Month: March 2019

The environment protection team invites you to training in the field of environmental protection for entrepreneurs.

On 11 April in Inkubator Podkarpackiego Parku Naukowo – Technicznego AEROPOLIS in Jasionka (near Rzeszów), a meeting will be held devoted to legal aspects of environmental protection, entitled:
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION IN AN ENTERPRISE – A STUDY FOR ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION SPECIALISTS.

We invite everyone who is particularly close to conducting business in accordance with environmental regulations.

More information can be downloaded here.

Registration: martyna.lipinska@gww.pl 

During the “Digitization of the Polish Economy” Congress, which took place on 27 March this year, there was an official announcement of results of the current 13^th edition of the Ranking of Tax Firms and Advisors organized by Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.

 

In the list of the largest tax advisory companies, in the category of large companies, GWW Tax was ranked 7^th.

Kamil Szczęsny, was the winner in the category of the best advisors – local taxes, taking 1^st place!

In the justification of Kamil's choice, we can read:
The jury appreciated numerous cases won before the Supreme Administrative Court regarding disputes about the taxation with real estate tax of elements of gas networks, telecommunications facilities. The jury also took into account activities undertaken in connection with the overpayment which occurred after the Constitutional Tribunal's judgment of 13 December 2017. In the case of the gas network, the dispute concerned taxation of equipment as a structure (value-based taxation) and the application of non-statutory regulations. The dispute regarding telecommunications facilities boiled down to the method of determining the tax base. The issue of overpayment after a clear judgment by the Constitutional Tribunal should not be a problem. In practice, it raises doubts of municipal tax authorities and, as a result, disputes with taxpayers. Therefore it is not easy to obtain it, even though after the judgment of the Constitutional Tribunal it seemed just a formality.

The ranking supplement is available at the following link: https://edgp.gazetaprawna.pl/wydanie/56310,28-marca-2019/67356,Ranking-firm-i-doradcow-podatkowych/1

Justification for the choice can be found here.

Insurance coverage as part the carrier's liability insurance (CLI) should be as wide as possible and adequate to the type and scope of transports performed. It is in the interest of both the carrier and its client. CLI insurance is a voluntary insurance, however it is today a market standard that the carrier holds it. The scope and parameters of this insurance should be one of the key criteria for the carrier assessment and selection.

In the TFL (Transport Forwarding Logistics) Guide developed by Gazeta Finansowa, Krzysztof Wysocki, attorney-at-law, discusses the issues of providing transport security to customers and answers the question of the third party liability insurance importance in the TFL industry.

Article by Krzysztof Wysocki, attorney-at-law.

TFL Guide.

 

The European Parliament has announced that a provisional agreement has been reached between the European Parliament and the EU Council on the shape of the directive, which will aim at ensuring legal regulations in all European Union member states regarding protection of persons reporting breaches of European Union law.

Article by Ines Borkowska, legal counsel at GWW, was published in the online edition of Wprost.

https://www.wprost.pl/kraj/10200588/jest-porozumienie-w-ue-w-sprawie-sygnalistow.html 

The GWW team led by Krzysztof Kasprzyk represented Budimex S.A. before the Voivodship Administrative Court in the won case, which concerned the recognition as tax costs of expenses related to joint and several liability towards further subcontractors. The Court shared the arguments of Krzysztof Kasprzyk. The Voivodship Administrative Court ruled that in a situation where a company (a general contractor) conducts business activities and there are prerequisites for joint and several liability, as referred to in Article 6471 of the Civil Code, an expense made to a further subcontractor as a result of such liability will be the tax deductible cost, even if it has already make payment to the subcontractor, and regardless of a direct basis for such payment (court judgment, court settlement, settlement or claim recognition).

The judgment in favor of our Client, Budimex S.A. with its registered office in Warsaw, was issued by the Voivodship Administrative Court on 6 March 2019, ref. No. III SA/Wa 1265/18.

During meetings of shareholders of a limited liability company (sp. z o.o.), a minority shareholder must take into account that he will be voted down by those who hold the majority of shares. Does this mean that he has no chance to prevent adopting resolutions that are unfavorable to him?

