Heike Wieland-Blöse new Spokeswoman of the Board of Grant Thornton

The legislator has amended the transfer pricing documentation obligations, which were tightened at the end of 2022, and brought forward their application significantly. The following article explains what companies should now bear in mind.

If the person giving third-party notice does not provide information on an upcoming date for proceedings, the information on the status of the dispute under Section 73 of the German Code of Civil Procedure (Zivilprozessordnung – ZPO) is considered incomplete. The third-party notice thereby neither has the effect of suspending the statute of limitations in terms of material law nor that of procedural intervention. This is what Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court decided in its judgment of 16/05/2024 (2 U 75/23), cf. IBRRS 2024, 2416.

The Federal Court of Justice’s decision on ambiguous terms related to the environment (specifically, the case was about using “climate neutral” in relation to confectionery, but it also applies generally to terms like “carbon-neutral”, “greenhouse gas neutral”, “environmentally friendly”, etc.) set strict standards on environmentally related advertising. Companies must already be clear and unambiguous in their advertising when using terms related to the environment, otherwise they can face cease and desist letters from associations or competitors. They can also receive bad publicity for greenwashing.

Italy was the first country in the EU to implement mandatory e-invoicing as of January 2019 in the B2B and B2C segment. As part of our series “E-invoicing in the EU” we highlight the growing relevance of e-invoicing by examining Italy’s successful implementation and offer valuable insights for businesses that are looking to navigate this change.