Polish firms' tough time abroad battling local councils and foreign courts

Taxes, customs duties and employment issues are the most frequent reasons for disputes between Polish companies and the authorities abroad according to Rzeczpospolita. They are a result of both the entrepreneurs’ ignorance of local regulations and their wrong interpretation by the local authorities and sometimes even by the courts. In recent months the most famous conflicts between Polish firms and local authorities took place in Belarus, Ukraine and Germany. Inco Food operating in Belarus was wrongly accused of breaching the customs regulations and a chocolate producer Terravita had its company taken over by their Belarussian partner despite Terravita's protests. In Germany many companies have a problem with social insurance contributions. According to Polish diplomats, however, the number of conflicts with local authorities is gradually decreasing. In countries like Hungary, Slovakia or Estonia many problems connected with customs duties disappeared after their accession to the EU and new laws in Russia are prepared in a way which prevents their misinterpretation. (Rzeczpospolita, p.B1) E.B.