The Legal 500

Legal developments in Portugal April 2010.

PRESENTED NATIONAL STRATEGY FOR THE ENERGY SECTOR

The Government presented in March the National Strategy for the Energy Sector which confirmed and incremented the Government's bet on the renewable energies sector. An investment of 31 thousand million euros is estimated until 2020, as well as is the creation of 140 thousand job positions. The economic recession has not affected the investment in this sector, contrary to what occurred in other economic activities where there were financial cuts. The main objectives of the investment on renewable energies are the increase of the Portuguese companies' competitiveness, the promotion of employment and to assure the energy supply and autonomy of Portugal, all of which associated to economic and environmental sustainability.

 

For further information on this matter, please contact Jorge Ribeiro Mendonça.

 

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IKEA ANNOUNCES INVESTMENT OF 1.1 THOUSAND MILLION EUROS IN PORTUGAL UNTIL 2015

The office responsible for the expansion of the Swedish group IKEA in Portugal has announced an investment in Portugal of 1.1 thousand million euros until 2015. The Swedish group's goal consists not only on the opening of seven IKEA stores, but also in the inauguration of three more shopping centres in national territory. Furthermore, for the current year it is determined the start of operation of three Swedwood factories, an IKEA subgroup which manufactures furniture. Said investment shall contribute to an increase of direct job positions from 4,500 to 6,000, as well as the creation of 4,000 indirect job positions, which represents quite a significant vote of confidence in the Portuguese economy by this large multinational. 

 

For further information on this matter, please contact Ricardo Rodrigues Lopes.

 

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FOOTWEAR INDUSTRY EXPORTS 96% OF ITS PRODUCTION

According to the latest data disclosed by the Portuguese Footwear, Components and Leather Goods Manufacturer's Association (hereinafter "APICCAPS"), the Portuguese footwear industry exported in 2009 approximately 59 million pairs of shoes in the amount of 1,208 million euros. Besides that, following the Strategic Plan established in 2007 for this sector, new markets were approached, notably Macedonia, Bolivia, Malaysia and Paraguay. The average price of the footwear exported by Portugal has increased 2.1%, being the second highest worldwide and turning this sector into the most successful of the Portuguese economy in 2009. 

 

For further information on this matter, please contact Sara Galvão Soares.

 

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SUPREME COURT OF JUSTICE ALLOWS FREE USE OF GAME RELATED MACHINES

The Supreme Court of Justice has recently established case law by deeming as a game related modality the gambling developed in automatic machines in which a player inserts a coin and by twisting a handle a random capsule containing a password is given away. In case the number contained in such capsule coincides with any of the numbers entered in a publicly exposed board, the person who holds the winning combination shall be entitled to a monetary prize. In consequence, it is now allowed and decriminalized the exploitation and practice of such games outside the sites expressly foreseen by law which not only opens new markets, but also enhances opportunities.  

 

For further information on this matter, please contact Ricardo Costa Macedo.

 

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MICRO-ENTERPRISES MAY BECOME EXEMPT FROM COMPILING ANNUAL ACCOUNTS

According to an amendment to the accounting directives of the European Union voted on the 10th of March by the European Parliament, micro-enterprises may become exempt from the obligation of compiling their annual accounts. However, it is a non-binding measure and as such each Member State shall be entitled to enforce the decision of exempting or not its respective micro-enterprises, notwithstanding the fact that the same shall maintain their accounting system over the commercial transactions and the financial situation. One shall highlight the fact that the adoption of such measure in Portugal, the third highest micro-entrepreneurial country in the EU, shall be an important step for the simplification of the procedures of financial reporting, as well as for the reduction of costs for the small businesses, allowing the same to strengthen their competitiveness. 

 

For further information on this matter, please contact Ana Isabel Batista.

 

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TAXPAYER FRIENDLY AMENDMENT OF THE VAT CODE

Article 22 of the VAT Code, which refers to the moment and the modalities for exercising the right of deduction has been amended by the recently published Law number 2/2010 of the 15^th of March. In this context, the limit from which the Tax Authorities may require security, guarantee deposit or any other warranty is now €30,000.00, in opposition to the previous limit of €1000.00. The above mentioned diploma has also amended the reimbursement deadlines, consisting these presently of two months after the presentation of the request or thirty days whenever the taxable entity is registered within the monthly reimbursement system. The described changes are therefore beneficial to the taxable entities whose expenses and waiting times are reduced.

 

For further information on this matter, please contact Teresa Nunes Pereira.

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FIRST INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF PORTUGUESE SPEAKING LAWYERS

Franco Caiado Guerreiro was present on the First International Congress of Portuguese Speaking Lawyers, which was held between the 22nd and the 24th of March and organized by the Portuguese Speaking Lawyers Union (UALP). The referred Congress counted with the participation of well-known legal figures from countries like Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Macau, Mozambique, Portugal, S. Tome and Príncipe and Timor. On the other hand, the invited speakers enriched the working sessions with their interventions on the subject "Challenges for the Portuguese Speaking Countries' Law in a World without boarders".  

 

For further information on this matter, please contact ^{Ricardo Costa Macedo.}

 

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