WHAT DUTY?
WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
WHEN DOES IT APPLY?
Maintenance of solvency Management of business risks
Gerade in aktuellen Krisenzeiten stellt sich für viele Unternehmer die Frage, wie sie ihr Unternehmen bestmöglich sanieren können, um so das Fortbestehen des Unternehmens zu sichern. Dafür stehen in der Praxis eine Vielzahl an rechtlichen Sanierungsinstrumenten zur Verfügung.
The coronavirus pandemic has made life complicated for almost all businesses, especially from the financial point of view. Businesses thus face an increased risk of bankruptcy and subsequent insolvency proceedings.
To help with this challenging situation, an amendment to the Insolvency Act as part of the "Lex Covid" was adopted. Lex Covid became effective on 24 April 2020.
Initiation of insolvency proceedings
Creditor's right to file an insolvency petition
Introduction
On 23 April 2020 the Croatian Government adopted a Proposal for an Act on Intervention Measures in Enforcement and Insolvency Proceedings During Special Circumstances (the "Draft Intervention Act"). The Draft Intervention Act states that its purpose is to alleviate the position of citizens subject to the enforcement proceedings, to help companies which may be facing bankruptcy during the special circumstances, as well as to help the recipients of national and/or EU grants and recipients of the governmental aid due during the special circumstances.
With the fourth law on COVID-19, the Austrian legislator has suspended the obligation of an overindebted debtor to file for insolvency until 30 June 2020, irrespective of the cause of the over-indebtedness. Some other countries in the CEE region have also adopted measures to combat the consequences of COVID-19 as detailed in the following overview:
What specific provisions does the new law contain for tenancies?
Under the Insolvency Suspension Act COVID-19 (COVInsAG), the obligation to file for insolvency is suspended under certain conditions due to the coronavirus. The regulations apply retroactively to 01.03.2020.
The coronavirus is spreading fast. Measures to slow its spread are already hitting companies hard and will cause many companies considerable financial difficulties in the foreseeable future.
Obligation to file for insolvency
Die COVID-19-Pandemie und deren wirtschaftliche Auswirkungen führten bisher zu insgesamt fünf umfassenden COVID-19 Gesetzespaketen. Darunter finden sich ua Änderungen im Insolvenz-, Anfechtungs- und Eigenkapitalersatzrecht, mit denen die wirtschaftlichen Auswirkungen der COVID-19-Pandemie adressiert werden sollen. Ein erster Schritt in die richtige Richtung, weitere insolvenzrechtliche Anpassungen werden aber folgen müssen. Im Folgenden wird ein Überblick über die wesentlichen insolvenzrechtlichen Änderungen gegeben.
Verlängerte Insolvenzantragsfrist
The Covid-19 crisis is impacting on all businesses across Germany including the dynamic German start-up scene. In this article we outline some of the more important measures taken by the German government to support start-ups through the crisis. These measures include providing immediate financial support, loan finance, subsidies for short-time work schemes, relaxation of management obligations to file for insolvency, tax relief schemes and the suspension of social security payment obligations.
The German government has moved quickly and decisively to protect businesses from the short-term impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. A new law was passed by parliament using remote voting procedures and comes into today, 27 March 2020. The Covid-19 Suspension of Insolvency Law (COVInsAG) provides a protective shield for businesses against the economic fallout caused by the extraordinary measures taken to limit the spread of the SARS- CoV 2 virus which causes the illness we now know as Covid-19.
The law addresses three main areas: