The Hungarian Government adopted a decree on 24 February 2022 that allows people fleeing the Russian-Ukraine war to enter Hungary and guarantees ‘temporary protection’ for them. This temporary protection applies to all Ukrainian citizens and refugees who lived in Ukraine and their relatives. The temporary protection, at this stage, is available for one year. In order to get the temporary protected status, after entering Hungary, people must register at the Immigration Authority or at one of its sub-offices at the reception centres located near the Ukraine border. With the temporary protected status Ukrainian citizens are entitled to get accommodation, food, medical care, also dental treatment, maternity care, vaccinations and education for children. They are also entitled for monthly cash allowance for the duration of their protection. The monthly amount of the allowance is HUF 22,800 (approx. EUR 62).
Provisions on the Hungarian Register of Ultimate Beneficial Owners in Effect
The Hungarian register of ultimate beneficial owners contains the data of the data providers falling under the scope of the act ruling the register of ultimate beneficial owners, for instance limited liability companies, public limited companies, associations, foundations or notary offices.
Hungarian Patents Became Available in EFPR System
From 14 February 2022 European patents registered in Hungary became available in the EFPR system. According to the statement of the Hungarian Intellectual Property Office (“HIPO”), by joining to the EFPR system, 34,000 patents registered in Hungary became available and searchable on the site of the EFPR. It is important to have a common platform for the patent registry, as customers do not need to look up national sites and search for similar patents before requesting registration. The system itself is capable of informing the user about countries in which the European patent in question is not protected anymore.
Amendment to Tax Incentives and Tax Credits for Investments with Energy Efficiency Targets
On 13 March 2022 the Hungarian Parliament approved an amendment to the Corporate Income Tax Act that modified the regulation of investment tax incentives. Based on the amendment, the only requirement to claim the investment tax credit is that the investment should be an initial investment implemented by a small and medium-sized enterprise, or is realized by a large company in the Northern Hungary, Northern Great Plain, South Great Plain, South Transdanubia, Central Transdanubia or Western Transdanubia regions. Mainly the Pest County region will benefit from the amendment, as the tax credit can be claimed after the investment projects realized in the whole region.
Hungarian Government Cuts Excise Duty on Fuel
In accordance with its latest announcement, Hungarian Government decided to temporarily decrease the excise duty imposed on fuel products as of 10 March 2022. Other governments in the region also introduced similar measures to control fuel prices and thus inflation; compliance with the EU rules, however, might be of secondary importance.
Notification Changes to Competent Authorities of Significant Net Short Positions
The European Commission has revised the regulations of the net short position reporting and published rules to permanently lower the initial net short position reporting threshold from 0.2% to 0.1% under the EU Short Selling Regulation (SSR). The new threshold took effect on 31 January 2022.
Question of Inheritance of Digital Assets
As technology plays an ever-growing part in our lives, lawmakers, as well as high-tech companies have to deal with the problem of inheritance of these digital assets. The importance of these assets is demonstrated by the fact that according to notaries, they became part of succession in an increasing number. One has to pay attention to the inheritance of these accounts, since it can easily happen that heirs will not be able to access for example the deceased persons' cryptocurrency account.
Mandatory Installation of Electric Car Chargers in New Buildings and Buildings Undergoing Major Renovation
The amendment to the Government Decree on the energy performance of buildings, in force from 1 January 2022, requires parking spaces in existing buildings, new buildings or buildings undergoing major renovation (including the electrical infrastructure of the building) to be equipped with an electric car charger or to have an electrical connection facility to enable the charger to be installed at a later date.
The Material Compensation for Delay in Civil Proceedings Is Already Demandable
The act on the Enforcement of Material Compensation for Delay in Civil Proceedings entered into force on 1 January 2022. In the past decades, the European Court of Human Rights has repeatedly indicated that the Hungarian legal system does not provide a domestic remedy which is considered effective by the Court and would serve to prevent the delay of court proceedings or to remedy the damage caused by such proceedings. In its judgment in Gazsó v. Hungary, the European Court of Human Rights called on Hungary to establish a domestic remedy capable to handle the structural deficiencies identified in the judgment. As a result, the Act establishes a new legal remedy for compensation for violation of fundamental rights, called material compensation (in Hungarian: “vagyoni elégtétel”).
Hungarian Constitutional Court Annulled Retroactive Tax Rule Regarding Statute of Limitation
In its recent decision issued on 27 January 2022, the Constitutional Court annulled an important rule of the Tax Procedure Act with regards the prolongation of limitation period. The decision is fundamentally beneficial for taxpayers, but also triggers some uncertainty for repeated proceedings going forward.
Hungary Implemented EU Legislation to Fight Dual Quality
In the past years, several new EU Member States have started investigations regarding the quality of products. Investigations showed that in many cases products have more detailed descriptions attached, or simply have more active substance if they are sold in the Western Member States than in the Central and Eastern European Member States. It was suspected for a long time that there are quality differences between the same products, sold in the same packaging but in different countries.
Amendments to the Land Transactions Act from 1 January 2022
On 14 December 2021 certain acts of agricultural subject were amended by the Hungarian Parliament, affecting inter alia the Act on Protection, Management of Wildlife and Hunting, the Forest Act, the Act on Transactions in Agricultural and Forestry Land (Land Transactions Act) and the Act on the Termination of the Undivided Joint Ownership on lands.
Modifications of Company Rules in the Civil Code
Several modifications of the company rules in the Hungarian Civil Code entered into force with effect of 1 January 2022. One of the most important changes is that the rules on additional payment (in Hungarian: “potbefizetes”), which were applicable only for limited liability companies, have been transferred to the common rules of companies, resulting in that the possibility to require additional payment from the members is available also for general partnerships, limited partnerships and private limited companies.
Amendment of Several Laws with Respect to the New Land Registry Act
At the beginning of November 2021, a bill was submitted to the Hungarian Parliament on the temporary provisions relating to the new Land Registry Act and on the amendment of certain acts of cultural subject and relating to the land registry, spatial planning (in Hungarian: “teruletrendezes”) and urban planning (in Hungarian: “telepulesrendezes”).
New Rules on Teleworking
In order to respond quickly to the challenges caused by the pandemic in the workplaces, the Hungarian Government introduced temporary regulation on teleworking in 2020. Since these provisions are applicable only during the state of emergency, the modification of the Labour Code and the Act on Safety at Work are on agenda with the aim of clarifying the provisions on teleworking on a permanent basis. The proposed modification is in line with the rules on teleworking specified in the Government decrees currently in force.
ECJ Backs Deduction of VAT on ‘Overpriced’ Services in Hungarian Case
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) confirmed once again that VAT deduction is fundamental part of the VAT mechanism and thus can only be narrowly restricted or limited.
Tax Reductions from 1 January 2022
Mihály Varga, Minister of Finance of Hungary has introduced many changes in tax legislation as of 1 January 2022 with an estimated HUF 750 billion to be left at the private sector. According to the statement of the Minister, tax reductions became achievable, as the economic growth of Hungary rose over 6,1%.
New Deed on the Land-Compensation
In 2018, the Hungarian Constitutional Court established in its decision that there was an infringement of the Fundamental Law by omission in connection with the entry into force of the amendment of certain acts relating to land-compensation. The issue was that the legislator abolished the rules on the auctions of agricultural land, so that the beneficiaries still had the purchase right serving the assertion of the compensation claim. The Constitutional Court called on the Parliament to fulfil its legislative duties by 31 December 2018.