The International Bar Association, the world’s leading organisation of over 200 bar associations and law societies and over 45,000 legal practitioners, will for the first time ever have a Secretary-General from Central & Eastern Europe. Martin Šolc, one of the founding partners of Czech law firm Kocián Šolc Balaštík (KŠB), will assume the office of Secretary-General in January 2013.

The main topics covered in the latest issue of X Lege include the digital dividend auction launched in mid-July by the Czech Telecommunications Authority and the new Supported Energy Sources Act. Starting in 2013, the act will supersede the current Renewable Energy Sources Act as well as the parts of the energy Act concerning secondary energy sources, cogeneration of electricity and heat, and decentralized power generation. As always, we also provide the latest news on the civil and commercial law recodification process: this issue includes the most substantial impacts holding companies can expect in 2014. There is also a summary related to EU law and information on the anti-discrimination amendment pertaining to the insurance industry.

Estimated items – employee bonuses

Estimated items – employee bonuses

Act on Changes to Tax, Insurance, and Other Acts in Connection with Reducing State Budget Deficits; New Real Estate Transfer Tax Act 

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

The amendment to the VAT Act

The General Financial Directorate (the “GFD”) has released information on the new legislation applicable to exemptions from the levy on solar power, which will take effect as of 1 January 2013. The Supported Energy Resources Act[1] supersedes the Act for Support of Renewable Resources,[2] which we have addressed several times in prior editions of Tax News. Newly exempted from the levy is solar power generated from solar power equipment with an installed output of up to 30 kW. The exemption can only be applied, however, to electricity generated from 1 January 2013 until 31 December 2013. Electricity generated and to be generated by the end of 2012 is subject to the existing rules, whereunder the exemption applies to solar power generated from all solar generation equipment with an installed output of up to 30 kW that are installed on rooftops or walls of a single building attached to the ground through a solid foundation, whereas such building is required to be registered in the land (cadastral) register. [1] Act No. 165/2012 Coll., on supported energy resources and on the amendment to certain legislation dated  31 January 2012 [2] Act No. 180/2005 Coll., on support of electricity generation from renewable energy resources and on the amendment to certain legislation, as amended 

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

Estimated items – employee bonuses

The latest issue of Finanční management features an article by Helena Navrátilová and Pavla Blažková on important tax-related rulings by Czech courts.

Advokátní kancelář Kocián Šolc Balaštík byla oceněna stříbrnou cenou (tzv. Silver Award) v kategorii Best Central & Eastern European Law Firm při letošním udílení cen The International Legal Alliance Summit & Awards 2012.

The legal routine that many businessmen must go through on a day-to-day basis is featured in KSB lawyer Jaroslav Míkovec’s legal column in weekly magazine Ekonom. Jaroslav contemplates that routine steps such as paying out dividend, disposing of shareholdings and replacing directors are far too difficult in the Czech Republic due to unnecessary bureaucracy and nonsensical requirements.

Team line-ups have been memorized, Czech flags are ready, the European Soccer Championships in Poland and Ukraine are just about to begin. However, the event, which kicks-off on 8 June and ends on 1 July, may, thanks to the immense popularity the game enjoys on the Old Continent, have a negative impact on many an employee’s morale and work attitude.

Value Added Tax Act

Tax Information Exchange Agreements (TIEAs)

This special issue of Tax News provides a brief summary of the basic changes included in the draft bill that is aimed at reducing the public budget deficit. The bill has already gone through the external consultation procedure

Advokátní kancelář Kocián Šolc Balaštík (KŠB) byla při udílení cen Chambers Europe Awards for Excellence včera v Amsterdamu už podruhé vyhlášena nejlepší národní právní firmou v Česku.

David Elischer of the Law Faculty of Charles University joins Kocián Šolc Balaštík as an Of Counsel.

Ocenění Patron českého podnikání 2012 získal profesor Jan Dědič, partner advokátní kanceláře Kocián Šolc Balaštík. Odborná veřejnost vyzdvihla především jeho záměr zjednodušit zápisy do obchodního rejstříku i dlouhodobé úsilí o čistotu obchodního práva.

