Kocián Šolc Balaštík kicked off the new year by helping complete a significant transaction: the sale of UG Air, an operator of duty free and fashion shops at the international airport in Prague, to Aelia Czech Republic s.r.o.

Summary of the most substantial legislative changes to take effect in 2012. The changes will have an impact on commercial law, corporate law (including criminal liability of corporations), labour law, tax, real estate, administrative justice, electronic communications, and a number of other areas and industries.

Liability for unpaid tax; Collective corrective tax document; Specialized Financial Office

Kocián Šolc Balaštík was recently honoured once again as one of the best law firms in the Czech Republic and, for a remarkable fourth year in a row, it won the distinguished Law Firm of the Year 2011 award in the category of Company and Competition Law.

On Sunday 13 November 2011 the seventeenth charity concert of the Olga Havel Foundation’s Good Will Committee was organized by Kocián Šolc Balaštík in the Church of St. Simon and St. Jude in Prague. The funds from the concert, which were raised thanks to significant contributions from KSB’s clients, friends, business partners and colleagues, will be used to support the Good Will Committee’s Senior project.

On 7 October 2011 Lidové noviny’s Law & Justice section featured the reflections of Martina Parusová Zímová and Christian Blatchford on the drawing of lots and whether such a practice is a legitimate way to reduce the number of bidders in public tenders. These two KSB lawyers do not consider the method transparent and non-discriminatory and believe it should therefore be removed from the Public Contracts Act.

In connection with the recodification of the civil and commercial law, significant changes are expected concerning the formation of commercial companies or cooperatives and the process of making changes in the Commercial Register. Notaries would newly be allowed to make entries into the Commercial Register (after preparing a public deed), and it would no longer be necessary to file applications for entries into the Commercial Register at a court, which could save entrepreneurs both time and money.

The latest issue of X Lege features a collection of articles on a number of recent developments: changes in energy law; the amendment to the Labour Code; the amendment to the Act on the Transformation of Companies and Cooperatives; and the update on the conflict between overlapping functions. It also offers a summary of the most significant changes applicable to limited liability companies under the new Act on Corporations, which is being prepared concurrently with the new Civil Code. Due attention is also given to news concerning community law (the Regulation on Energy Market Integrity and Transparency and the new Consumer Rights Directive).

Law firm Kocián Šolc Balaštík represented Menghem Equity Limited on the sale of 100% of the shares in TRADE and TECHNOLOGY a.s., which indirectly operates Skylink, the biggest DTH (Direct to Home – Satellite TV) operator in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

In a joint project with Patria Finance, Kocián Šolc Balaštík has launched a legal site on Patria.cz, where it will supply legal information for the Czech Republic’s leading investment portal. The legal site endeavours to cover news on legislative procedures as well as problems and issues resulting from actual legal practice. Contributors to the site include associates and partners throughout KSB’s entire firm.

Liability for unpaid tax; Collective corrective tax document; Specialized Financial Office

The “Úplná znění předpisů (ÚZ)” Series has published a brand new issue dealing with the energy sector. The new “ÚZ ENERGETIKA” provides a summary of laws applicable to the energy sector in the Czech Republic and represents the first publication of its kind on the Czech market.

On 29 August 2011 Lidové noviny published an article by KSB lawyer Christian Blatchford on the British Bribery Act 2010 in its Law & Justice supplement. The Bribery Act, which came into force on 1 July 2011, may have a certain impact on Czech corporations which have a business connection with Britain. Its impact, however, is unlikely to be as great as originally expected.

Martin Šolc, a partner at KSB, recently published his reflections on the highly publicized but rather unsuccessful fight against corruption in Hospodářské noviny’s Leaders Voice column on 2 September 2011.

E-mailed tax documents Corrections to provided discounts and bonuses

The amendment to the VAT Act

Kocián Šolc Balaštík provided legal advice in connection with the Equa Internet Bank project.

Kocián Šolc Balaštík provided legal consulting to the Austrian Bank Gutmann Aktiengesellschaft regarding the establishment of the bank’s Prague branch office.

Kocián Šolc Balaštík provided Advanced World Transport a.s. with legal advice on intra-group restructuring.

