The Philippine Government has issued a slew of resolutions and circulars as part of its response to the COVID 19 pandemic and unsurprisingly, a number of legal and practical issues have beset businesses and persons under the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine (ECQ)1. Like the rest of the world, the country is bracing itself for a new normal – in the way enterprises are run, services are rendered, everyday tasks are undertaken ...
The Circular provides guidance on protection matters, aimed at drivers and operators in the logistics chain of land and river cargo transport, companies and drivers of public road passenger transport services, special, individual, mass, collective, mixed, cable transport, land transport terminals, rail transport and concessionaires of mass transport systems, which continue to be implemented during the health emergency, in order to prevent, reduce exposure and mitigate the risk of exposur
The Superintendence of Industry and Commerce (SIC) issued an administrative order, through Resolution 19012 of 2020, to providers of telecommunications networks and services providers (TNSP) to safeguard the rights of its users. We highlight the following measures: For mobile phone and internet operators: inform users of postpaid and prepaid services of their rights during the state of emergency and the rules that apply to the suspension of service for non-payment on time ...
In a turn of events, likely in response to the headlines relating to companies and others returning PPP loan proceeds, on April 23, 2020, the Small Business Administration (SBA) and Department of the Treasury updated the Paycheck Protection Program Loans Frequently Asked Questions to include Question 31, which has been seen by many as a change in eligibility. The CARES Act specifically suspended the SBA 7(a) loan program requirement that borrowers be unable to obtain credit elsewhere ...
On April 24, 2020, Governor Whitmer reaffirmed the stay-at-home measures set forth in Executive Order 2020-42, amended the scope of that order, and extended the duration of such measures through May 15, 2020 (unless modified earlier). While many of the restrictions from her prior executive orders remain in place, Executive Order 2020-59 includes some easing of in-person operation restrictions as well as some corresponding requirements for those operations ...
With nearly five years of enforcement experience since the coming into effect of the Competition Ordinance (Ordinance), on 16 April 2020, the Hong Kong Competition Commission (Commission) published a revised Leniency Policy for Undertakings Engaged in Cartel Conduct (Leniency Policy for Undertakings) and introduced a new Leniency Policy for Individuals Involved in Cartel Conduct (Leniency Policy for Individuals) (collectively, Leniency Policies) ...
Key Points: New guidance from the SBA clarifies the "necessity" requirement for PPP loans. Start-ups should proceed with caution when planning to apply for a PPP loan. Since the passage over the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, or the CARES ACT (the “Act”) start-ups and emerging companies have received mixed signals and guidance regarding their eligibility for loans and loan forgiveness under the Paycheck Protection Program ("PPP") ...
The stock market has had record declines and many businesses are shuttered, at least temporarily. Long-term prospects may still be positive but in the near-term the value of many entities has reduced. Are there transactions that privately-held businesses and their owners could implement that would allow them to achieve long-term goals that could benefit the business, the owner, and owner’s family? We believe that there are ...
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in many employees working from home, and brought about a need for a more collaborate meeting culture in place of physical meeting and travelling. Online meetings using video conferencing systems empower businesses to stay connected with their clients, and interact and collaborate with their employees working remotely via the Internet ...
The evening of April 22, Governor Wolf presented his detailed plan for reopening Pennsylvania beginning May 8, 2020. The reopening will be done in three phases: red, yellow, and green. The entire Commonwealth is currently under the red phase, which has the purpose of minimizing the spread of COVID-19 through social distancing, implementing safety protocols, and closing schools and businesses that have been deemed non-life sustaining ...
The so called “break-even point” is a relevant concept in business economy. Simply speaking, a company is in break-even point when the number of product units sold equals its Total Fixed Cost, divided by the respective Contribution Margin per Unit (i.e ...
Panama, April 6, 2020. On Tuesday March 24th, 2020, the Executive Decree 251 of the same date was published in Official Gazette 28987-A which adopts tax measures to relief the economic effects of the National State of Emergency ...
As of 16 March, the day when the state of emergency was declared in Romania, the Government has adopted an impressive number of pieces of legislation aimed at preventing and limiting the spread of the new coronavirus, on one hand, and at reducing the negative impact on economy of the implemented solutions, on the other hand. To be specific, we are talking about 75 acts (primary and secondary legislation) adopted in the course of approximately 1 month ...
Professor Andrew Muscat, who heads the Corporate Law Department at the Firm, has published a series of articles in the Times of Malta dealing with the duties and liabilities of directors of a company experiencing financial difficulties. This subject is particularly relevant these days when several companies are finding themselves in a difficult position as a result of the Covid-19 worldwide pandemic ...
Key Points: SF Major extends commercial eviction moratorium through May 17, 2020. Moratorium applies only to commercial tenants registered to do business in San Francisco meeting certain requirements. Moratorium applies to all attempts to recover possession due to non-payment. Moratorium covers security deposits ...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently issued a burst of COVID-19-related guidance documents to facilitate expanded availability of medical products during the current public health emergency created by COVID-19. FDA-regulated products under these temporary policies include: PPE, diagnostic tests, hand sanitizers, disinfectant devices, remote monitoring devices, ventilators, and electronic thermometers for clinical use ...
Cryptocurrency, blockchain technology and fintech companies are well experienced in dealing with legal and regulatory issues that are unique, unprecedented and global. While usually creative and oriented to solving problems, even the most flexible of teams are stretched with the onslaught of issues unfolding in the wake of COVID-19 ...
Introduction In late 2019, the Industrial Development Bureau (IDB) of the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED) launched the Abu Dhabi Local Content (ADLC) Program in a trial phase. In April of 2020, the IDB announced implementation of the ADLC Program, which will apply to more than 1,244 governmental and semi-governmental tenders worth approximately AED 15 billion ...
The digital signature in Bolivia was created by the General Law on Telecommunications, Information and Communication Technologies No. 164, published on August 8, 2011, granting full legal and evidentiary validity to the legal act or business carried out using this technological tool. Supreme Decree No ...
The Plurinational State of Bolivia, within the framework of its governmental powers and in accordance with the Declaration of Sanitary Emergency and Quarantine established in recent days, has determined to strengthen the latest measures. The government has conviniently declared that the total quarantine, extends until April 30, 2020, maintaining the suspension of public and private activities ...
The prosperous and globalized world as we know it has been suddenly slammed. Henry Kissinger, in his article published in WSJ on April 4, states that the historic challenge for the current leaders will be to manage the crisis while building a new future. If they fail, the world would be set on fire. He also says that nations rely on their institutions to foresee and deal with calamities, to arrest their impact and to restore stability ...
In an earlier post, we started discussing the IRS’ “John Doe” summons to Coinbase, a virtual currency exchange, to obtain information about every Coinbase user, who, at any time during the period of January 1, 2013 through December 31, 2015, conducted transactions in a convertible virtual currency as defined in IRS Notice 2014-21. One such user filed a motion to intervene in the proceeding and to quash the IRS’ summons ...