If such resolutions are harmful to the minority shareholder and are contrary to accepted principles of morality, and also affect interests of a company, then he may quash them in court. This happened in the case of a dispute which was decided by the Court of Appeal in Warsaw in its judgment of 4 July 2018 (reference number VIIAGa 1395/18). The meetings of shareholders each year adopted a resolution on the transfer of profits to the reserve capital of the company. Shareholders also determined remuneration for members of the management board, being the majority shareholders in the company. The minority shareholder appealed against these resolutions. The Court ruled that the shareholders may decide to allocate the profits to the reserve capital of the company and determine whether the company's profit will be invested or paid to the shareholders. Such a resolution does not require unanimity of shareholders, unless the articles of association provide otherwise. It is also permissible for shareholders to determine remuneration for members of the management board, unless the articles of association provide otherwise. However, the resolutions appealed against had to be assessed jointly. Their aim was to exclude the payment of dividends to shareholders and thus to deprive them of their share in profits. In addition, they provided the two shareholders who are also members of the board with remuneration for which a significant part of the company's profit was allocated. Therefore, they led to the payment of the company's profit to two majority shareholders in the form of remuneration for performing functions in the management board. This solution was harmful to the minority shareholders who were not members of this body. They did not participate in profit either as shareholders or as board members. According to the Court, the company acted against the accepted principles of morality. The two majority shareholders used their position to adopt resolutions in the first place favorable to themselves. In this way, they shared a significant part of the profits solely among themselves.

The article was published in Dziennik Gazeta Prawna on 19 March 2019.

We are happy to announce that as of 1 January 2019, Urszula Darkowska, attorney-at-law, and Jacek Olma, attorney-at-law, joined the group of GWW Legal partners.

Urszula and Jacek were promoted from the position of a junior partner, which they took at the beginning of 2018. Expanding the group of partners and granting the status of a junior partner to associates collaborating for many years with GWW Legal is the effect of the Integrated System of Evaluation and Promotion that has been implemented in GWW structures for over four years, which aims at rewarding and promoting the best associates GWW. Profiles of the new partners are briefly presented below.

Urszula Darkowska is a legal counsel specializing in conducting court proceedings in civil and commercial cases. She represents clients of the law firm from the telecommunications, railway and energy industries in complex court and arbitration disputes related to their activities. She is also involved in litigation regarding copyright infringements, including providing consultancy to clients in disputes with collecting societies. Urszula Darkowska has been cooperating with GWW since 2006, being member of the Litigation Department since 2006, and since 2016 she has been managing the GWW litigation practice in Warsaw.

Jacek Olma is a legal counsel professionally involved in resolving disputes – in particular in court but also with alternative dispute resolution methods. One of the most interesting projects he was in charge of was the pursuit of claims related to defective nationalization, including compensation and settlement of receivables due to the use of real estate. The case ended with success and satisfaction of clients. He has been cooperating with GWW since 2009.

We would like to congratulate them and wish them fulfillment in their new role, as well as further successes in professional careers.

The amendment to Industrial Property Law awaiting President's signature significantly extends the catalog of trademarks. They provide that, for example, sound may be a trademark.

– The wording of amended regulation departs from the need to present the trademark in a graphic manner (…).

Our experts: Katarzyna Sas, lawyer, patent attorney, and Michał Tuszyński, attorney, trainee patent attorney write about the planned amendment and the issue of registration of a trademark in the form of sound.

 

The article was published in Pulscie Biznesu on 11.03.2019.

The article is available at the following link: https://www.pb.pl/nowa-definicja-dzwiek-jako-znak-towarowy-955525 

In the current edition of the 2019 Chambers Europe ranking, GWW was singled out as a "recommended firm" in areas:

• TMT
  (Band 3)
• TAX
  (Band 4)
  Clients are particularly fond of the lawyers’ reliability and creative thinking: "They always find the right solutions for the issues entrusted to them. The team is characterised by its innovative approach."
  "Interviewees also say that the team is "proactive and on top of developments."

The title of "recommended lawyer" was awarded to:

• Wacław Knopkiewicz – TMT
  (Band 4)  
• Andrzej Ladziński  – TAX Consultants 
  (Up and Coming)
  "approachability and knowledge."

 

The Chambers Europe listing is prepared by Chambers and Partners, an independent firm analyzing the legal services market worldwide. Titles are granted on the basis of recommendations obtained directly from clients and other lawyers.

More: https://chambers.com/guide/europe?publicationTypeId=7 

The government is planning an amendment regarding unpermitted buildings. Illegal buildings are to become legal, which will allow them to be renovated or sold. What would the abolition look like? We invite you to watch the Biznes dla ludzi program, where Joanna Sebzda-Załuska, attorney, was a guest.

Statement from minute 06:15: https://tvn24bis.pl/biznes-dla-ludzi,106,m/biznes-dla-ludzi-samowola-budowlana-do-legalizacji,915952.html