In the recent judgment of The Center (76) Limited V Victory Serviced Office (HK) Limited HCA 1020/2020; [2020] HKCFI 2881, the Hong Kong Court of First Instance rejected a tenant’s argument that the tenancy agreement was frustrated due to the COVID-19 pandemic and social disruption ...
The Court of Appeal has given some much-needed clarity on this issue in the recent decision of Abbey Healthcare (Mill Hill) Limited v Simply Construct (UK) LLP [2022]. In a majority judgment, the Court of Appeal reversed the first instance decision and held that the collateral warranty in question was a construction contract within the meaning of s.104(1) of the Housing Grants, Construction & Regeneration Act 1996 (the Construction Act) ...
On 15 June 2023, three groups namely the Centre for Progressive Policy (CPP), Pregnant Then Screwed (PTS) and Women in Data, published their collaborative report on the social and economic impact associated with extended paternity leave and pay. Currently in the UK, the statutory entitlement to paternity leave is capped at two weeks, with the weekly rate for paternity pay amounting to the lower of £172.48 per week or 90% of average weekly earnings ...
The 31st of March is already an auspicious date in the Cambodian tax calendar: It is the deadline for most taxpayers in Cambodia to submit their annual Income Tax return. This year, however, the last day of March is also the deadline for non-resident e-commerce providers to register for value-added tax (“VAT”) in Cambodia ...
January 2022 has seen the issuance of Instruction No. 002 AAR.N (“Instruction 002”) on the Compulsory Submission of Annual Financial Statements to the Accounting and Auditing Regulator (“ACAR”) and Instruction 001 AAR.I regarding the Submission to the ACAR on the use of English for computerized or other accounting systems (“Instruction 001”). We set out the salient points with respect to Instruction 002 and Instruction 001 below for your reference ...
Overview On 15 October 2021, the New Law on Investment (“New Investment Law”) was promulgated, which aims to provide a comprehensive, transparent and predictable legal framework to attract both domestic and foreign investment. The New Investment Law replaces the existing 1994 Law on Investment and the 2003 Law on the Amendment to the Law on Investment (“Former Investment Law”) from its promulgation date (15 October 2021) ...
On 29 June 2021, the Ministry of the Environment (“MOE”) issued five new Prakas pursuant to Prakas No. 021 dated 3 February 2020 on the Classification of Environmental Impact Assessments (“EIA”) for Development Projects. These new Prakas determine the procedures and implementation guidelines for checklists used to prepare initial environmental and social impact assessment (“IEIA”) reports ...
Overview On 22 February 2023, the Ministry of Commerce (“MOC”) issued a new regulation on the Forms and Procedures for Issuance of Temporary Suspension Measures and/or Decisions by the Cambodia Competition Commission (“CCC”) to strengthen the enforcement of the Law on Competition (“Competition Law”) in Cambodia ...
The General Department of Taxation (“GDT”) issued Instruction no. 1972 GDT on 31 January 2022 (“Instruction 1972”) which sets out obligations for taxpayers in Cambodia that carry out projects for public interest in connection with a grant or loan agreement (“Agreement”) or memorandum of understanding (“MoU”) between the Royal Government of Cambodia and another government or national development agency or partner international organisations ...
Key points From 8 September 2021 non-resident entities who provide digital goods/services or e-commerce activities to Cambodian consumers and who expect to have sales of USD15k or more before the end of the year, over three consecutive months, have 30 days to register for VAT with the General Department of Taxation (GDT) in Cambodia. From 2022 onward the same non-resident entities, as described above, that expect to have sales of USD62 ...
The Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction (“MLMUPC”) issued a new Prakas No. 109 on 22 November 2021 on the Formalities for Certification Work of Architectural Design and Structural Design (“Prakas 109”). The purpose of this Prakas 109 is to regulate the formalities of inspection and certification works in order to implement the Sub-Decree No ...
