With the aim of breathing a bit of fresh air into the Slovenian construction legislation, three new laws have been adopted recently and will be applied with effect from 1 July 2018. The current Construction Act will be replaced with both the new Building Act and the Architectural and Civil Engineering Activities Act, while the current Spatial Management Act will also be subject to certain amendments ...
In recent months the Serbian Parliament passed amendments to Serbian tax laws, including the Law on Personal Income Tax (PIT Law), the Law on Contributions on Mandatory Social Insurance (CMSI Law), the Law on Corporate Income Tax (CIT Law), and the Law on Value Added Tax (VAT Law). These amendments introduce tax relief for salaries paid to employees in newly incorporated legal entities ...
The Serbian Competition Commission (the "Commission") recently fined four undertakings for bid rigging in the public procurement for the maintenance of train wagons. The contracting authority, the "Nikola Tesla" power plant, which represents the largest electricity-producing complex in Serbia, informed the Commission about possible collusion in public procurement for repair services for the train wagons it uses in coal transportation ...
The Construction Industry Arbitration Commission of the Philippines (“CIAC”) has original and exclusive jurisdiction over disputes arising from, or connected with, contracts entered into by parties involved in construction in the Philippines. Construction disputes may range from contractual money claims to disputes over the execution of the construction work. Construction disputes may involve government or private contracts ...
The U.S. International Trade Commission (“ITC”) issued a determination at the end of 2017, finding that solar panel imports are hurting domestic businesses that operate in the solar industry. The ITC’s determination was issued in connection with a trade case filedby a Georgia-based company, Suniva, Inc., shortly after filing for bankruptcy protection. SolarWorld Americas, Inc. joined Suniva’s petition ...
On October 16, 2017, EPA Administrator Pruitt issued the “Directive Promoting Transparency and Public Participation in Consent Decrees and Settlement Agreements.” At the same time, Pruitt issued a memorandum to EPA assistant administrators, regional administrators and the office of general counsel explaining the rejection of “sue and settle” tactics by his administration ...
For many years EPA has taken the position it could take enforcement action based on agency review and calculation of projected emissions in determining New Source Review (NSR) applicability for pre-construction permitting for modification of an existing source ...
On October 16, 2017, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt signed an order reversing a long-standing EPA position that EPA has the authority to review previous state decisions on new source permitting applicability when reviewing Title V permits. The order denied a petition by Sierra Club requesting that EPA object to the issuance of a Title V operating permit to the Hunter Power Plant in Castle Dale, Utah ...
Kentucky Regulatory Amendments On September 15, 2017, the Division for Air Quality submitted amendments to 401 KAR 59:015 for new indirect heat exchangers and 401 KAR 61:015 for existing indirect heat exchangers. The Division stated the amendments were necessary to provide clarity for regulated entities and to remove duplicative requirements covered by federal regulations ...
EPA continues to make progress in its effort to repeal and replace the Clean Power Plan (CPP). EPA held public hearings on November 28-29, 2017, in Charleston, West Virginia to take testimony on its October 10, 2017, proposal to repeal the rule. EPA is accepting comments on the proposal to repeal the rule through January 16, 2018. EPA announced it will hold three additional public comment sessions due to the “overwhelming response” to the West Virginia hearing ...
In its bill, Extended Environmental Crime Provisions, from earlier this year, the government has proposed extending the scope of offences for environmental crime committed in conjunction with waste management. The proposal means that all waste management that can cause significant pollution, which is harmful to human health, animals or plants or that can cause other significant environmental nuisance is to be punishable. The penalty for the crime is a fine or imprisonment for up to two years ...
The draft laws implementing AMLD 4 set out strict rules to allow for protection against improper access to the information on BOs. At the of 2017, the Luxembourg Parliament published two draft laws to implement new transparency measures provided by Directive 2015/849 on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering or terrorist financing (“AMLD 4”) ...
Earlier this year, Law No. (19) of 2017 was gazzetted which amends the procedures contained in Law No. (13) of 2008 on Interim Property Registration in Dubai. This law stipulates the procedures which developers must follow if a buyer breaches an off-plan sales contract. The new law is an important development in Dubai and will assist developers who are facing a difficult real estate market and increasing buyer default ...
Understanding the Gen Y mindset is crucial to riding the next wave of property sales. From selfie-taking to social media-(over)sharing, millennials are famous for many traits, but one thing is for sure: compared to the preceding Generation Xers, their love for snapping photos may be real, but their propensity to snap up new homes trails far behind ...
Following the requirements and qualifications of foreign bidders to participate in government procurement projects, this chapter will focus on the bidding preparations and risk analyses before moving forward in the projects. On-Site Investigations Due to factors such as Taiwan’s multivariate geological environment, it is possible that the actual conditions may differ significantly from the geological and underground data provided by the procuring entity in the tender documents ...
Californians diverting water should take notice of new measurement and reporting requirements with quickly approaching deadlines. Water right holders diverting between 10 and 100 acre-feet per year have until January 1, 2018, to either (1) install and maintain a measurement device, (2) employ a measurement method capable of measuring the rate of diversion, or (3) submit an alternative compliance plan ...
The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) announced on November 9, 2017 that it was adding two widely used perfluorinated chemicals to the Proposition 65 list of chemicals known to cause reproductive toxicity: perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) ...
How retailers can harness technology to beat e-commerce at its own game. “It's official: Singapore malls are dead, as occupancy reaches its lowest level in 10 years,” screams one headline. “At some suburban malls, retailers confront the sound of silence,” another chimes in. As e-commerce takes hold, shoppers are eschewing brick and mortar in favour of the convenience of point and click ...
On November 2, 2017, the State Water Resources Control Board ("State Water Board") published a notice of a proposed water conservation regulation that would permanently prohibit individuals, businesses, and cities, among others, from engaging in certain "wasteful" water practices. The regulation would be part of a new chapter in the California Code of Regulations entitled "Conservation and the Prevention of Waste and Unreasonable Use." See Cal. Code Regs. tit ...
Having practised both as a shipping lawyer and an aviation lawyer for many years, I do find the experience and practice with the Cape Town Convention and aviation finance transactions to be interesting when experiencing the challenges faced by the shipping industry with respect to recognition and enforcement of mortgages ...
Earlier this year, right in a last minute attempt to win undecided voters for one of the political parties, the leaving members of parliament enacted a new tax law. While fundamental changes to the Austrian Tenancy Law had been vividly discussed between the socialist and the conservative parties in recent years, the new law on the abolition of stamp duty falls completely short of what could have been achieved ...
The autonomous vehicle industry is pressing forward, full speed ahead. The conveniences and efficiencies created by shifting to self-driving vehicles are expected to drive vast economic growth and generate widespread consumer demand. Given the potential benefits, it is no wonder that autonomous technologies are now being embraced by a variety of market players— ranging from small start-up tech companies to perennial automotive giants ...
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 ...
Earlier this year, the Tenth Circuit dismissed two appeals in connection with the Bureau of Land Management’s (“BLM”) Final Rule implementing its regulations imposing new standards and obligations on hydraulic fracturing on federal and Indian lands (“Fracking Rule”). The appeals had been filed challenging the district court’s prior ruling that struck down the rule in the face of industry, state, and tribal challenges ...
