On 22 March 2021, the Council of the EU amended the directive on administrative cooperation (through the so-called “DAC7”) to expand reporting obligations and exchange of information to cover sales through digital platforms. These rules would apply from 2023. In addition, DAC7 amends the actual exchange of information and cooperation between EU member states, focusing on joint actions and joint audits. These rules would apply from 2024. 1. New Reporting obligation for digital platforms Digital platform operators with nexus in the EU...

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On Friday 5 March 2021, the Dutch Ministry of Finance (the "Ministry") organised a Tax Governance Code webinar. The webinar was held following the release of an essay bundle, Tax governance, social responsibility, and ethics. Time for a tax code? (the "essay bundle"), by the Ministry in December 2020. While the essay bundle is a local Dutch initiative, it can be seen as a continuation of the ongoing international tax reform which started with the OECD's BEPS Project in 2013. In this News...

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This article is part of Portolano Cavallo’s “INFORM@Digital & IP” Newsletter. Click here to subscribe. | Protecting business know-how in the context of the employment relationship is also about preventing and managing data theft. As businesses increasingly rely on digital information storage, the risk of data exfiltration of financial records, customer information, and intellectual property/trade secrets is also increasing. Data theft often occurs when an employee leaves an organization to work for a competitor and transfers data from the company’s electronic archives to...

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Entry into force of the law of 5 March 2021 on certain rules for the implementation of Regulation (EU) No. 2019/1150 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on promoting fairness and transparency for business users of online intermediation services. On 14 March 2021, the law of 5 March 2021 on certain rules for the implementation of Regulation (EU) No 2019/1150 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on promoting...

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With the EU’s vaccine rollout beginning to gather steam and the beginning of the continent’s coveted summer season only a few months away, the European Commission this week presented its much-anticipated digital green travel certificate. Designed to bring some badly needed relief to citizens desperate for some holidays abroad, a travel industry which has in essence been shut down for almost a year, and the southern European economies heavily reliant on tourism, the certificate is seen by many as the...

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In a recent decision, the ECJ affirms the right to remain silent for individuals prosecuted for administrative offence of a criminal nature and denies to member states the possibility to impose sanctions for failure to cooperate to the investigation. Such protection is however not recognized to legal persons. Factual and procedural background The Italian market surveillance authority (the “Consob”) fined an individual a total amount of 300,000 EUR for administrative offences of insider dealing and unlawful disclosure of inside information. It...

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Watch On-Demand Webinar: Navigating the Energy Market During COVID-19 "When we look at this past year with COVID-19, it made for a very interesting year. Some of the more pertinent areas that we've found have been across the area of impairment, modifications to contracts for both leases and debt, restructuring activities, disposals of assets and businesses going concern issues as well as accounting for the PPE loans that were a direct result of events from this year. Given our time today,...

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On 22 January 2021 Parliament approved Bill 7637, which modified:  the Law of 5 April 1993 on the financial sector; and the Law of 6 April 2013 on dematerialised securities. The bill entered into force on 26 January 2021.  The bill introduces important modifications with respect to the direct issuance of dematerialised securities using distributed ledger technology (DLT). Further, it widens the central account keeper role by enabling any EU credit institution or investment firm to record and operate DLT issuances...

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Building a culture of cybersecurity through informal advocates and the new role of the “BISO” is a cost-effective strategy for tightening your cyber defenses. Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) are buffeted from all sides today. With the expansion of remote workforces, technology upgrades seemingly on a daily basis, and brazen cyber actors ranging from teens on Twitter to state-sponsored hackers, the task of keeping company systems secure is like trying to stand still in a hurricane. Adding to the CISO’s...

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