – Road transport of goods.

“The largest number of business entities registered in Poland, where at least one of the shareholders is a Russian entity or a natural person who is a Russian citizen (or beneficial owner), conducts business in the field of road transportation of goods,” Weber reported. This is the result of information collected by the Central Economic Information Center.

The data transmitted by the Vice-President of MI show that in 2022, 194 entrepreneurs start operations in Poland, where at least one of the shareholders is a Russian businessman or natural person with Russian citizenship. For comparison, 235 entities were created in 2021 and 145 entities were created in 2020.

There were more companies with Belarusian capital, namely 4980. Of this number, 885 entities carried out activities related to road transportation of goods – according to data as of January 10 this year.

“Last year, 1,745 business entities with Belarusian capital started operating in our country. Comparing 2022 with 2020, it should be noted that there was a 372 percent increase in the number of registrations of these entities in Poland,” we read in response to the questioning.

The Deputy Minister reported that – as in the case of companies with Russian capital – “the largest number of entities registered in Poland, where at least one shareholder is a Belarusian business entity or a natural person who is its citizen. Belarus (or the real beneficiary) carries out an economic activity in the field of transporting goods on the roads.

At the same time, as reported by Rafał Weber, “due to the danger of foreign intelligence operating on the territory of the Republic of Poland through citizens of Russia and Belarus, doing business in the field of road transport in Poland, information about the fact registration services for entrepreneurs in the field of transport with capital Russian and Belarusian in Poland to the head of the Internal Security Agency.

Poland 2050 members asked how many permits were issued to companies with Russian and Belarusian capital for land transportation in Poland. Raffa Weber did not provide such information. “It is not possible to indicate such accurate information, that is, the number of permits issued to pursue the profession of a land transport operator with the distinction of the country of origin of the capital, because this data is not a condition for granting the permits, and therefore it is not collected,” – indicated the deputy head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

At the moment, it is not known, nor is it possible to provide figures on the tax residence of entities with the Russian and Belarusian capital. “At the current stage of identifying transport companies with Belarusian and Russian capital and the ongoing inspections of companies, it is not yet possible to provide figures on the tax residency of these entities. This will be possible after the completion of large-scale inspection activities. Inspection of land transport in cooperation with other departments.” Notify the Undersecretary.

In mid-March, he added, “inspections were launched throughout Poland, in more than 60 selected companies that are likely to have Belarusian or Russian capital.” “Further inspections are planned in this regard,” – announced the Deputy Minister of Infrastructure.

Weber also noted that “the inspection activities that were and are still being carried out by the Land Transport Inspectorate are attended by representatives of other services, including border guards, which check – on the basis of their powers – the legality of foreigners’ stay in Poland during inspections.”

The deputy head of the Ministry of Interior confirmed that the ministry is still in dialogue with the carrier’s community. As he noted, “Thanks to the intervention of the transport companies themselves, the Ministry of Infrastructure receives signals about suspected illegal activity of some transport entities, which are thoroughly checked after such notification.”

Rafał Weber noted that the Polish government, as part of the extension of sanctions against Russia and Belarus, has applied to ban entry to EU territory also for semi-trailers and trailers registered in Russia and Belarus, and to ban the exercise of economic activity in the field of road transport by entities with a Russian or Belarusian capital.

“This is one of the most important postulates for the road transport community. The relevant draft regulations, implementing the Polish hypothesis, are currently being consulted at the EU forum,” – said the Deputy Minister of Infrastructure.