Following the issuing of what has colloquially been called the “Lockdown Regulations” to reduce the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) in South Africa, there has been a hasty scramble for essential services to comply with the provisions of the Regulations and to register on the Essential Services Portal ...
On the 17thof March, we gave an overview on the options available for the governments in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to support companies being harmed by the COVID-19 crisis. At that time we noted that companies should work with the government in order to ensure that the measures taken truly help the companies survive the crisis ...
By Ordinance dated April 1ston emergency measures relating to staff representative bodies (“IRP”), the Government had provided for the possibility for companies to hold meetings with their IRP via videoconference or conference call but also by instant messaging app if the two first means cannot be used. By Decree published on April 10th, 2020, the Government provided clarifications on how to use conference calls and instant messaging ...
According to the report published by Fitch Ratings, the sharp fall in oil and the efforts of the National Government to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic are the main causes of the weakening of the fiscal and economic capacity of the country that has resulted in the rating downgrade from BBB to BBB-, the lowest rating within investment grade ...
The Superintendence of Finance issued resolution 368 of 2020 in which it adopted special measures for the attention of the public and the provision of services by this entity. Through this regulation, the SFC ordered the resumption of terms of all the administrative actions carried out by the SFC, as of April 2, 2020 ...
The COVID-19 virus has a worldwide impact on travel activities, affecting foreigners such as employees of companies intending to travel to Germany as well as those who are already in Germany but are now effectively unable to leave. 1. RESTRICTIONS ON ENTRY AND VISA ISSUANCE The countries of the Schengen area have decided to impose entry restrictions on all non-essential travel from third countries ...
The Ministry of Finance and Public Credit issued Legislative Decree 492 of 2020, which establishes measures for the strengthening of the National Guarantee Fund (FNG) and makes provisions for resources, within the framework of Decree 417 of 2020 which declared the Economic, Social and Ecological Emergency ...
On Friday, March 27, 2020, the CARES ACT was signed into law. The Cares Act includes provisions for changing deadlines for patents, trademarks, and copyrights. For patents and trademarks, the Act permits the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and the Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office to change the deadlines imposed by Title 35 of the United States Code, the Trademark Act, Section 18 of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act ...
In keeping with the promise of government to introduce fiscal measures to address the negative impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on business, the South African Revenue Service (“SARS”) released Binding General Ruling (VAT) 52 (“BGR 52”), dated 27 March 2020, that extends the prescribed time periods relating to the exportation of movable goods from South Africa ...
Since the declaration of the national state of disaster in South Africa in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, it has been anything but “business as usual” for most professionals. This is equally true for legal practitioners trying to navigate the directives regarding litigation and court process during the national state of disaster ...
Following our previous ENSight on the assistance scheme announced by the Mauritian Prime Minister, the government has decided to extend its scheme to the informal sector and take general measures aiming to facilitate the life of everyone during this crisis. Self-employed individuals Government has offered, to self-employed individuals, financial support amounting to half of the guaranteed income for the period between 16 March 2020 to 15 April 2020 ...
On 31 March 2020, the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries (“DEFF”) published directions (the “Directions”) under the National Disaster Management Act, 2002, to reduce the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19). The purpose of the Directions is to ensure fair processes with respect to certain environmental laws, as a result of the restrictions placed on the movement of people during the lockdown period ...
On 27 March 2020, the South African Revenue (“SARS”) announced much needed value-added tax (“VAT”) relief on the importation of “essential goods” as part of the coronavirus (COVID-19) tax relief measures. Section 7(1)(b) of the Value-Added Tax Act, 1991 (“VAT Act”) imposes VAT on the importation of any goods into South Africa by any person. In terms of section 7(1), VAT is imposed at the standard rate of 15% ...
On March 30, 2020, the Department of the Treasury published guidelines and procedures for passenger and cargo air carriers (together, “Air Carriers”) seeking relief under the recently passed Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act ...
The Coronavirus pandemic is impacting every business sector across the globe. Many new resources, however, including the new Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, provide franchise and hospitality businesses with opportunities for relief. The following information is intended to aid franchise and hospitality companies in understanding options available to them during this time ...
During the Great Recession, fund finance professionals spent a lot of time analyzing and speculating about the impact of the financial crisis on fundraising, the potential for the failure of limited partners to honor their capital contribution obligations to funds, and the strength of facility structures and documentation. That makes the current scene familiar to many of us ...
Although some industries have halted all non-essential work as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, many patent and trademark offices around the world have remained open and operational, largely due to electronic filing capabilities ...
In a recent article, we discussed government efforts to combat fraud in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic. We have seen a number of government enforcement actions, including the marketing of coronavirus treatments;selling toothpaste, dietary supplements, creams and other products as treatments to prevent and cure the coronavirus; andprice-gouging on health and safety products. On March 31, 2020, the U.S ...
In an expedited process, a Federal Law amending several legislative acts was passed by the State Duma and Federal Council of the Russian Federation. In particular, the law envisages use of the power of the Government of the Russian Federation to impose, in extraordinary cases, a moratorium on insolvency proceedings and provides a legal regime of such moratorium ...
According to the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development ("DCED"), Pennsylvania businesses have until 5 p.m. on Friday, April 3, 2020 to seek an exemption to Governor Wolf's order requiring "non-life sustaining businesses" to close physical locations. Businesses that do not file their exemption by the deadline may lose the opportunity entirely. The application can be found on the DCED’s website ...
The Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on March 31, 2020 signed a notice waiving certain deadlines for patent-related filings, if the missed deadline resulted from situations relating to COVID-19 ...
On 1 April the Prime Minister adopted a new decree (the “1 April Decree”) to extend the lockdown measures previously introduced through the decrees issues on 8 March, 9 March, 11 March and 22 March 2020 ...
The Government announced on 1 April 2020 its proposal of a Program of economic measures to reduce the negative effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and an attempt to support the economy of Serbia, split into four categories ...
As the COVID-19 pandemic has evolved, and as we noted in our prior blog post regardingvirtual annual meetings, both ISS and Glass Lewis have issued guidance on virtual meetings and annual meeting best practices in response to COVID-19. Pivoting from its focus on annual meetings, Glass Lewis has issued anew releasethat highlights certain key governance areas that they will be paying close attention to in the coming months ...
