Procedure for the transferring of the budgetary receivables owed by debtors in insolvency proceedings
The procedure regarding the transferring of the budgetary receivables owed by debtors in insolvency proceedings was published in the Official Gazette no. 285 of April 15, 2019, the procedure for the transferring of the budgetary receivables is applied to debtors under insolvency proceedings according to Law no. 85/2014 on Insolvency and Insolvency Prevention Procedures, as subsequently amended and supplemented, as well as other normative acts on the basis of which the insolvency proceedings were initiated.
The procedure for transferring of the budgetary receivables can be initiated by the budgetary creditor, namely the central fiscal body, which has entered in the final table of receivables with budgetary receivables. The tax receivables recorded by the fiscal body in the final table of receivables, which remained unchanged at the date of the cession contract, are subject to assignment.
Updates to EU consumer protection rules
Updates to EU consumer protection rules to improve ranking transparency in online marketplaces and to tackle dual quality of products were approved by MEPs on April 17. The new law updates consumer rights for the internet age, ensuring consumers will have more information about how online rankings work and when they derive from paid placements. The revamped rules also aim to make the use of online reviews and personalised pricing more transparent for consumers.
For widespread infringements (i.e. those harming consumers in several EU countries), the available maximum fine in member states must amount to at least 4 % of the trader’s annual turnover in the previous financial year or a lump sum of two million euros in cases where information on turnover is not available.
Position on overhaul of road transport rules
On 4th of April, the European Parliament approved its position to negotiate with the Council on revised rules for posting of drivers, drivers’ rest times and better enforcement of cabotage rules. They also want to put an end to distortion of competition by hauliers using letterbox companies.
To fight use of letterbox companies, road haulage businesses would need to have substantial activities in the member state where they are registered. Since operators increasingly use light commercial vehicles to provide transport services, those operators would also need to follow EU norms for transport operators. EU-wide rules on posting of drivers will give a clear legal framework for applying posting of workers rules in the highly mobile transport sector, to prevent red tape caused by differing national approaches and ensure fair remuneration for drivers.
Directive on unfair trading practices in business-to-business relationships in the agricultural and food supply chain
The Council adopted on 9th of April a directive on unfair trading practices in business-to-business relationships in the agricultural and food supply chain. The directive will ban the most obvious unfair trading practices and provide member states with more effective ways of tackling abuses.
The new rules will cover micro enterprises, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-range enterprises that have an annual turnover lower than EUR 350 million. In order to do that, the directive adopts a dynamic approach, according to which smaller operators are only protected against unfair trading practices in cases where these originate from larger businesses. This means for instance that micro enterprises will be protected against SME buyers and small and medium-sized suppliers will be protected against mid-range buyers and buyers larger than that.
The objective is threefold: to protect only those who really need it, to safeguard the smallest suppliers, but also to prevent that costs caused by abuses of medium-sized operators are being passed on to primary producers.
New rules on sales contracts for goods and digital content
The Council adopted on 15th of April a package comprising a directive on contracts for the supply of digital content and services (Digital content directive), and a directive on contracts the sales of goods (Sales of goods directive). This formal adoption marks the end of the legislative procedure.
The objective is to provide a high level of protection and legal certainty for European consumers, in particular when buying across borders as well as to make it easier for businesses, especially SMEs, to sell EU-wide.