On 6 December 2021, the NBC issued a Notification No. B7-021-2083 on Cessation of Granting New Microfinance Deposit-Taking Institutions License. The NBC decided to cease granting of new license for microfinance deposit-taking institutions in order to further strengthen banks and financial institutions’ capacity, inspection, financial stability and contribution to national economic development ...
JOINT NOTIFICATION 0837 ISSUED BY THE MINISTRY OF COMMERCE AND THE MINISTRY OF POSTS AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS, dated 1 April 2022 On 1 April 2022, the Ministry of Commerce (“MOC”) and the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications issued Joint Notification 0837 setting out requirements for locally registered companies to use a level 2 national domain name “.com.kh” and e-mail address with level 2 national domain name “.com.kh” ...
On 17 February 2022, the Royal Government of Cambodia issued the Sub-Decree on the Organization and Functioning of the Cambodia Competition Commission (“CCC“) (No. 37 ANKR.BK) (“Sub-Decree“). The Sub-Decree provides the structure and function for the Cambodia Competition Commission, the regulatory authority designated under the Law on Competition ...
Overview On 4 November 2022, the Ministry of Commerce of Cambodia issued two new regulations, namely, Prakas 226 on the Formalities and Procedures of Inspection and Investigation under the Law on Competition (“Prakas 226”) and Prakas 227 on the Conditions and Procedures of Negotiated Settlement under the Law on Competition (“Prakas 227”) ...
On 21 September 2022, the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training (“MLVT”) issued Prakas 247/22 on the Determination of Minimum Wage for Workers in the Garment, Textile, Footwear (“GTF”), Travel Product and Bag Sectors (“Prakas 247”), to set a new minimum wage for 2023, which will be effective from 1 January 2023. Under Prakas 247, workers in the above sectors will be entitled to the following new minimum wage: for regular workers, USD 200 per month ...
On 28 September 2021, the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training (“MLVT”) issued Prakas 264 on the Determination of Minimum Wage for Workers in the Garment, Textile, Footwear, Travel Product and Bag Sectors (“Prakas 264”), to set new minimum wage for 2022, which will be effective from 1 January 2022. Under Prakas 264, workers in the relevant sectors will be entitled to the following new minimum wage: For regular workers, USD 194 per month ...
Businesses do not particularly enjoy uncertainty, especially regarding tax matters. The prospect of a tax audit, even when no significant exposure is anticipated, can be daunting. If a problem is known to lurk in the shadows, the prospect of a tax audit can be beyond terrifying. In Cambodia, attempting to wait out the applicable statute of limitations for the General Department of Taxation (“GDT”) to conduct an audit and issue an assessment is often a fool’s errand ...
On 10 February 2022, the General Department of Taxation (“GDT”) issued Notification 2845 (“Notification 2845”), which provides the 2021 market interest rates for Employee Loans in accordance with Article 15 of Prakas 543 on Tax on Salary and Instruction No. 7015 GDT dated 13 March 2020. The 2021 market interest rates for 2021, based on the average of ten (10) commercial Cambodian banks, are as follows: USD – 8.28% per annum Khmer Riel – 8 ...
The Cambodia Competition Commission (“CCC”) has issued Decision on Pre-Notification Thresholds for Business Combinations dated 14 March 2023, which sets out the thresholds for Pre-Notification under the Law on Competition. The CCC has the power to amend the thresholds by written decision ...
On 1 December 2021, the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training (“MLVT”) issued Notification 058/21 on Extending the Deadline for the 2022 Foreign Employee Quota Application (“Notification”). Through the Notification, the MLVT has delayed the submission deadline for 2022 foreign employee quota applications until 31 January 2022, being two months after the original deadline ...
Cambodia’s long-awaited Competition Law (“Law”) was signed into law by the King on 5 October 2021. While the Law has been enacted, the principal regulator, the Cambodia Competition Commission (“CCC”) has not yet been appointed and it is not clear how the Law will be enforced prior to a) such appointment and b) the issue of required regulatory instruments and decisions ...