Kocián Šolc Balaštík acted for DAF Trucks N.V. in creating a new business partnership with TATRA, a.s. DAF will supply engines and cabins to TATRA for a new model of TATRA trucks and will take a shareholding in the company. KSB has provided legal and tax advice to DAF over a period of several years.

Kocián Šolc Balaštík provided SLOT Group with full-service legal and tax consulting on the Group’s internal restructuring.

Czech newspaper Hospodářské noviny featured an interview with Jiří Horník, KSB’s aviation law expert, focused on air passenger rights.

Czech newspaper Hospodářské noviny featured an article by Martin Šolc’s in its “Leaders Voice” column on 22 July 2011. In the article Martin reflects on Czech attitudes to law. Shouldn’t we be aware of the principles on which laws are based rather than yearning for more and more regulations to cover every eventuality? And does everyone sufficiently respect the law?

The first issue of X Lege, KSB’s new newsletter, features an article on the conflict between the simultaneous functions of statutory office and employment in the same company, for which the applicable law has yet to find a complete solution, examines the practical impacts of the Consumer Loan Act and brings attention to the new Corporation Act which is being drafted together with the new Civil Code. The entire issue is available here For more information click here

Kocián Šolc Balaštík has prevailed in administrative proceedings before the Antimonopoly Office (the “Office”) concerning a public tender announced by the City of Havířov, as the contracting authority, for the provision of legal and economic advisory services relating to a planned concession for the construction and operation of a PPP car park in Havířov.

Kocián Šolc Balaštík advised Japan-based Keihin Corporation on the Czech aspects of Keihin’s take-over of Japan-based Showa Denko’s heat exchanger for automotive A/C manufacture operations, including Showa Denko’s subsidiaries in the USA, China, Thailand and the Czech Republic.

E-mailed tax documents Corrections to provided discounts and bonuses

VAT: Action of the European Commission against the Czech Republic

E-mailed tax documents Corrections to provided discounts and bonuses

Single collection point

Václav Rovenský and Tomáš Sequens prepared a chapter focused on the Czech Republic for the international publication Getting the Deal Through – Gas Regulation, 2011 edition; the chapter summarizes legal regulations and conditions for business activities on the gas market in the Czech Republic. The publication was issued by the London based market analysis company Law Business Research Ltd.

Kocián Šolc Balaštík partners Jan Dědič and Dagmar Dubecká acquainted listeners of Český rozhlas (Czech Broadcasting) with changes that are to be implemented through the new Corporation Act. The new Corporation Act passed through the first reading in the Lower House on June 8 2011 as part of the amendment to the Civil Code.

On 6 June 2011 the Law & Justice supplement of Lidové noviny published an article on abbreviated construction proceedings by KSB lawyers Dana Čiháková and Petr Sedlatý. Even though the abbreviated construction proceedings were introduced in an attempt to simplify approval proceedings, legislative loopholes have resulted in fairly broad misuse. But recently, the Municipal Court in Prague issued a breakthrough judgment eliminating such misuse to a certain extent.

Tax advisor and head of KSB’s tax department Helena Navrátilová appeared as a guest on Czech television ČT24’s program Studio ČT24. The topic was the press conference by the Ministry of Finance focused on tax evasions and other measures presented by Minister M. Kalousek and CEO J. Knížek.

KSB partner Petr Kasík and KSB attorney Vlastimil Pihera published a brief commentary in the section Law & Justice of Lidové noviny on the award of the First Senate of the Constitutional Court dated March 2011 regarding the legal regulation of squeeze-outs.

KSB tax advisor Dalibor Bucek wrote an article on taxation of foreign income of legal entities for the weekly Euro. He addressed the decisive criteria to determine which country a company’s income is to be taxed in, how to settle an incorrectly withheld tax in a foreign country and how to take all these aspects into consideration when preparing a tax return. The whole article can be downloaded here (in Czech only)

Law firm Kocián Šolc Balaštík provided legal counseling to the American-British company Interval International Limited, a pioneer in exchange services of vacation ownerships with a network of approximately 2,600 resorts in over 75 countries, relating to a consumer contract. The contract sets forth the terms of participation in the exchange membership program for owners of vacation interests at accommodation that allow consumers to exchange their occupancy right or other services connected with timeshare.

