In light of the widespread impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19), various tax measures that companies and individuals should be aware of have been announced by the Mauritius authorities: WAIVER OF INTERESTS AND PENALTIES FOR LATE FILINGS OR LATE PAYMENTS On 20 March 2020, the Mauritius Revenue Authority (“MRA”) issued a communiqué stating that taxpayers who are unable to submit returns, or effect payment of tax because of the lockdown will not be charged any penalty o
An announcement made by The Stock Exchange of Mauritius Ltd (“SEM”) and the Central Depository & Settlement Co. Ltd (“CDS”) confirmed that on April 3 2020, the Financial Services Commission (“FSC”) revoked the order of 2 April 2020 for the temporary cessation of the operations of the SEM ...
Some reports claim that as many as one third of people around the world are subject to some degree of lockdown to stem the coronavirus (COVID-19) rate of infection. As a result, businesses everywhere are facing unprecedented circumstances that most of us would agree could never have been imagined, and certainly not anticipated, in negotiating a contract ...
What are we to make of the comedian who changed his name to that of a well-known brand? A British comedian by the name of Joe Lycett recently changed his name to Hugo Boss – he did this formally, as in by deed poll. Hugo Boss is, of course, a very well-known fashion brand. The company, which was formed in Germany in 1924 and named after its founder, made uniforms for the German army during World War 2 but changed its focus, somewhat, in the post-war years ...
On 1 April 2020, the Supreme Court of Appeal (“SCA”) granted an appeal against an order of Acting Justice Kose in the Cape Town High Court in favour of The Agricultural Research Council (ARC) (Bergh and Others v The Agricultural Research Council (Case no 93/2019) [2020] ZASCA 30). The appeal was against an order interdicting the appellants from infringing the ARC’s copyright in the BeefPro computer program and from unlawfully competing with the ARC ...
The pledge of equity interests of a privately held company as collateral is a common occurrence in a wide variety of financing structures. What is not as common perhaps is for secured creditors to analyze, at the initial stages of a transaction, the road maps that may serve to mitigate any meaningful delays or diminution in the value of such collateral in a foreclosure scenario ...
Below is a summary of key new measures, as well as clarifications on previous measures we reported on, that have been implemented by various UAE authorities since 5 April 2020 and the time of this inBrief, 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, 7 April 2020 ...
Under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Director may modify certain patent and trademark-related deadlines where the COVID-19 outbreak has either prejudiced applicants’ rights or interfered with the filing of a document or fee payment. The Acting Register of the Copyright Office is also granted expanded authority under the CARES Act for modifying certain copyright-related deadlines ...
On April 6, 2020, Law No. 21,227 came into force, allowing access to unemployment insurance benefits under Law No. 19,728, in exceptional circumstances. This law, in its Article 14, Title III "Final Provisions", provides for a new criminal offense consisting of fraudulently obtaining supplements, benefits and / or profits due to the pandemic caused by Covid-19 ...
In light of the difficulties associated with the coronavirus epidemic, and joining the global trend under the hashtag #flattenthecurve, competition authorities around the world, including Poland, are introducing, more or less officially, extraordinary operating procedures to avoid spreading the coronavirus. This can have amajor impact on proceedings before these authorities, including filing and consideration of applications seeking approval of concentrations ...
One method companies have of dealing with the crisis is to cooperate with their rivals. But before entering into such cooperation, it is worth examining whether it constitutes aconspiracy subject to sanctions from the national competition authority, the European Commission or other antitrust bodies ...
The president of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) has declared war on sellers unfairly raising prices of products during the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the instruments proposed by the regulator in combating this pathology is establishment by the Ministry of Development of maximum prices and margins on products essential from the perspective of consumers’ interests (a change included in the recent amendment to the Anti-Crisis Act) ...
The amendment to the Anti-Crisis Act includes proposals drafted by the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK), intended to increase the financial security of households, ensure access to vital goods and services, and combat price speculation and unjustified increases ...
Introduction I have not taken the time to research and, hence, cannot speak knowledgeably about the economic impact of government measures taken to defeat the Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918, and the legal consequences thereof ...
In order to cope with the public health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government of North Macedonia has instituted a number of administrative measures aimed at preventing the spread of this virus, but also at dealing with the economic consequences of the crisis ...
On April 3, 2020, small business owners started applying for forgivable loans under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to help keep their workforce employed during the COVID-19 pandemic. As the program got underway, the Small Business Administration (SBA) rolled out important new guidance for small businesses, including an updated loan application form and comprehensive guidance on PPP requirements for borrowers and lenders ...
The provisions of the newly-enacted CARES ACT that have been receiving the most attention from owners of small businesses that have been devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic are those relating to the business-sustaining forgivable loans and tax benefits that will potentially be available to those companies ...
