Regulatory Relief Measures in Light of the State of Emergency in Israel

Upon the launch of Operation Rising Lion last Friday, the Minister of Defense declared a special national state of emergency in conformity with the Civil Defense Law, 1951. On Sunday, the government extended the state of emergency until June 30, 2025.

Following this declaration, government ministries and various authorities announced they were easing regulatory requirements in various fields, as they did in particular contexts during the COVID-19 pandemic and upon the outbreak of the Swords of Iron War.

• Court system shifts to an emergency format

Shortly after the IDF launched the operation, the Minister of Justice signed emergency regulations ordering the court system to shift to an emergency format, which, at this stage, is in effect until June 22, 2025. During this period, the entire judicial system (courts and execution offices) in all jurisdictions in Israel will operate in this format and will not hold any hearings, apart from urgent hearings specified in the law (urgent appeals to the High Court of Justice, criminal offenses pertaining to the special state of emergency, administrative detentions, detention hearings and releases on bail, and motions for urgent temporary relief in civil proceedings).

In addition, all time frames stipulated in legislation or by court ruling are automatically extended according to the validity of the emergency regulations. For example, if a statement of defense responding to a statement of claim must be filed within 60 days, this deadline is automatically extended by one week. However, it is important to note that if a court ruling stipulates a specific date, such as filing a response by July 1, 2025, the regulations do not extend this date and the deadline remains in effect (unless the court issues a different ruling).

• Extensions of deadlines for tax filings

The Israel Tax Authority (ITA) also announced reliefs, including extensions on filing various tax reports and stays on new attachments and execution proceedings until the end of June. (However, interest and linkage will continue accruing on existing debts.)

ITA extensions:

• • Report filings, payments of VAT and income tax advances, and reports of deductions for May 2025 are postponed to June 26, 2025.
  •  The deadline for filing annual reports for 2023 (after extensions were granted due to the Swords of Iron War) is postponed to June 30, 2025.
  •  Individuals and companies may file annual reports and deduction reports for 2024 until July 31, 2025, without paying any fine.
  • The deadline for micro businesses to file and pay annual reports for 2024 is postponed to July 31, 2025. If micro business owners received grants for military reserve duty, maternity benefits, or compensation, the August 31, 2025, deadline remains unchanged.
  • The deadline for filing capital declarations is postponed until the filing date of the annual report for that year.

• Temporary extension for reporting arrears in customer loan payments to the Credit Database

The Bank of Israel’s Commissioner for Credit Data Sharing has informed credit providers reporting to the database that it is granting a temporary extension on reporting arrears on loans, from a deadline of 30 days to 60 days. The purpose of this extension is to give the public sufficient time to settle obligations with credit providers and to avoid reports of arrears in loan payments deriving from various technicalities. The extension also applies to monthly reports from June 2025 until August 2025, after which the Commissioner will consider the necessity of a further extension.

Within this context, we note that, concurrently, the Bank of Israel has launched a voluntary outline with the banking system (as it did upon the outbreak of the Swords of Iron War) for the provision of assistance to populations directly harmed by the war, including owners of small and micro businesses, individuals whose homes were damaged by missiles and were forced to evacuate, and reservists. This outline defines the minimum terms for deferring loans and providing benefits to these populations, and each bank may improve the terms for its customers and at their request. This outline takes effect on July 1, 2025, and will be valid until July 31, 2025. Customers may submit applications to be included in the outline until July 31, 2025.

• Extension to Non Profit Organizations on filings of reports and applications for certificates of proper management 

the Registrar of Non-Profit Organizations has granted an extension on filings of reports and applications until July 31, 2025. This extension applies solely to applications for a certificate of proper management for the year 2026. With regard to applications for a certificate of proper management for the year 2025 (the deadline for filing the requisite accompanying documents and reports was June 30, 2024) that have not yet been filed, these applications may be filed only until June 30, 2025.

• Relief to local authorities to contend with emergency needs

The Ministry of Interior has announced various reliefs for local authorities, including by renewing temporary orders issued during the Swords of Iron War. Inter alia, these reliefs allow local authorities to use surplus cash to pay urgent payments, to deviate from budgets, to use funds received from water and sewage corporations for emergency purposes, and to receive temporary loans.

• Extension of cargo insurance and supplier credit plans

The Ministry of Finance’s Accountant General has extended the cargo insurance plan operated through the ITA’s Compensation Fund until July 31, 2025. The purpose of this plan is to ensure the continuity of the State of Israel’s trade and supply even during a period of ongoing security uncertainty. This plan was launched upon the outbreak of the Swords of Iron War, after numerous insurance companies stopped providing insurance coverage in respect of risks of war and terrorist attacks, to help exporters and importers maintain business continuity. Concurrently, the Accountant General extended the “Top-Up” assistance plan, which provides a state guarantee for supplier credit insurance, by three months until September 30, 2025.

• Automatic extension for expiring vehicle licenses

Anyone whose vehicle license expires between June 13, 2025, and July 13, 2025, receives an automatic 60-day extension to renew their license.

Our firm’s various departments are at your service to answer any questions and provide advice and assistance in relation to the topics covered in this update and, of course, in relation to any other matter requiring legal support during this complex period.

Stay safe.