E-mailed tax documents Corrections to provided discounts and bonuses

Stricter conditions for fuel distributors

Sickness and pension insurance

Estimated items – employee bonuses

Law firm Kocián Šolc Balaštík successfully represented its client, a major Czech insurance company, in a dispute concerning a claim to insurance proceeds in the amount of CZK 127 million with interest and charges.

On 23 February 2011 the new Act No. 28/2011, Coll., became effective. The act amends the Civil Code No. 40/1964, Coll., and other related regulations. This amendment implements Directive No. 2008/122/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 January 2009 on the protection of consumers in respect of certain aspects of timeshare, long-term holiday product, resale and exchange contracts into Czech law.

The date of 5 May 2011 became an important milestone for Kocián Šolc Balaštík’s provision of legal advice in recent years to Řízení letového provozu ČR, s.p. (Air Navigation Services of the Czech Republic) when an international agreement was signed in the Slovenian city of Brdo to create a so-called functional airspace block. The agreement was signed between the seven Central European countries of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Austria, Slovakia and Slovenia. Air traffic control services are to be optimized and provided in the functional airspace block regardless of state borders.

Jan Dědič, KSB partner and member of the Recodification Commission preparing the act on commercial companies and cooperatives, gave an interview to the daily financial newspaper Hospodářské noviny on changes to the law of commercial companies in connection with the recodification of private law that is being prepared.

On 4 April 2011 Lidové noviny published in its supplement Law & Justice an overview of the most significant changes to VAT that affect all VAT payers as of 1 April 2011 in connection with Act No. 47/2011, Coll., amending Act No. 235/2004, Coll., the VAT Act. The overview of the changes in VAT was prepared for Lidové noviny by law firm Kocián Šolc Balaštík. The whole article can be downloaded here (in Czech only)

Lidové noviny published an interview with KSB partner Jan Dědič in its supplement Law & Justice on 4 April 2011:

KSB partner Dagmar Dubecká gave an interview to the magazine Law & Business concerning the Czech legal environment, application of law, creation of laws and overlapping of Czech legislation with EU legislation. The interview also addressed her main area where she is one of the top attorneys of the Czech scene – mergers and acquisitions.

International rating publication The International Who’s Who of Competition Lawyers and Economists 2011 has again nominated KSB partner Pavel Dejl as a recommended specialist in the field of competition law in the Czech Republic. Pavel Dejl has received this recommendation repeatedly since 2006. For this year, Who’s Who Legal’s recommendation in the field of competition law was granted to only five attorneys in the Czech Republic.

KSB attorney Tomáš Sequens gave an expert presentation titled “Potential compensation for damages from changes, if any, to zoning plans that render original intentions impossible” at the 2011 Industrial Landscape Conference in Havirov on 22 March 2011.

Law firm Kocián Šolc Balaštík advised the Ontex Global Group on the Czech aspects of the EUR 50 million refinancing of its existing credit facilities along with the Group's first bond offering (EUR 675 million Senior Secured Notes and EUR 250,000,000 Senior Notes).

On 25 March 2011, the General Directorate of Customs (“GRC”) published information concerning exemption from VAT for imports of goods.

Information of the General Financial Directorate on the application of gift tax on free emission allowances; Supplementation to the Communication of the General Financial Directorate concerning levies pursuant to the Act on Renewable Sources; Information of the General Financial Directorate on the institute of guarantee pursuant to the provisions of Sections 109 and 109a of Act No. 235/2004, Coll., on Value Added Tax (“VAT Act”); Instruction No. GFŘ-D-4, setting forth the format and structure of an extract from records for tax purposes pursuant to Section 92a(6) of the VAT Act

The amendment to the VAT Act

KSB attorney Martina Parusová Zímová was recently elected to the administrative council of the Czech Franchise Association for the period of 2011 through 2013 at a membership meeting of the association.

KSB attorneys Petr Kasík and Juraj Hudák wrote an exclusive contribution on liability of directors and its specific issues in the Czech legal environment. The text was published in the international publication Directors’ Liability and Indemnification.