Insight type: Legal Alert

The Finance (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2021 was gazetted on 05 August 2021 and it brings into force a number of amendments to the legislations in Mauritius.

Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta has issued a statement on the presidential taskforce (the Taskforce) report with recommendations to review power purchase agreements (PPAs). The Taskforce was appointed in March this year to review the terms of PPAs entered into between various independent power producers and the Kenya Power and Lighting Company Limited (KPLC).

 

The Court of Appeal has issued directions on the hearing of an appeal by the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) against the decision of the High Court of 20 September 2021, declaring minimum tax unconstitutional (the Judgment).

 

Driven by the enactment of the Insolvency Act 2015, Kenya’s corporate insolvency and restructuring infrastructure has grown in leaps and bounds. The insolvency landscape in Kenya now includes a progressive approach to corporate financial distress with the introduction of administration as the primary business rescue process for companies undergoing financial hardship.

The Finance (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2021 was gazetted on 05 August 2021 and brings into force several amendments to the legislation in Mauritius.

The High Court has declared minimum tax provisions unconstitutional and the minimum tax guidelines void.

On 5 May 2021, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced that the United States (US) would be supporting a proposal at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to waive intellectual property (IP) protections for COVID-19 vaccines. The proposal in question was tabled by India and South Africa on 2 October 2020. Essentially, these two countries have requested that the WTO allow member states to opt not to grant or enforce patents and other IP rights in COVID-19 health solutions, including vaccines.

 

Tanzania recently issued regulations relating to the beneficial ownership information disclosure requirements which were incorporated into the Companies Act. The Companies (Beneficial Ownership) Regulations, 2021 apply to both private and public companies (including listed public companies) incorporated in Tanzania with no exemptions. In addition, the Regulations do not put in place any quantifiable thresholds which would trigger beneficial owner filings. As such, any shareholding or voting control, no matter the percentage of shares held, or voting control enjoyed, whether in a public or private company, is reportable. Furthermore, beneficial ownership reporting is not limited only to a shareholding interest or voting control.

 

In March 2021, the Ministry of Information Communication and Technology (MoICT) published amendments to the equity participation requirement contained in the National ICT Policy Guidelines, 2020 (ICT Policy) that was gazetted in August 2020 (the Amendment Notice) that are aimed at providing clarity to the initial policy.