About: lextal

Changes in value-added tax (VAT) and when can the 20% rate continue to be applied?

From January 1, 2024, the general VAT rate will increase from 20 percent to 22 percent.

Starting from January 1, 2025, reduced VAT rates will also increase:

• Accommodation (including breakfast) to 13 percent, and
• Books, textbooks, and periodicals (excluding primarily advertising or classified ads, erotic, or pornographic content publications) to 9 percent.

In this update, our focus is on the general VAT rate change that will come into effect from January 1, 2024.

LEXTAL helps a baby food producer overcome financial difficulties

Tartu County Court decided to initiate a restructuring process for the dairy production company AS Solbritt and appointed attorney at law at Law Firm LEXTAL, Ksenia Kravtšenko, as the restructuring advisor. AS Solbritt is a dairy production company whose factory has operated for 85 years. In 2005, they partnered with the Nutritec dairy group to mainly produce Nutrilak powdered milk blends under the trademark Nuppi. The advisor believes the circumstances outlined in the entrepreneur’s application support a positive outlook for the company’s recovery. The management’s past actions have been successful, and the future plans are realistic, providing hope for an effective process.

Under the Motor Insurance Act, the personal injury insurance limit is €5.6 million. However, this does not mean that all victims will receive this compensation. Insurance companies are under no obligation to inform victims of the compensation to which they are entitled by law. Unfortunately, it is up to the victim to ask for compensation. It isn’t easy to obtain the necessary information without the help of an attorney, as there is little public information available.

Most people clearly understand the need for insurance when renting or owning real estate. However, a common problem is not knowing what to consider when insuring and what to look for or remember regarding insurance policy conditions when it has been signed and the damage occurs. I’ll highlight five essential nuances often overlooked by companies and individuals when insuring their rented or personal real estate, drawing from my more than 25 years of experience in insurance law.

In today’s digital age, assessing customer experiences and leaving public reviews is part of a business owner’s daily life. Various online platforms allow people to share their experiences in almost every service sector: you can rate hotels, restaurants, and beauty professionals, as well as professionals like doctors, photographers, taxi drivers, and lawyers. Since customer reviews and ratings influence potential customers’ purchasing decisions, business owners depend highly on the feedback they receive.

Positive feedback and a higher average rating mean more customers and revenue, while negative reviews can lead to customers lost to competitors. Harsh and negative feedback can be detrimental to a business. Given this, it’s important that the feedback provided by customers is based on factual circumstances and reasonably reflects adequate assessments. However, what should you do if a review about your business is clearly based on fabrications, or you consider it unfair or exaggerated in its negativity? No one should have to tolerate unjustified criticism or false information about themselves. It’s important to distinguish whether the review contains incorrect information or expresses a valuation. This distinction determines what actions can be taken to protect your rights.

How the scandal in Luxembourg will change Estonian law?

How is the 2014 Luxembourg tax scandal, also known as LuxLeak, related to an Estonian entrepreneur with at least 50 employees?

Answer – Due to LuxLeak, Estonia is about to impose an obligation on every company with 50 or more employees to establish a confidential reporting channel for whistleblowing and a prohibition on using pressure measures against informants.

It is essential to create a safe and effective way to report violations in the workplace to prevent further wrongdoing or to minimise the damage caused, affecting as few people as possible. At the same time, protection against workplace harassment must be ensured for the whistleblower. Discovering and addressing a violation within the company helps to minimise potential reputational damage that may result from publicising the breach.

Sending marketing emails is an excellent way to increase sales. Those who don’t make sales don’t do business. However, a question arises as to whether this complies with strict data protection rules. It is known that the Data Protection Inspectorate is increasingly vigilant and imposes hefty fines for violations.

The debtor disappeared from the business register – how to avoid such a situation and what warning signs to pay attention to?

Creditor, be aware! Did you know that regardless of your claims against a debtor, the legal entity that owes you money may be unexpectedly deleted from the registry without you being notified about that? What should you do if that has already happened?

The Commercial Register Act that came into force this year gives the registrar the possibility to delete a legal entity from the commercial register in a simplified form if the legal entity has not submitted its annual report or appointed a contact person when it is required to do so. I have gathered here some tips to follow in order to avoid a situation where a debtor suddenly vanishes.

In September 2023, Meritas, a global alliance of leading independent law firms, organised one of the most extensive exchange programmes in the alliance’s history. The programme included several law firms from the Baltic and Nordic regions. Altogether, six lawyers from six participating law firms exchanged offices for two weeks from September 18 through September 30. LEXTAL was very fortunate to have Lotta Koskela from Lexia Attorneys join us for two weeks. Ave-Ly Kõuts, as the Emerging Leaders representative from our side, made sure Lotta felt comfortable and had an exciting experience with us during her stay. Learn more about her experience from below.

Kaie knows all of us even better than the back of her hand, as she’s been a member of our team for several years. While starting as an HR specialist, Kaie has since taken on the responsibilities of LEXTAL’s Support Services Manager. She’s our go-to person whenever there’s a need to address concerns and always contributes to creating a warm and supportive atmosphere in our workplace.