China has traditionally restricted foreign investment in the retail and wholesale sectors with the aim of nurturing strong domestic players before their foreign counterparts would be allowed to enter the country. Since becoming a member of the World Trade Organisation, China has gradually opened up its distribution sector to foreign investment ...
GOVERNMENT PUBLISHED PROPOSAL TO CHANGE THE INSOLVENCY REGIME Insolvency proceedings are currently governed by the Insolvency and Corporate Recovery Code approved by Decree-Law 53/04 of 18 March (referred to here by its Portuguese initials ‘CIRE’). From its entry into force to date, this legislation has been subject to five legislative amendments ...
On the 10 May 2012, the Swedish parliament enacted a permanent exemption to the Swedish Public Procurement Act (2007:1091) (“LOU”) for the direct award of contracts to affiliated companies.[1]Parliament also decided to enact an option for municipalities and county councils to delegate the competence to make decisions in relation to public procurement procedures to central purchasing bodies ...
In a previous newsletter (no. 1, April 2012) we described the Swedish government’s proposal on limitation of interest deductions. The bill was circulated for comments, which has now resulted in an amended proposal which, as a whole, follows the initial proposal. The most significant change in the amended bill concerns the reversed general exemption ...
Several of the players which regularly participate in public procurements are aware of the extended right to make an application to the court to have procurement cases reviewed. Almost a year has passed since the Supreme Administrative Court extended the right for suppliers to appeal in procurement cases to encompass a greater range of situations ...
In the history of the Eurozone crisis, Spain has been a special case. It was always the "teachers pet" when it came to sovereign debt, that is, until recently. On 9 June 2012, Spain received an offer of up to EUR 100 bn in financial support from the EU for its ailing banking sector. What does that mean for Spain and the rest of the Eurozone and how did Europe’s fourth-largest economy find itself in this state? BACKGROUND Spain has been unlucky in many respects ...
Contents: The Trust: An Efficient Asset Protection Tool? Amendments to the Obligations of Employers Hiring Foreign Workers – One Year Later: Are You Ready for Service Canada’s Verification? Did You Know? Trustee’s Tax Liability THE TRUST: AN EFFICIENT ASSET PROTECTION TOOL? Valérie Boucher [email protected] In the last few years, trusts have been growing in popularity among business people, including as an asset protection mechanism ...
The Registrar of Companies (ROC) has introduced an annual government licence fee of €350. The government licence fee for 2011 was payable by 31 December 2011. From 2012 onwards the government licence fee will need to be paid by 30 June of that year.Companies which are dormant and/or do not own any assets are exempt from this licence fee ...
On January 3, 2012, the Ontario Superior Court ordered that Solid Gold Resources Corp. ("Solid Gold"), a junior mining exploration company, be enjoined from carrying on any further mineral exploration activity for 120 days on a parcel of land claimed by the Wahgoshig First Nation ("Wahgoshig") as its traditional territory ...
On the 27th of February 2012, the Montenegrin Parliament enacted amendments to the Law on Corporate Income Tax, the Law on Personal Income Tax and the Law on Contributions for Mandatory Social Security Contributions. These amendments were published in the Official Gazette of Montenegro no. 14/12 dated the 7th of March 2012 and came into force that same day.I ...
The Supreme Court has struck down the core provisions of the Trade Minister Regulation which allowed producers to import finished goods (No. 39/M-DAG/PER/10/2010). The regulation will cease to have legal effect as of 8 May 2012. The Ministry of Trade is reported to be currently considering an amendment which aims to accommodate the interests of both producers and traders but may have to draw it more narrowly than the original version. Decision No ...
Earlier this month the new Scottish Information Commissioner (SIC), Rosemary Agnew, took up her position. Since Kevin Dunion finished his second term at the end of February his Head of Enforcement, Margaret Keyse, was Acting Commissioner until Ms Agnew was able to take up her new post. As you would expect the SIC’s team has carried on the work that Mr Dunion set in place but only time will tell what Ms Agnew’s approach to the role will be ...
What is CEPA? The Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement ("CEPA") is a free trade agreement between Mainland China and Hong Kong that offers Hong Kong products, companies and residents preferential access to the Mainland market. Many of the preferences go beyond China's WTO concessions. CEPA is not a closed agreement and both sides hold regular meetings on further concessions and the details for implementation ...
Contents: Recourses Seeking Rectification Under the New Business Corporations Act; You Do Business in a Province Other than Quebec: Are You Required to Register Yourself?; Resale Prices and Authorized Distributors: a Synopsis; France Arms Itself Against Trusts ...
“A patent, trademark, or design registrationcan only be declared void by Federal courts”. Under this statement, theSuperior Court of Justice of Brazil has reaffirmed unanimously that defendantscannot argue unenforceability of a trademark registration as a defense argumentin an infringement lawsuit ...
On 29 March,the Ministerial Order No. 84/2012 that declared the Tribunal for Competition,Regulation and Supervision (“TCRS” or “Tribunal”) operational was finally published in the Official Journal. Said Ministerial Order constitutes the final phase of the legislative procedure initiated with Law No. 46/2011, of 24.6.2011, and further developed by Decree-Law No. 67/2012, of 20.3.2012 ...
International anti-corruption conventions to which international anti-corruption conventions is your country a signatory? Chile is a signatory to and has ratified the Inter-American Convention against Corruption, the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions, and the United Nations Convention against Corruption ...
Information from Delphi’s Tax Group - The Swedish government has proposed new legislation which will entail further restrictions regarding tax deductions for interest expenses on inter-company loans. Kindly note that the proposed legislation will broaden the definition of the term "affiliated companies" ...
Israel’s taxation system has undergone a major reform since 2003. The Income Tax Ordinance was revised as of 2003 pursuant to which an Israeli resident is taxed on worldwide income rather than the previous territorial tax system. The Taxation of Trusts Law (the "Law"), effective as of January 1, 2006, while imposing taxes on Israeli residents with respect to trusts is advantageous to foreign residents. Israel is a major international business and financial center for non-residents ...
On 24 February 2012, Greece opened the Private Sector Involvement debt swap deal (PSI) to bondholders. Essentially the deal involved a swap that meant bondholders would have to accept a 53.5% cut on the face value of their bonds which, in real terms, meant a loss of approximately 75% on their investment. The deal will be the largest financial restructuring in history, dwarfing the Argentinean restructuring in 2005 valued at EUR 33 ...
Contents * Recourses Seeking Rectification Under the New Business Corporations Act * You Do Business in a Province Other than Quebec: Are You Required to Register Yourself? * Resale Prices and Authorized Distributors: a Synopsis RECOURSES SEEKING RECTIFICATION UNDER THE NEW BUSINESS CORPORATIONS ACT Julie Cousineau jcousineau@lavery ...
