Client updates

The Israel Securities Authority (ISA) recently published a proposal for amending the Securities Law as to the supervision of underwriters and distributors.

A judgment by the Supreme Court recently established the scope of instructions the Land Supervisor is authorized to issue in regard to the common property of a condominium defined as a “complex building.”

The Tel Aviv District Committee for Planning and Construction recently gave final approval for the Tel Aviv 3^rd Quarter Plan, making possible the construction of 8,000 new residential units. The road to the plan’s final approval, a plan prepared in accordance with section 23 of TAMA 38, was long and filled with obstacles.

Givatayim intends to transform the city’s east with a series of “Pinui-Binui” projects to be built along Ben-Gurion Street on the city lines between Givatayim and Ramat Gan. In order to advance the plan, the Tel Aviv District Committee for Planning and Construction approved Givatayim’s request to prohibit the issuance of permits for TAMA 38 in the same area for a period of two years.

The National Committed decided, for the first time, to submit an urban renewal plan for the residential neighborhood of Kiryat Moshe in Rehovot.

The Tel Aviv District Appeals Committee recently set aside a building permit granted by the city of Tel Aviv to the owner of office space in a building designated for demolition under TAMA 38 who sought to convert the space to residential use.

The Appeals Committee for Planning and Building, Compensations and Betterment Tax in the District of Jerusalem held that family members who are not one economic unit are not a single family unit for the purposes of exemption from betterment tax in the expansion of an apartment of no more than 140 square meters.

The Knesset passed a new amendment (Amendment 9) to the Sales Law (Apartments), whereby developers who build apartments for sale are permitted not to deposit sureties for the VAT component of the transaction, thus decreasing the sum deposited by them.

The Tel Aviv District Court, presiding as an Administrative Court, rejected a petition filed against the District Appeals Committee for Planning and Construction and held that a structure that has not received a building permit cannot execute a TAMA 38 project. Per the court, the desire to reinforce buildings for risk of earthquakes is not intended to cure construction non-compliance and is not designed to “launder” buildings constructed without a permit

On July 24, 2017, the Sale Law Commissioner in the Israeli Ministry of Construction and Housing published two clarifications concerning the Sale Law and urban renewal projects.

The Ministry of Economy and Industry and the Authority for Investments and Development of the Industry and Economy are presenting a series of steps to bring the Encouragement of Capital Investments Law in line with the Israeli market of 2019.

The Supreme Court recently ruled on the issue of whether sending a text message in the course of customer service constitutes a violation of the Spam Law.

With the initial coin offering (ICO) era considered over, it seems there is a new tool for financing – the initial exchange offering (IEO). This method of financing is more transparent and reliable for investors, entrepreneurs, and markets, providing partial solutions to the many disadvantages exposed in ICO financing.

In light of the rise of investments in transportation projects, new guidelines were issued for infrastructure companies operating on behalf of the Ministry of Transport, requesting such companies adopt binding standards on several issues regarding contracts and tenders.

The Israeli Registrar of Amutot and Dedications has changed its policy on the granting of certificates of proper management to Amutot and public benefit companies (PBC). From now on, any Amutot and PBC that meets particular criteria will be entitled to receive a certificate of proper management valid for two years, instead of for one year, as was the case until now.

This ruling constitutes a precedent in the way the court applied the standards of judicial review and held that the business judgment rule should not be applied if business decisions are made by officers while in a state of conflict of interest.

The Israel Securities Authority has published a position paper summarizing updated information about the processes for listing and delisting dual-listed companies on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange and additional stock exchanges abroad. The position paper provides information both to dual-listed companies and companies considering dual listing.

On April 12, 2019, Arcturus Therapeutics Ltd., an Israeli public company traded on NASDAQ, published in the United States a prospectus and proxy statement (convening a general meeting of shareholders of the company). Publishing the prospectus is an advanced step toward completing an arrangement between the company and its shareholders.

The Tel Aviv District Court issued a ruling recently on a case concerning a bank’s conduct with funds whose source is digital currencies. The court expressly ruled that the bank’s blanket ban on the opening of bank accounts by clients engaging in digital currency activity is unreasonable.

On April 7, 2019, the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) published a proposed amendment to the Stock Exchange Regulations, whereby the barriers to the entry of new TASE members will be removed and for the first time Israeli entities will be allowed entry into the stock exchange even if they operate exclusively for nostro.