Final changes to the Special Voluntary Disclosure Programme On 26 October 2016, the South African Minister of Finance tabled the Rates and Monetary Amounts and Amendment of Revenue Laws Bill, Bill 19 of 2016, in Parliament when he introduced the so-called “Mini Budget”. This Bill contains the legislation regulating the Special Voluntary Disclosure Programme (“SVDP”), which commenced on 1 October 2016 and was to end on 30 June 2017 ...
Introduction of Section 7C to The Income Tax Act and its Effect on Estate Planning Section 25B(1) of the Income Tax Act provides that any amount received by or accrued to or in favour of any person during any year of assessment in his/her capacity as a trustee of a trust, to the extent to which such amount has been received for the immediate or future benefit any ascertained beneficiary who has a vested interest to that amount during that year, this shall be deemed to be an amount that
Occupational Health and Safety Act – important notification of draft Ergonomics Regulations, 2017On Friday, 27 January 2017, a notice (GNR.64) was published in Government Gazette No. 40578, in terms of which the Minster of Labour gave notice of her intention to make Ergonomics Regulations in terms of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993 ...
SARS Interpretation Note 94 – contingent liabilities assumed in the acquisition of a going concern Importantly, SARS’ application of the latter distinction appears to follow the reasoning put forward by the Privy Council in Commissioner of Inland Revenue v New Zealand Forest Research Institute Ltd, wherein it was held that expenditure incurred in respect of provisions taken over was incurred as part of the purchase price, which was capital in nature and therefore not deductib
Section 197 of the South African Labour Relations Act: The ebb and flow of what constitutes a going concern More recently, in 2016, in Rural Maintenance (Pty) Limited and Another v Maluti-A-Phofung Local Municipality, the Constitutional Court dealt with outsourcing and the impact of a transfer of assets by the outgoing entity in evaluating whether a transfer of a business as a going concern existed ...
In December 2016, the South African Supreme Court of Appeal (“SCA”) handed down a rare patent judgment in Pasadena Leather Products CC t/a Pasadena Products and another v Resca and another. In a very measured judgment, the SCA sets out in clear and basic terms how one goes about establishing whether or not a patent has been infringed. This judgment will therefore be very useful for laymen and non-IP specialists ...
The Mauritian Limited Liability Partnerships Act, 2016 – what you need to knowDo LLPs have independent legal personality? The Mauritian Limited Liability Partnerships Act, 2016 (the “Act”) came into force on 3 January 2017, and provides for the establishment of limited liability partnership (“LLP”) structures in Mauritius. The LLP is a welcome and awaited addition to the various types of vehicles that can be created in Mauritius ...
Yuppies – do they confuse you? Late last year, the South African Supreme Court of Appeal (“SCA”) handed down an important trade mark judgment in Yuppiechef Holdings (Pty) Ltd v Yuppie Gadgets Holdings (Pty) Ltd. The case dealt with that thorny issue that bedevils so many trade mark cases – confusing similarity. The facts were fairly straightforward. Yuppiechef is an online retail business that specialises in kitchen and household goods ...
On 15 December 2016, the South African Constitutional Court handed down a landmark judgment in Myathaza v Johannesburg Metropolitan Bus Services (SOC) Limited t/a Metrobus and Others, in which it held that arbitration awards issued in terms of the Labour Relations Act, 1995 (the “LRA”) do not prescribe ...
On 5 December 2016, a new set of draft amendments to the JSE Debt Listings Requirements (the “DLRs”) was posted on the JSE Limited’s (the “JSE”) website and circulated on 13 December 2016. The comprehensive set of proposed amendments will be open for public comment until 30 January 2017 ...
2017 looks set to bring about unprecedented change in South Africa when it comes to leave relating to the birth or adoption of a child. A fresh approach to maternity leave has already been sanctioned by the Labour Court, one that goes beyond the traditional notion that maternity leave should apply to biological mothers only. This groundbreaking development, which is already part of South African law, is discussed below ...
In this article, ENSafrica looks at a dramatic legislative shift which could soon see the following fundamental changes to South Africa’s employment law: · the effective recognition that fathers (or other parents, whether male or female, who may not otherwise be entitled to maternity leave) will be entitled to what is being referred to as “parental leave”; · the formal recognition of “adoption leave” by law; · the stat
First published in October 2003, the National Code of Corporate Governance for Mauritius (“the Code”) was revised in 2016 to align it with new laws and guidelines in Mauritius, as well as to recognise, learn and apply governance lessons from the global financial crisis, and identify and apply international best practices for Mauritius to remain a jurisdiction of choice with the highest standards of corporate governance in Africa ...
2016 has been a busy year for IP on the African continent, with developments in Liberia, the Cayman Islands, South Africa, Zambia and Namibia, among others. Liberia: Intellectual Property Act and Swakopmund Protocol membership Liberia’s House of Representatives has approved and published the Intellectual Property Act, 2014 (the “new Act”), which repeals the Industrial Property Act of 2003. The regulations are currently being drafted ...
Witnesses giving evidence before the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (“CCMA”) should take care when making statements that may expose them to defamation claims. This issue arose in the recent case of Clover SA (Pty) Ltd and Another v Sintwa, in which the High Court heard a damages claim arising from defamatory statements made by a witness while giving evidence before the CCMA ...
“The Trump Organization also earns income by licensing the Trump name to building developers around the world.” – BBC news site in an article entitled “What conflicts of interest could Donald Trump have?” Donald Trump has hogged the headlines for many months. So it’s perhaps no surprise that he’s even managed to make trade mark news ...
Can a construction contractor automatically terminate its employees’ contracts when skills are no longer required for a construction project? This question was at the centre of the Labour Court case of National Union of Mineworkers obo Milisa and Others v WBHO Construction (Pty) Ltd ...
Judge Mervyn King’s name is synonymous with corporate governance in South Africa. 1 November 2016 saw the delivery of the fourth version of the famous King report on corporate governance, King IV. So, just what does this latest report mean for IP? Well, there’s apparently no mention of the term “intellectual property” in the report at all, so one might be inclined to answer that it means nothing ...
In a rare IP law decision in Namibia, the High Court has made it clear that it takes IP seriously, that English and South African IP decisions are very relevant, and that anyone alleging passing off will need to submit compelling evidence to establish that they have the necessary reputation ...
Seek advice before signing up to the ISDA Resolution Stay Jurisdictional Modular Protocol It is a matter of time before you, as a market participant, are approached by large institutional derivative, securities lending or repo counterparties from the United Kingdom (“UK”) to sign up to the International Swaps and Derivatives Association’s Resolution Stay Jurisdictional Modular Protocol (“ISDA JMP”) and the UK jurisdictional module, or before you are asked t
In a previous newsflash, we highlighted the significant changes made to the broad-based black economic empowerment (“B-BBEE”) landscape in South Africa that were introduced by the new B-BBEE Regulations (the “Regulations”) issued by the Department of Trade and Industry (the “DTI”) on 6 June 2016 ...
