The Serbian Competition Commission (the "Commission") recently finished sector inquiries concerning quite distinct industries – raspberries and the public procurement for software and hardware. The aim behind the inquiries was to perform extensive market research and analysis in order to acquire a clearer picture of the possible antitrust issues and risks in two sectors widely perceived as strategic for the development of the Serbian economy ...
Country overview 1. Give an overview of the country’s economy, its structure and main characteristics, and prevailing government economic policy, particularly as regards foreign investment. The Philippines is an archipelago composed of more than 7,000 islands with 82 provinces divided in 18 regions. Rich in natural resources, it has a total land area of about 300,000 square kilometres. It is divided into three major island groups: Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao ...
One of the many unresolved issues relating to Brexit is the issue of cross-border retailing. While there are certainly issues relating to online cross-border shopping (e.g., the imposition of VAT, additional charges for checks as well as delays caused by possible border/customs delays), there are certainly plenty of issues relating to cross-border bricks and mortar retailing as well. The border between Ireland and Northern Ireland ("NI") is a neat case study ...
Cloud computing, along with Big Data, social media, and mobility, is one of the current megatrends that will drive huge changes to the business ecosystem in the upcoming decade. Surveys held over the recent years unanimously confirm that organisations across the globe are rapidly and continuously moving to the cloud ...
One step closer to implementation of the reforms relating to EU data protection regulation, this article looks at some of the implications that the reforms are likely to have for SMEs. Key progress was made in the reform of EU data protection regulation on 12 March 2014 with the European Parliament voting in support of reform and the draft General Data Protection Regulation (the "Regulation"). The Regulation must now be adopted by the Council of Ministers in order to become law ...
The Bavarian Data Protection Authority ("BayLDA") has published an online test on its website that can be used by companies to determine how well they are prepared on key topics of the General Data Protection Regulation ("GDPR"). The GDPR will apply directly in the member states of the European Union with effect from May 25, 2018. This will result in significant changes to data protection law in many areas ...
International financial records recently stolen from two offshore services firms and 19 corporate registries maintained by governments were leaked to journalists and their details subsequently published around the world. But beyond the hype, however, we find no intelligent inferences of legal significance in the reporting. For example, the media draws attention to a United States Cabinet member's offshore financial transactions but does not allege that his shipping stake was illegal ...
ANGOLA: Introduction of transfer pricing unitA transfer pricing unit, set up as an administrative technical structure forming part of the Large Taxpayers Directorate of the General Tax Administration, was launched on 25 September 2017 and will be responsible for monitoring compliance with Angola’s transfer pricing regime introduced by Presidential Decree No.147/13 of 1 October 2013 ...
Latin America’s current economic growth levels are among the world’s highest, and the region is preparing its regulations to meet new economic challenges. As such, the fostering of foreign trade and foreign direct investment (FDI) is important to increase GDP growth, create job opportunities, and improve logistics and production ...
The Trump Administration has followed up on the President’s speech in Miami regarding U.S. policy toward Cuba by announcing new restrictions on trade with Cuba that became effective at the end of 2017. At the heart of the new policy is a “Cuba Restricted List” in which the State Department names 180 Cuban entities with which new commercial relations are to be prohibited ...
Last month, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published its "Regulatory Sandbox – Lessons Learned Report". In the Report, the FCA evaluated the progress of the UK financial regulatory sandbox during its first year of operation and tentatively concluded that the initiative has so far been a success ...
On 22 September, the Presidency released its amended version of the much debated ECC. The new text revealed once again that regulatory holidays and deregulation in telecoms markets are back in vogue. That text suggested that those who argue for regulatory holidays as the driver of investment in telecoms markets had won the favour of one key branch of Brussel’s policy makers ...
It has been almost two years since Republic Act No. 10667, otherwise known as the Philippine Competition Act (the PCA), took effect on August 8, 2015 ...
In less than 4 months the Priips-Kid regulation will come into force. The exercise of ensuring compliance with this regulation is not an easy one ...
Dubai is the fastest growing healthcare market within the GCC and is becoming an increasingly attractive sector for investors. In this inBrief article we explain the key drivers behind this growth and set out the options available to investors wishing to enter the Dubai healthcare market ...
Are bidders required to partner with a Taiwan company to participate in the bidding process? Foreign companies may participate in the bidding process on their own, so long as they meet the bidding qualifications. Most public engineering projects permit either bidding by a single company or by a joint bid. So long as a company is able to meet the qualifications for the procurement project, it may submit a bid on its own ...
he office of the South African Information Regulator recently published its first draft regulations in terms of the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (“POPI”), entitled “Regulations relating to the Protection of Personal Information, 2017”. The draft regulations are open for public comment until 7 November 2017 ...
In line with the state policy set out in the Philippines Constitution to recognise the indispensable role of the private sector in national growth, encourage private enterprise and provide incentives to attract needed investment, the Philippine government has long resorted to public-private partnerships (PPPs) to address problems of national interest ...
The Restrictive Trade Practices Law, 5748-1988 (the Law) is the primary law dealing with antitrust issues in Israel and its objective is to prevent harm to competition or the public. The Law contains the substantive rules that apply to the various restrictive trade practices (restrictive arrangements; mergers; monopolies; concerted groups) ...
From a regulatory and legal point of view, what do Canadian companies need to know about doing business here? The Philippines is a party to several treaties, including a tax treaty that applies to Canadian suppliers that want to sell goods to the Philippines. There are special laws for investors depending on the type of activity they plan to engage in. Manufacturers and companies in the renewable energy sector could be entitled to tax incentives ...
The D.C. Circuit recently rejected a qui tam relator’s attempt to dodge the FCA’s first-to-file bar by amending his complaint. United States ex rel. Shea v. Cellco P’ship, 863 F.3d 923 (D.C. Cir. 2017). The panel’s correct interpretation of the first-to-file bar stymies relators’ ability to keep copycat FCA suits in court. The relator, a telecommunications industry consultant, filed a qui tam suit against Verizon Communications, Inc. in 2007 ...
SyCipLaw Partners Imelda A. Manguiat and Carina C. Laforteza, Senior Associate Bhong Paulo A. Macasaet, and Associate Maricar G. Ramos contributed the Philippine chapter of Getting the Deal Through: Aviation Finance & Leasing 2017. The chapter addressed pivotal questions about air law and aviation financing and leasing. The scope and rules and regulations of owning, leasing, securing, financing and operating an aircraft were also discussed ...
In Denmark, SKAT charges VAT on radio and TV licence fees. Households pay a licence fee to the Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR), which then pays the VAT amount to SKAT. The VAT amount makes up 20 per cent of the total licence fee.Last year, the Court of Justice of the European Union held that it was unlawful to charge VAT on licence fees in a case concerning Czech radio licence fees ...
BOTSWANA: Amending protocol to treaty with France signedOn 27 July 2017, Botswana and France signed an amending protocol to the Botswana/France Income Tax Treaty, 1999 in Gaborone. CAMEROON: VAT refund procedure available onlineThe Cameroonian Minister of Finance issued a communiqué on 14 June 2017, announcing that the value-added tax (“VAT”) refund procedure has been simplified and is available online as from 3 July 2017 for enterprises registered with the Large Tax Unit ...
