Captive power generation in the Indian solar sector is, literally, a hotbed of policy and regulatory contradiction. While the Electricity Act, 2003 (“Act”) incentivises captive power generation, losing lucrative industrial and commercial customers to captive power consumption is a deeply unpopular outcome for our financially beleaguered state power distribution and transmission companies which rely on high industrial tariffs paid by such customers ...
At the end of the last year, the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation (the “Supreme Court”) adopted the Ruling dated December 25, 2018 No ...
Introduction Non-liability clauses are often included in many types of contracts. In principle, they are valid and used to limit (limitation of liability clause) or eliminate (exoneration clause) the liability of a party with respect to its obligations contained in a contract. The recent unanimous decision of the Supreme Court of Canada confirms that under Quebec law, parties may limit or exclude their liability in a contract by mutual agreement ...
Facts and judicial history The Supreme Court of Canada has rendered a decision which is likely to generate a lot of commentary in the Canadian class action scene. On December 12, 2013, the Court issued a ruling in the case of AIC Limited v. Fischer1 (hereinafter ''Fischer''), now frequently referred to as the ''market timing decision'' ...
Under the provisions of the Tax Administration Act, the Commissioner: South African Revenue Service (‘SARS’) is entitled to request that a taxpayer submits relevant material that SARS requires in terms of section 46 of the Tax Administration Act No. 28 of 2011 (‘TAA’). Section 1 of the TAA in turn defines ‘relevant material’ as meaning: “any information, document or thing that is foreseeably relevant for the administration of a Tax Act as referred to in section 3 ...
The Supreme Court recently considered, in the Law Society of Saskatchewan v. Abrametz1 decision, the applicable test to determine whether a delay is inordinate and constitutes an abuse of process that could lead to a stay of administrative proceedings. In this case, a Saskatchewan lawyer requested that the disciplinary proceedings against him be terminated due to a delay that he claimed was inordinate and constituted an abuse of process ...
In a unanimous opinion authored by Justice Sotomayor, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to redefine preclusion, reversing the Second Circuit’s decision in trademark dispute Lucky Brand Dungarees Inc. v. Marcel Fashion Group Inc. The Second Circuit’s opinion had attempted to expand res judicata beyond the well-recognized issue preclusion and claim preclusion, creating a new category it called “defense preclusion ...
Yesterday the Supreme Court issued its decision in the closely-watched case of Campbell-Ewald Co. v. Gomez, 577 U.S. __ (2016) ...
On June 1, 2023, the United States Supreme Court issued an important decision addressing the intent element of the False Claims Act (“FCA”) in United States ex rel. Tracy Schutte v. SuperValu Inc. and United States ex rel. Thomas Proctor v. Safeway, Inc. The FCA imposes liability on anyone who “knowingly” submits a false claim to the federal government and defines “knowingly” to include actual knowledge, deliberate ignorance, or recklessness ...
You are the general counsel of a public company, and the company’s board has determined that it is in the best interests of the company’s stockholders to examine and explore all strategic alternatives to increase stockholder value, including a sale of the business ...
Workplace Christmas parties are just around the corner. While such celebrations are a great opportunity to strengthen team spirit and acknowledge everyone?s hard work, it is important to remember that it is not only up to employers to make sure they run smoothly?their entire workforces, managers and employees alike, are also responsible. Just think of potential situations of harassment where alcohol and fun times are combined ...
As we navigate the waters of these tough economic times, appraisal districts faced with massive city, school and county revenue losses caused by declining property values will most likely try to stem the tide by not voluntarily lowering taxpayers’ 2010 property values to their fair market values ...
The Supreme Court ruled last week in Microsoft Corporation v. i4i Limited Partnership that “clear and convincing evidence” is still the standard of proof required to invalidate a patent. Section 282 of the Patent Act states that “a patent shall be presumed valid” and that “[t]he burden of establishing invalidity of a patent or any claim thereof shall rest on the party asserting such invalidity ...
The State Budget Law for 2022, Law 12/2022 of 27 June (“SBL2022”) was published on 27 June 2022 and came into force on the following day. SBL2022 is framed in a context of expectations for the economic recovery of the country in what is hoped will be a post-pandemic period. It has been presented as a budget that promotes economic recovery and reinforces policies favourable to investment. However, the greatest changes that have been proposed relate to the taxation of individuals ...
On 20 May 2020, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange of China issued the Circular on Supporting the Development of New Forms of Trade (Circular). The Circular summarised previous pilot experiences and, established foreign exchange (forex) policies that are meant to optimise new forms of trade[1]. The Circular has been implemented since the date of its promulgation ...
A summary of the key takeaways from a recent webinar on the spectre of personal criminal liability for charity trustees. During the recent Trustees’ Week the Chief Executive of the Charity Commission said that one of the week’s aims is to inspire more people to come forward to serve as trustees, to prepare a pipeline of able and passionate people, willing to take on the mantle of trusteeship, ensuring the good work of charities is sustainable ...
The South African Taxation of Trusts Recent Developments The Davis Tax Committee’s (“DTC”) first interim report was released in July 2015 (the “First Report”) and made various significant recommendations to the Minister of Finance regarding (among other topics) the taxation of trusts in South Africa ...
The Act of 21 December 2013 concerning the financing of small and medium-sized undertakings (the “Act”) was published in the Belgian State Gazette on 31 December 2013. The Act entered into force in 2014 and applies to all Credit Agreements that have been concluded since that date. The Act applies to all Credit Agreements entered into between an Undertaking and an EEA Provider of Credit ...
The Veterans Administration (VA) maintains the Vendor Information Pages (VIP) database of Veteran-owned small businesses (VOSB) and service-disabled Veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSB). This database is available at www.vip.vetbiz.va.gov. The VIP database is managed by VA’s Center for Veterans Enterprise (CVE) who determines whether an offeror is eligible to be listed on the database ...
Facts This month, the Inner House (Scottish appeal court) handed down judgment in Van Oord UK Ltd v Dragados UK Ltd, an appeal from the commercial court concerning the interpretation of an NEC3 contract for the dredging of Nigg Bay, part of the Aberdeen Harbour Expansion Project. Dragados Ltd, the main contractor (and Defender and Respondent) was employed by Aberdeen Harbour Board and subcontracted all dredging works to Van Oord Ltd, the Pursuer/Reclaimer ...
By: Jennifer M. Misetich and Thomas M. O’Connell On September 11, 2023, an unprecedented deal was announced by labor groups and the fast food industry which would give California workers a $20 minimum wage and repeal The Fast Food Accountability and Standards Recovery Act (“FAST Act”) ...
On 7 June 2017, South Africa was one of more than 70 countries that signed the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (“MLI”). The MLI is the result of certain of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s action points aimed at preventing base erosion and profit shifting (“BEPS”) ...