Weekly magazine Ekonom recently mapped out what high profile Czech lawyers think about the hot legislative issues for 2012. Dagmar Dubecká, KŠB’s managing partner, gave her take on the amendment to the Mergers Act, which starting in 2012 aims to make transactions easier and cheaper for corporations and cooperatives by, among other things, allowing the decisive date of a merger to be set either retroactively or in the future. Prior to the amendment, this was not possible.

In the latest Law & Justice supplement to Lidové noviny, KŠB attorney Jiří Horník contemplates how the much-feared Eurozone breakup could affect parties to contracts in euros.

The grand amendment to the Public Contracts Act, which substantially modifies requirements for both contracting authorities and bidders, came into effect on 1 April 2012. Outlining the impact of the amendment, KŠB lawyers Martina Parusová Zímová and Jiří Horník provided commentary in the April 16 issue of Hospodářské noviny’s “Business” supplement.

The March issue of Právo & Byznys features a profile on the rich professional life and career of professor Jan Dědič, a KŠB partner. One of the most experienced Czech experts in commercial law, who also celebrated a birthday at the beginning of this year, professor Dědič reflected on many issues, including the quality of Czech laws. According to him, Czech laws largely suffer from frequent and rash amendments.

New public procurement rules, cross-border employment, and Czech tax news, these were the issues discussed during a workshop held by the Czech-Polish Chamber of Commerce in Ostrava on 28 March 2012.

At the beginning of March 2012 the Supreme Administrative Court in Brno satisfied a second cassation complaint lodged by Czech Radio. Claiming non-reviewability, the Supreme Administrative Court once again dismissed the Prague Municipal Court’s judgment whereunder Czech Radio was not allowed to exercise a claim to have VAT deducted on the grounds that it collects broadcasting fees. Czech Radio, represented by Kocián Šolc Balaštík, disagreed with the Municipal Court’s judgement.

On 1 April 2012, everyone working with public contracts in a professional manner will be faced with substantial changes brought on by the new amendment to the Public Contracts Act, which is one of two amendments to come into force on 1 April. Changes are also set to take place in relation to arbitration, especially with regard to so-called consumer-related disputes. The brief summary below provides important information on the key impacts of the two upcoming amendments.

The first 2012 issue of KSB’s quarterly newsletter features articles on the New Transparency Act, the new law supporting alternative energy sources, and the issue of re-exporting pharmaceuticals, which has become a hot topic in the industry. X Lege also continues to summarize the most important changes to be introduced on corporations since 2014 as a result of the recodification of the Czech civil and commercial law, this time focusing on joint-stock companies. Executives and company body members, namely those who receive remuneration for performing their office, may find it interesting to read about the new changes affecting the mandatory pension, sickness, and health insurance schemes.

Law firm Kocián Šolc Balaštík, as one of only five top domestic law firms in the Czech Republic, has been nominated for this year’s Chambers Europe Awards for Excellence 2012 in the category of National Firms. This prestigious award is given by the renowned British rating agency Chambers and Partners.

Kocián Šolc Balaštík has become a partner of New York State Bar Association’s Prague Regional Meeting. The event will be held by the Czech Bar Association and NYSBA’s International Section at the Czech Bar Association’s training center on 9 March 2012 with the support of UNCITRAL.

Drahomír Tomašuk, KSB’s specialist in the field of electronic communications, IT and personal data protection, recently authored a contribution for the international publication The Technology, Media and Telecommunications Review, Second Edition, in which he summarizes the current state of the Czech telecommunications market.

Dagmar Dubecká has become the new managing partner of Kocián Šolc Balaštík, stepping into the role previously held by Martin Šolc, one of KSB’s founders.

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

Martin Šolc, a founding partner at Kocián Šolc Balaštík, was recently named the 2011 Lawyer of the Year in the Czech Republic in the category of Commercial Law. Martin has thus become a two-time winner of the award, having been previously honoured in 2007, the third year of the competition.

Representing RWE Transgas in proceedings at the Regional Court in Brno, KSB was recently successful in getting a CZK 240 million fine nullified for a third time. The fine was originally imposed by the Competition Authority in 2006 for RWE Transgas’s alleged violation of competition on the wholesale gas market.

In the international publication IFLR M&A Guide 2011, Dagmar Dubecká, Martin Kubík, and Christian Blatchford describe the current situation on the mergers and acquisitions market in the Czech Republic, including the legal regulation of individual types of M&A transactions and aspects of competition law.

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