Client Alerts
РАЗКРИВАНЕ НА ДЕЙСТВИТЕЛНИТЕ СОБСТВЕНИЦИ НА ДРУЖЕСТВА В ЕС
На 20 Май 2015 г. Европейският парламент прие на второ четене четвъртата директива за преодоляване заплахата от изпиране на пари, а именно Директива на Европейския парламент и на Съвета за предотвратяване използването на финансовата система за целите на изпирането на пари и финансирането на тероризъм (`Директивата`). Очаква се Директивата да бъде публикувана в Официалния вестник до края на юли 2015 г. и да влезе в сила двадесет (20) дни след публикуването й....
The law on insolvency of individuals has been promulgated by the president of Romania
On 18 June 2015, the President of Romania promulgated an insolvency law for individuals, which was previously approved by the legal commission of the Chamber of Deputies on 20 May 2015 (the "Law"). The Law outlines a legal framework aimed at protecting consumers as good faith borrowers, who have partially repaid outstanding amounts owed under a loan, against uncontrolled growth of loan instalments. While the insolvency of a company is meant to free-up the market from bankrupt companies and provide a rescue mechanism for those companies that can survive, insolvency for individuals offers the possibility for individuals to be released from their debts, provided that they comply with certain mandatory requirements set forth in the Law....
DIisclosure of beneficial ownership of companies in the EU – Member state public registers
On 20 May 2015 the European Parliament adopted on second reading the fourth directive addressing the threat of money laundering, i.e. the Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purpose of money laundering and terrorist financing (the `AML Directive`) which is expected to be published in the Official Journal by the end of July 2015 and will enter into force twenty (20) days after publication....
New amendments to Romanian forestry regulations
After lengthy debate, on 10 June 2015, law no. 133 amending the Romanian Forestry Code was published in the Official Gazette ("Law no. 133"). Certain of the principal amendments introduced by Law no. 133 are analyzed below....
Amendments to Ukrainian laws concerning disclosure of beneficial owners
Ukrainian law concerning the requirement to disclose beneficial owners of Ukrainian companies has been amended. The general requirement to disclose beneficial (controlling) owners of companies was introduced in Autumn 2014 with effect from 25 November .2014. In this regard, the law defined the beneficial (controlling) owners of a company as a person (persons) exercising (directly or indirectly) decisive influence on the management or business activity of the company, irrespective of possessing a formal right thereto, including through direct or indirect holding (personally or jointly with related legal entities / individuals) 25% of shareholding or voting rights in such company...
New regime for ownership of agricultural land by REITs with non EU/EEA shareholders
Recent amendments of the Public Offering of Securities Act (`POSA`) introduced a new regime for ownership of agricultural land by Bulgarian REITs with non-EU/EEA shareholders - such REITs are now allowed to own agricultural land in Bulgaria....
Corporate and tax alert – Poland – June 8
2015 brought significant changes in the field of corporate law. The two most important laws for the operation of businesses, the Act on the National Commercial Register and the Commercial Companies Code, received long-awaited amendments in December 2014 and January 2015. Additionally, two rulings important for entrepreneurs have been delivered: the Supreme Court ruling on a joint irregular proxy, and the European Court of Justice ruling on imposing a tax on civil-law transactions of partnerships limited by shares. The first has fuelled discussions over the widespread use of this form of a company`s representation and the latter enables partnerships limited by shares to reclaim overpaid tax on civil law transactions....
Significant deregulation developments in Ukraine`s legal framework
On 5 April 2015 the Law of Ukraine "On the Introduction of Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine on the Simplification of Conditions for the Conduct of Business (Deregulation)" No. 191 dated 12 February 2015 came into force. The Law improves regulation of the status of agricultural land, administrative procedures, seizure of electronic media in the course of criminal proceedings, etc....
Additional competences to the Bulgarian drug agency provided by the amendments of the medical devices act
On 26th May 2015, the Amendment and Supplement to the Medical Devices Act ("MDA") entered into force, following its publication in the State Gazette....
Cancellation of franchising agreement registration requirements
The legal regulation of franchising caught close attention of Ukrainian state authorities during the past twelve months. The developments introduced into the legal framework have been of positive nature, which should be helpful for parties to franchising ar-rangements. We are happy to let you know that Olena Vardamatska, Associate of the Wolf Theiss Kyiv office, was involved in working on these legislative changes....
New investment claim against the Republic of Bulgaria in the energy sector
On 26.05.2015 the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (`ICSID`) in Washington D.C., USA registered a new request for the institution of arbitration proceedings against the Republic of Bulgaria. The claimant is the Czech company ENERGO-PRO a.s....
The commission on protection of competition launches a sector inquiry in the pharmaceutical sector
On Friday, May 29th 2015, the Bulgarian Commission on Protection of Competition ("CPC", "Commission") announced that it is about to review in details the pharmaceutical sector in Bulgaria by conducting a sector inquiry. Sector inquiries are a non-company investigative tool used by the competition authorities in areas where the market face obstacles....