Verification of a foreign business partner may prove more difficult than for a domestic company. Fortunately, there are tools that can help us.
European counterparty First, it is best to check in the register of European companies. This verification can be made by the e-Justice portal which is available in 23 languages. Basic data of the company, i.e. the name of the company and its registration number, should be known.
Another facilitation in the verification of the foreign entity is to check the company in the EU VAT database. This is possible thanks to the European Commission's website where we can check the potential counterparty. With the EU portal, it is possible to verify whether a company is registered as a trader within the EU. To this end, the EU VAT number of the company, given to it by the Member State, should be known.
In order to verify a foreign entity from and outside the EU, contact with a diplomatic service in the country where our potential counterparty is established may also be helpful
The next step is to simply check the foreign entity on the Internet – we check the website of the potential partner, as well as opinions on the company. Entrepreneurs sometimes discuss their counterparties in various online forums.
In order to verify a foreign entity from and outside the EU, contact with a diplomatic service in the country where our potential counterparty is established may also be helpful.
In this way, it is possible to obtain free information from registry bodies, including whether the counterparty with which we plan to cooperate is not an entity reported by entrepreneurs as insolvent. Very often diplomatic missions keep records of unfair companies.
More information about the facilities and how to obtain information about foreign entities can be found on the export promotion portal: www.trade.gov.pl/en
It may also be reasonable to use a paid service of an international business interviewer during the verification of a foreign counterparty.
Finally, it is worth recalling that when, after the verification of our future foreign business partner, we are confident that we want to cooperate with him, we should, as in the case of a national counterparty, thoroughly check the terms of the contract. For this purpose, it is also best to consult a lawyer who will help us verify it.
Author: Paweł Boś
Junior Tax Consultant, related to Russell Bedford Poland 2018. Author of numerous articles on legal and tax matters, published in the industry press. Law student at Leon Kozminski Academy in Warsaw.