The coronavirus outbreak is unfortunately having an impact on every aspect of our lives, and sets to affect a considerable number of businesses. For this reason we’ve summarised the five most important legal considerations that no business can afford to ignore at this time.

On 18 March the Hungarian prime minister announced extraordinary measures to be taken as a result of the national emergency caused by COVID-19. Most of these measures have a strong impact on the Hungarian economy; in particular, the banking sector.

In the framework of the ‘Digital Court Project’, a new online system was launched by the courts as of 1 January 2020.

The National Competitiveness Council held a meeting on 4 February 2020 about the possible future changes of the local business tax.

The Hungarian Parliament approved certain amendments to the Hungarian Corporate Income Tax Act in July 2019.

Greenberg Traurig has provided Polish advice to GLP on its acquisition of Goodman Group’s Central and Eastern Europe logistics real estate portfolio. Kirkland & Ellis served as global legal counsel to GLP, while Kinstellar provided local legal advice with respect to the Czech, Slovak, and Hungarian aspects of the transaction. Goodman Group was advised by Allen & Overy.

Contributed by Nagy es Trocsanyi

Former Chief Legal & Corporate Affairs Officer at Magyar Telekom Joins Kinstellar in Budapest

Balazs Mathe, the former Chief Legal & Corporate Affairs Officer and Deputy CEO of Magyar Telekom, has joined Kinstellar as an Advisor.

The Hungarian tax authority prepares the personal income tax returns for everyone it has employer information about, whether they are employees, primary producers, private individuals liable for the payment of VAT or individual entrepreneurs.

So far, it has been relatively easy for neighbours and other stakeholders to challenge the building permit of a major development project during the licensing process. This situation created major potential for extortion for these individuals. However, with the amendment of the building regulations, which came into effect on 1 March, this vulnerability would appear to have been eliminated.

Adrienn Trinn Becomes Head of Legal at Budapest's TV2

Adrienn Trinn has been promoted to Head of Legal at the TV2 Media Group.

IT systems are evolving rapidly: cloud-based solutions, artificial intelligence and automated processes are all making businesses, organizations, and communities more and more efficient. Compared to the 2 billion internet users in 2015, at the end of 2017 there were approximately 3.8 billion internet users worldwide. It is estimated that by 2022 there will be 6 billion internet users (75% of the population that will grow to 8 billion by then) and by 2030 they will reach 7.5 billion (90% of the projected 8.5 billion population). This increase of usage of IT technologies, and the ever growing number of internet users naturally mean more cyber-attacks and hacking activity, that come with a price: much more attention than usual has to be paid to IT security.

A new act on vocational training entered into force on 1 January 2020.

Noerr and Eisenberger & Herzog Advise Coveris on Acquisition of Plasztik-Tranzit

The Budapest office of Noerr and Austria's Eisenberger & Herzog have advised Austrian packaging company Coveris on its acquisition of Plasztik-Tranzit Kft, a producer of flexible packaging solutions for the food industry. The unidentified sellers were advised by solo practitioner Tamas Reisz.

As of 1 January 2020, a new tax allowance is available under the Hungarian Personal Income Tax Act, which provides for that mothers raising four or more children might be exempted from the payment of personal income tax.

Online sales in the EU are estimated to worth €550 billion a year – €96 billion of which is cross-border. The new EU VAT system for e-commerce aims to give simpler value added tax (VAT) rules and administration for businesses and measures for Member States to tackle VAT fraud related to e-commerce.

Hungarian hospitals are facing problems paying for drugs and medical devices. Many suppliers have claims worth millions of euros and are having difficulty enforcing them against either the hospitals or the Hungarian government.

Investment funds are generally considered a complex, collective, highly specialised form of investment. However, an amendment that came into force from January this year, will allow a much wider range of participants to set up investment funds and fund management companies. And these funds can present very favourable opportunities, whether for acquisition purposes or for holding private assets.