When creditors are demanding payment and money is tight the easiest thing to do is pay those who are shouting the loudest. Often HMRC debts, including Winding Up Petitions, are ignored in favour of paying suppliers so that a business can keep going. However, ignoring HMRC can lead to unavoidable failure of a company.
schönherr journal www.schoenherr.eu 02/2017 S cílem harmonizovat a posílit ochranu proti odcizení obchodního tajemství na úrovni EU byla minulý rok přijata Směrnice Evropského parlamentu a Rady (EU) 2016/943 ze dne 8. června 2016 o ochraně nezveřejněného know-how a obchodních informací (obchodního tajemství) před jejich neoprávněným získáním, využitím a zpřístupněním (dále jen „Směrnice“). V návaznosti na zavádění Směrnice do českého právního řádu dozná určitých změn dosud platná právní ochrana obchodního tajemství.
Reasoning behind the changes
In the two years that the "new" bankruptcy regime – the Bankruptcy Act of September 2015 (Stečajni zakon; the "BA") – has been in place, the number of pre-bankruptcy procedures initiated in Croatia has plummeted to only 273, with 58 restructuring plans being accepted. By comparison, under the previous pre-bankruptcy regime from 2012 to 2015, 8,262 pre-bankruptcy procedures were initiated, with 2,224 restructuring plans being reached.
A recent case shows how a company’s Articles of Association, a document which defines the duties and responsibilities of members, must be adhered to when directors are exercising their powers.
The court had to consider whether a sole director of a company, whose articles required two directors for its board meeting to be quorate, could validly pass a resolution to appoint administrators under the Insolvency Act 1986 and, if not, whether the Duomatic principle could validate the appointment.
The amendment to the Hungarian Insolvency Act came into force on 1 July 2017, with the aim of enhancing the protection of beneficiaries of security interests, and clarifying the position of creditors in liquidation proceedings, which are secured by call option, security assignment or pledge over future receivables.
In the case of Newwatch Ltd v Bennett, the court ruled that After The Event insurance (ATE) policies could not be used as adequate security for costs by the claimant companies who were based in Denmark and Jersey.
On 10 July 2017, the Commission announced the public consultation on the development of secondary markets for non-performing loans (NPLs) and distressed assets. Following the commencement of this public consultation, the Council introduced its Action Plan for NPLs.
On 28 June 2017 the Austrian Parliament passed the government's legislative proposal on insolvency law (Insolvenzrechtsänderungsesetz 2017). After lengthy negotiations, the government finally agreed to shorten personal insolvency proceedings to a maximum five years and to abolish the minimum insolvency quota of 10 % under certain conditions. The amendments will be applicable as of 1 November 2017.
Personal bankruptcy in Austria
The EU Regulation on Insolvency Law 1346/2000 (EIR) was considered a milestone in the cross-border coordination of national insolvency proceedings. The recast of the EU Regulation on Insolvency Law 2015/848, applicable to insolvency proceedings opened after 26 June 2017, considers substantial developments in national insolvency laws.
Background
An extensive amendment to Act No. 182/2006 Coll., on Insolvency (the "Insolvency Act") will come into effect on 1 July 2017 (the "Amendment").
The Amendment takes into account the practical recommendations of insolvency judges and administrators as well as other legal professionals. It fundamentally changes many aspects of insolvency proceedings, from preliminary assessment of the insolvency petition, to supervision of the insolvency administrator by the Ministry of Justice and debt relief procedures.
The Amendment primarily aims to