Client updates

Within the scope of a new directive published recently by the database registrar at the Israeli Law, Information and Technology Authority, entities, such as service-providers, that retain recordings of telephone conversations or chat correspondence with their customers will be forced to enable their customers (the subjects of the information) to also access information of this type. This according to the right of access prescribed in the Privacy Protection Law and the regulations instituted by virtue thereof.

Anyone who followed the financial press in Israel In the recent months would have realized that the Israel Securities Authority is on the war path against the binary option industry in Israel, and has every intention of closing it down. According to the Chairman of the ISA, Prof. Shmuel Houser, binary options are very similar to gambling, and often may involve fraudulent business practices intended to deceive the unaware investing public. 

The Israel Antitrust Authority (‘’IAA’’) has announced its intention to impose a financial sanction in the sum of NIS 25,640,000 on Bitan Wines, due to its violation of the terms of the merger between Bitan Wines and the Mega supermarket chain.

The Tel Aviv District Court approved an action as a class action filed by the minority shareholders of Delek Energy Systems Ltd. against its controlling shareholder and officers of the company.

The Antitrust Authority published for public comments a new guidelines draft on the subject of information-sharing between competitors for the purpose of contending with cyber threats.

Despite the growing sensitivity to violations of the competition laws and the uptrend in the imposition of stricter penalties by the authorities in respect thereof, business managers and consumers who have fallen victims to competition-law offenses in Israel hesitant in instituting civil proceedings against offenders.

The Israel Tax Authority (“ITA”) is promoting legislation that will require foreign companies not subject to the Israeli tax regime today to report and even pay tax in Israel.

For the first time, social NPO’s can enjoy attractive, convenient loan terms guaranteed by the State for funding an investment or working capital in the NPO, and without providing a personal guarantee.

Last week, the Israel Securities Authority published draft legislation for public comments that will permit corporations to obtain loans through crowdfunding with an exemption from the prospectus requirement.

The Israel Tax Authority published a draft  circular on taxation of virtual currencies (bitcoins and the like). According to the Draft, the ITA’s position is that virtual currencies should be deemed “assets” and not as currency or foreign currency or even as financial instruments.

The new law prescribes that, as of January 1, 2017, every taxpayer must pay tax annually (January through December) for every residential apartment that he owns in excess of two apartments, at the sum defined pursuant to the provisions of the law. The taxpayer will be allowed to choose which of his apartments he deems to be his first two apartments, and which shall be taxable under this law.

A few days ago, the Israeli Antitrust Authority published a draft statement presenting its position with regard to the circumstances under which a supplier will be able to dictate the resale price of its products to its distributor for the next link in the supply chain (Resale Price Maintenance arrangements – RPM), without such an arrangement being considered an illegal restrictive arrangement.

A Supreme Court judgment handed down in December by the Honorable Justice Yoram Danziger ruled that the demand by local planning and building committees that deeds of indemnity be signed is illegal (Bikel Flowers Ltd. vs. the Local Planning and Building Committee – Rishon Letsiyon).

Further to the recent hearing held in October 2016 (see our clients update dated 01 December 2016), the Electricity Authority published on 19 December 2016, a decision detailing the main principles of the upcoming competitive process for the construction of Solar Power Plants in Israel, with a capacity of up to 1,000 MW.

In order to improve the Israeli partnership market and in order to bridge the wide gap that exists between partnership laws in Israel and the partnership laws in other countries, in December 2016, the Ministry of Justice published a draft Memorandum of Law – Partnerships.

The Law establishes a mandatory licensing requirement for financial service-providers – credit providers or providers of financial asset services. One of the main innovations in this Law is that Financial Services Providers will be subject, for the first time, to supervision by a new financial regulator. 

On December 2016 for the first time in Israel, an Israeli company was convinced for bribing a foreign public official. This is especially interesting due to the fact that this is also the first time the general prosecution in Israel based an indictment on Section 291A of the Israeli Penal Law, that was enacted in 2008, in the course of Israel’s efforts to join the OECD as a member country.

District Court rules that an unlawful restrictive provision can lead to cancellation of a 40 years agreement.

About a year and a half ago a new regulatory regime regulating trading rings entered into force, requiring the operators of trading rings to obtain a regulatory license as a pre-condition to operating them, and prohibiting the operation of a trading ring without such a license.