The National Executive issued the Decree No. 4,766 on 9 January 2023, which extends the waivers of Legal Regimes for export until 9 June 2023. Said waivers were established on 9 June 2021 by the Decree No. 4,5252 regarding Optimization of Export Processes, which was extended until June 2022. The Decree established its validity as of 9 December 2022, having a retroactive effect.
The Argentina Customs Director announced in a November press conference that Customs will continue focusing on customs valuations and transfer pricing issues. The asphyxiating foreign exchange regulations currently in place in Argentina are seen by Customs as an incentive for importers to artificially increase the import value of goods (since this will result in the transferring abroad of more foreign currency; a practice known as “over-invoicing”) as well as for exporters to artificially reduce the export value of goods (since this will result in some foreign exchange remaining abroad instead of being mandatorily converted into Pesos at an artificially low foreign exchange rate; known as “under-invoicing”).
Requests for preliminary rulings made by courts of EU Member States have always been dealt with by the European Court of Justice. Over the years the CJEU handled numerous customs cases on tariff classification, customs valuation, origin and procedural customs law. Due to capacity restraints at the CJEU, an alternative distribution of jurisdiction between the CJEU and the lower EU General Court is proposed by the CJEU. More specifically, the CJEU requests that the EU Commission propose a change to the Treaty of the Functioning of the EU, such that preliminary ruling requests for, amongst others, VAT and customs matters, are to be submitted to the General Court.
As a top producer of numerous critical mineral commodities, Africa is set to benefit from the rapid increase in the rate of global energy transition, with the continent’s mining industry playing a role in sourcing and supplying these critical minerals for use in clean energy initiatives. Exporting these critical minerals as raw materials, however, reduces Africa’s trading position to one of price takers, and the current disruptions in global supply chains are hampering the trade of these commodities in Africa, with mining companies subject to long delays and higher costs. The African Continental Free-Trade Area, implemented in 2021, acts as a strong impetus for African governments to address their infrastructure gaps, streamline their supply chains, boost their manufacturing capacity and overhaul regulation relating to trade, cross-border initiatives, investment-friendly policies and capital flows.
On 17 January 2023, the US Department of Justice issued a revised version of its Criminal Division Corporate Enforcement Policy (CEP). The CEP sets out the Criminal Division’s approach to resolving cases with corporations. In particular, it addresses how the Criminal Division will credit companies which voluntarily disclose criminal conduct and cooperate during the investigation and resolution of the matter.
The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, the US Department of State, the US Department of Commerce, and the US Department of Energy issued rules adjusting maximum civil monetary penalties under the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015.
On 23 December 2022, President Biden signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023. Section 5949 of the FY2023 NDAA would prohibit executive agencies from procuring or contracting with entities to obtain any electronic parts, products, or services that include covered semiconductor products or services from certain Chinese companies. The semiconductor prohibitions will not take effect until five years after the date of enactment, and the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council will issue regulations implementing the prohibitions no later than three years from the enactment date.
The National Executive issued Decree No. 4,757 on 29 December 2022 which establishes exemptions from payment of VAT and customs duties for imports of various goods in Chapter II of the Decree. The Decree entered into force on 29 December 2022 and will apply the exemption benefits until 30 June 2023.
In the period between 2020 and 2022, the new Law on Environmental Protection and its guiding Decree No. 08/2022/ND-CP were promulgated, providing a fundamental legal framework for extended producer responsibility (EPR). EPR-related regulations impose a number of obligations on manufacturers and importers of certain types of products and packaging in Vietnam. Nonetheless, the EPR legal framework is not yet complete.
In this vlog series, our MENA team of cross-practice specialists provide a quick roundup of the latest legal and commercial developments in the region as well as insights to emerging challenges and opportunities, to guide you as you shape your organization’s business resilience and strategy in the medium and long term. In addition, our senior female lawyers from our BakerWomen Middle East team join the conversations and share their insights on business and inclusion issues and trends in the region, as together we look to build trust and well-being in a post-pandemic world.