JD Supra Belgium

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Latest documents

• New guidelines on the processing of personal data for direct marketing purposes

  Every day, direct marketing communications are addressed to billions of people who are targeted as a result of the processing of their personal data.
 
 Against this background, the Belgian Data Protection Authority (the BDPA) has published guidelines on the rules regarding the processing of personal data for direct marketing purposes (FR/NL) (the Guidelines).

• M&A pricing: completion mechanisms

  One of the key issues to be addressed in M&A transactions is the determination of the purchase price when signing of the share purchase agreement (“SPA”) and the completion of the deal do not coincide. Depending on the specific characteristics of the transaction, the aforementioned specified dates can be weeks or even months apart. As companies remain active between signing and completion, their value is subject to change during this period. Since title to shares is only transferred upon closing, the purchase price should be determined then. The challenge discussed here is therefore how to solve the issue of the uncertain price on completion at the time of signing.

• Very expensive cookies - Belgian Data Protection Authority fines legal website €15,000

  On December 17, 2019, the Belgian Data Protection Authority (“DPA”) made a groundbreaking decision on the use of cookies in the framework of the GDPR. To set an example for other websites, it imposed a fine of €15,000 on the legal website Jubel.be, equivalent to approximately 10% of annual profits. This decision will have an important impact on the use of cookies on websites in the future, since (i) the DPA further limits cookies that can be placed without consent of the user; (ii) it demonstrates that nearly all websites to date are not compliant with the rules applicable to cookies; and (iii) the DPA will effectively enforce these rules.

• Reform of the Belgian Civil Code

  The new Belgian Civil Code (the Book on Goods) has just been approved by parliament, which will affect the Real Estate sector. 
 
 On 30 January 2020, the Belgian parliament adopted an important piece of legislation that will significantly affect the Real Estate sector.

• EU Banking and Finance Regulatory Newsletter - January 2020 - Key regulatory developments in Belgium

  We present you with a selection of key regulatory developments in Belgium.

• New Rules for B2B Contracts: Are Your Business Contracts Future Proof?

  Recent Belgian legislation on B2B relations imposes new rules on the allowed content of business contracts.

• Belgian Data Protection Authority Releases Enforcement Priorities

  The Belgian data protection authority has published for public consultation its priorities for 2019-2025.

• The state of play of RPM enforcement and policy in Europe

  On October 24, Dentons held a web-streamed roundtable discussion on the state of play of resale price maintenance (RPM) enforcement and policy in Europe.

• Optional VAT regime on immovable lease – New Royal Decree establishing the modalities of the option

  As from 1 January 2019, taxpayers may opt to charge VAT on the letting of immovable property for professional use (the Optional VAT Scheme). This new Optional VAT Scheme enables the lessor to deduct any input VAT. It has been established to solve problems related to VAT leakage on the letting of immovable properties.

• Secondhand ‘sale’ of permanently downloaded literary, musical or cinematographic works: exhaustion of copyright before the European Court of Justice

  In today’s ever expanding digital application landscape, lagging legislation is no longer the exception. Therefore pre-internet / online applications legislation often needs an evolutionary or teleological interpretation to accommodate these new developments.

Featured documents

• Belgium Publishes Decree on the Nanomaterial Register

  The Belgian Royal Decree Regarding the Placement on the Market of Substances Manufactured at the Nanoscale, a Report to the King, and the Opinion of the Council of State were published in the September 24, 2014, issue of the Official Gazette....

• Belgian Retail Newsletter: The Legislation On Commercial Establishments Or So-Called “Socio-Economic Permit” Legislation: From Federal To Regional (Part I)

  A prudent retailer seeking to open a point of sale in Belgium should check compliance with the legislation on commercial establishments1 which may require a declaration and/or a permit prior to the effective opening date. 

 

 During various decades, the competence regarding...

• Towards a new, more flexible legal framework for secured lending in Belgium

  Upon entering into force, the law of 11 July 2013 on security interests in rem on movable assets will provide Belgium with a modern legal framework that will greatly facilitate secured lending. Although not as all-encompassing as the US blanket lien or the English floating charge, the new Belgian...

• Belgium issues new law on anti-money laundering transposing the fourth EU Directive and implementing the FATF recommendations

  The Belgian State Gazette published on Friday 6 October 2017 the law of 18 September 2017 preventing money laundering and financing of terrorism and limiting the use of cash (the"Law"). The Law replaces the law of 11 January 1993 and introduces several changes into the Belgian AML regime, ...

• Key Regulatory Developments in Belgium

  RD 23 April 2018 (published 17 May 2018) – B-REIT RD -
 
 RD amending RD of 13 July 2018 on regulated real estate companies (B-REITs) published -
 
 This RD is an amendment to the RD of 13 July 2014 on regulated real estate companies (B-REITs).
 
 This amendment was...

• 2018 Global Employee Equity at a glance: Belgium

  Welcome to the Belgium page of our Global Employee Equity at a glance series.
 
 Stock Option Plans: Employment -
 
 Labor Concerns -
 
 There is a risk of employees claiming that they are entitled to compensation for loss of rights under the Plan where the Plan is amended...

• Belgium adopts legal framework on tenders for new offshore electricity production installations

  On 4 April 2019, the Belgian Parliament adopted a law introducing a competitive bidding procedure to award domain concessions for new offshore wind farms. In addition to setting out a general framework for the competitive bidding procedure, the law aims to further reduce subsidies granted to...

• AG Bobek’s opinion in Budapest Bank: on object vs. effect, fish and lilies

  On September 5, 2019, Advocate General Bobek published his opinion in the Budapest Bank case (C-228/18). The opinion provides very clear and practical guidance on the concept of restriction of competition by object – a subject that has long been a bone of contention among competition practitioners, ...

• Brussels Brief - European Commission Issues Strategy for “Modernised” Data Protection Rules

  The European Commission recently issued a detailed strategy underlining its revision – and modernisation – of EU data protection rules.
 
 The strategy document issued on 4 November is essentially a roadmap for EU policy changes in data protection, and follows a public consultation that...

• Spira’s Antitrust Complaint Against De Beers Reaches the End of the Road

  The long-running battle, started in 2003, between Belgian rough diamond dealer Spira and diamond producer De Beers came to an end recently. Spira had sought to convince the Belgian Competition Authority (BCA) to intervene against De Beers’ Supplier of Choice (SOC) distribution system. The BCA,...