The Legal 500

Legal Developments in Portugal

• Newsletter April 2010

  Legal developments in Portugal April 2010.
  - Franco Caiado Guerreiro & Associados

• Newsletter May 2010

  Latest legal developments in Portugal.
  - Franco Caiado Guerreiro & Associados

• Public Procurement in Mozambique

  The Mozambican Public Procurement legal framework is regulated by Decree no. 54/2005 of 13/12, which approved the Regulations for Public Works Contracts and Supply of Goods and Services to the State (henceforth referred to as the “Regulations”).
  - PLMJ - A. M. Pereira, Sáragga Leal, Oliveira Mart

• Macau: Portuguese - speaking platform for access to China and Asia

  A few months before 20 December 1999, when Macau became a special administrative region within the People’s Republic of China, the governments of Portugal and Macau - which, for the purposes of the agreement, includes the peninsula of Macau and the islands of Taipa and Coloane - signed an agreement to avoid double taxation and to prevent tax evasion in the area of income tax. The agreement, which was signed in Macau on 28 September 1999 and came into force retroactively as from 1 January 1999, closely follows the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD’s) model.
  - PLMJ - A. M. Pereira, Sáragga Leal, Oliveira Mart

• Angolan Petroleum Operations (POR)

  INTRODUCTORY NOTE – Law No 10/04, of 12 November 2004, on Petroleum Activities (LPA) regulates and defines the activities of prospecting, exploration, measurement, development and production of oil. This law repealed the pre-1978 legislation and the current legal regime is part of a wider legislative package intended to embrace a new phase for this sector in Angola.
  - PLMJ - A. M. Pereira, Sáragga Leal, Oliveira Mart

• 2010: the Year of Tax Arbitration ?

  In light of the ineffectiveness of tax litigation and the increased mistrust of taxpayers in relation to tax decisions, with the decision-makers very often hiding behind mere decisions of form, it is imperative that we weigh up alternative methods for resolving tax disputes, such as mediation, conciliation, and tax arbitration itself, in order to deal with disputes accumulated and arising out of relations between the State and the taxpayer, thus reversing the feeling of injustice in this area.
  - PLMJ - A. M. Pereira, Sáragga Leal, Oliveira Mart

• 2010 STATE BUDGET: GUARANTEES AND TAX ARBITRATION

  The 2010 State Budget Proposal is sparse in the area of tax changes, which is rare and commendable: the budget should not contain reforms or structural modifications to the tax system, since it does not guarantee the balancing of separate laws.
  - PLMJ - A. M. Pereira, Sáragga Leal, Oliveira Mart

• 2010: the Year of Tax Arbitration?

  In light of the ineffectiveness of tax litigation and the increased mistrust of taxpayers in relation to tax decisions, with the decision-makers very often hiding behind mere decisions of form, it is imperative that we weigh up alternative methods for resolving tax disputes, such as mediation, conciliation, and tax arbitration itself, in order to deal with disputes accumulated and arising out of relations between the State and the taxpayer, thus reversing the feeling of injustice in this area.
  - PLMJ - A. M. Pereira, Sáragga Leal, Oliveira Mart

• BUDGET 2010 (TAX PROPOSALS)

  A government bill on the 2010 budget was presented in the Portuguese parliament on 26 January.
  - PLMJ - A. M. Pereira, Sáragga Leal, Oliveira Mart

• Labour & Employment

  1 What are the main statutes and regulations relating to employment? The main statutes relating to employment are the Portuguese Employment Code (approved by Law 7/2009 of 12 February 2009) and the Regulation of the Employment Code (Law 35/2004 of 29 July 2004) which is still in force notwithstanding the fact that parts have been revoked with the entry into force of the new Employment Code. Within the Employment Code, the vast majority of the rules are mandatory and, therefore, can only be modified by agreement of the parties and only if such amendment is intended to improve the position or rights of the employees.
  - F. Castelo Branco & Associados