On 23 December 2020, the Royal Government of Cambodia (“RGC”) issued a press release and rolled out ‘Round 7’ of measures aimed at mitigating the impacts of COVID-19 on businesses and workers in Cambodia. The RGC in their press release noted the positive update with respect to the development of a COVID-19 vaccine and the fact that Cambodia has to date managed to effectively control COVID-19 ...
Over the last 4 years, the Belgian Competition Authority (“BCA”) has increasingly scrutinised anticompetitive restraints in vertical agreements and assessed these restraints under Article IV.1 of the Belgian Code of Economic Law and Article 101 TFEU ...
The negotiation and passage of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) draws the attention of the government contracting community every year. The NDAA is the primary mechanism Congress uses to establish policy priorities for the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). This year, provisions in the NDAA address an array of issues that are significant to government contractors. Several of the most noteworthy provisions are summarized below ...
The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (the “Act”), which was signed into law on December 27, 2020, includes several updates to the Paycheck Protection Program (the “PPP”) originally established by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (as modified by the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020, the “CARES Act”) ...
The underlying dispute relates to the MV «Cheshire» incident in 2017, where a cargo of fertiliser was subject to a major decomposition incident. The fertiliser that was carried on the vessel was damaged, and the vessel was declared a total loss. In February 2020, Oslo District Court ruled in favour of the cargo interests, holding the carriers liable for the cargo loss (approx. USD 25 million) (TOSLO-2017-180657-1). The carriers have appealed the judgement ...
The underlying dispute relates to the MV «Cheshire»-incident in 2017, where a cargo of fertiliser was subject to a major decomposition incident. The fertiliser that was carried on the vessel was damaged, and the vessel was declared a total loss. In February 2020, Oslo District Court ruled in favour of the cargo interests, holding the carriers liable for the cargo loss (approx. USD 25 million) (TOSLO-2017-180657-1). The carriers have appealed the judgement ...
The City and County of San Francisco (SF) issued a COVID-19 surge-related travel and quarantine order (Quarantine Order) on Dec. 16, 2020, and an updated Shelter-In-Place Order (SIP Order) on December 9 (updated Dec. 30, 2020). Under those orders, every person who enters SF after having been outside the Bay Area within the last ten days must quarantine for 240 hours from the time of arrival in SF. However, two exceptions apply to those working on construction projects in SF ...
On Dec. 22, 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued warning letters to five companies for violations of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) related to the sale of cannabidiol (CBD) products.[i] CBD is the primary non-psychotropic compound in Cannabis sativa plant. The FDA stated the companies who were served warning letters illegally marketed CBD products for the treatment or prevention of medical conditions, including COVID-19 ...
On Jan. 19, 2021, the two recent final rules issued by the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) regarding changes to the Physician-Self Referral Law (Stark Law) and the Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) regulations (respectively the OIG Final Rule and the CMS Rule, collectively the Final Rules) will become effective ...
On New Year’s Day 2021, Congress passed—over President Trump’s veto—a defense appropriations law containing the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 (“AML Act”) and the Corporate Transparency Act, as part of a sweeping new set of anti-money laundering reforms that create important new beneficial ownership disclosure obligations for a wide range of small companies, and contain both good and bad news for financial institutions ...
On December 10, 2020, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced proposed changes to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule to support individuals’ engagement in their care, remove barriers to coordinated care, and reduce regulatory burdens on the health care industry ...
FINANCIAL SERVICES BURSA MALAYSIA SECURITIES EXPANDS MARKET MAKING FRAMEWORK Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad (“Bursa”) has, via Participating Organisations’ Circular No. R/R 13 of 2020 issued on 24 November 2020, made amendments to the rules and directives of Bursa in relation to the expansion of the market making framework ...
On 23 December 2020, the Royal Government of Cambodia (“RGC”) issued a press release and rolled out ‘Round 7’ of measures aimed at mitigating the impacts of COVID-19 on businesses and workers in Cambodia. The RGC in their press release noted the positive update with respect to the development of a COVID-19 vaccine and the fact that Cambodia has to date managed to effectively control COVID-19 ...
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently issued its Annual Report to Congress, which provides statistics concerning bid protest filings for Fiscal Year (FY) 2020, including the number of protests filed and sustained. The chart below, included in GAO's Annual Report, summarizes this information. Click here to view the summary table As shown above, most of the data points remained constant from the prior year ...
The SyCipLaw T.I.P.S. for December covers the following tax issues: 1. When is the extended deadline to avail of the benefits of the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s Voluntary Assessment and Payment Program for Taxable Year 2018 (VAPP)? The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has issued Revenue Regulations No. 33-2020 (RR No ...
The 2020 Investment Priorities Plan (2020 IPP) has been promulgated by the Philippine President under Memorandum Order No. 50 dated November 18, 2020 (https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/downloads/2020/11nov/20201118-MO-50-RRD.pdf), and it became effective on December 6, 2020. The IPP is issued pursuant to the Omnibus Investments Code of 1987 (Executive Order No. 226), as amended (Omnibus Investments Code) ...
Through National Executive Branch Decree No. 1034/2020, published in the Official Gazette on December 21, 2020: (i) Regulations of Law No. 27,506 and its amendments -also known as “Knowledge Economy Promotion Regime” (hereinafter, the “Regime” or the “Law”)- were approved; and (ii) the export duties applicable to the provision of services included in subparagraph c), of paragraph 2, of section 10 of Law No ...
While most Americans are likely aware that President Donald Trump signed a pandemic relief and government spending bill into law on Dec. 27, 2020 (the “Omnibus Bill”),[i] it is important for those who have intellectual property assets to understand that tucked away into this nearly 5,600-page legislation are laws impacting copyrights, trademarks, and patents ...
On Dec. 23, 2020, The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued its long-anticipated Final Rule addressing which employees may legally participate in “tip pooling” under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the conditions under which employers may claim “tip credit.” The Final Rule is effective 60 days after publication in the Federal Register and constitutes a major departure from past guidance ...
PORTUGAL I. Courts The Competition Court reduces fine of EUR 38.3 million imposed on EDP and Sonae by 10%On 30 September 2020, the Competition, Regulation and Supervision Court (Competition Court) reduced by 10% the fine of EUR 38.3 million imposed by the Portuguese Competition Authority (PCA) on EDP and SONAE in May 2017 ...
The Agreement on the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) provides for a transition period ending on 31 December 2020. Thereafter, EU trade marks (EUTM) will cease to extend protection to the UK. To safeguard these rights, the UK government has implemented measures to ensure that EUTM owners will continue to enjoy trade mark rights in the UK. Trade mark rights registered as of 31 December 2020 will be automatically cloned into national UK registrations ...
Charities need many things to make a difference, including good people and sufficient funding, but effective leadership underpins everything and the recently refreshed Charity Governance Code is a valuable tool in striving to practise good governance ...
On Dec. 21, 2020, Congress passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (the Act), which provides additional COVID-19 relief to individuals and businesses. The long-anticipated COVID-19 relief bill will now head to President Trump for approval or veto. The Act does not extend requirements for employers to provide emergency paid sick leave or emergency paid family and medical leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) past the original Dec ...
On Nov. 20, 2020, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued two final rules, which implement changes to the Physician-Self Referral Law (Stark Law) and the Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) regulations (respectively the OIG Final Rule and the CMS Rule, collectively the Final Rules). This alert is a part of the Dinsmore Health Care practice group’s ongoing summary of the Final Rules ...
