A Commercial Law Company and the Act on the Formation of Agricultural System

Abstract

The Polish legislator introduced a series of mechanisms limiting the possibility of turnover of agricultural real estate. The rule has been adopted that only an individual farmer may be the acquirer of farming land, which excludes e.g. a commercial law company. The Agricultural Property Agency has been equipped with several competences enabling it considerable interference with the agricultural real estate turnover. The amendment to the Act on the Formation of Agricultural System, binding since 30 April 2016, has introduced several limitations in the acquisition of agricultural real estate by companies governed by commercial law. The acquisition of agricultural real estate with the consent of the President of the Agricultural Property Agency is the only option for legal persons to acquire agricultural real estate. In practice, the above regulations considerably hinder the conduct of agricultural activities by commercial law companies. The principle of the freedom of agricultural activities entails the choice of the form of conducting of such activities. The analysed regulations do not give such freedom. The introduction of a farm company, i.e. the subject whose main activity would be of an agricultural character and which could be treated like an individual farmer, into the Polish, law might constitute a be a good solution to this problem.