Government measures in key jurisdictions 4th edition - Flipbook - Page 69
Israel
Property
Have any changes
been made to
the laws around
property, rent and
enforcement?
An inter-ministerial committee has been set up to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on
general contract law. In particular, the committee considered if the pandemic constitutes a force
majeure event that justifies the breach or cancellation of a contract by one party without the payment
of compensation to the other.
According to the committee’s report from July 2020, the epidemic and especially its consequences
could not have been foreseen and it created exceptional circumstances, which materially impaired the
possibility of fulfilling contracts as the parties agreed upon.
However, the committee determines this does not allow the parties to a contract to waive their
contractual obligations and they must make every effort to continue to abide by the contracts they
have entered into, and negotiate with good faith in order adapt the contract’s terms to the current
circumstances.
Furthermore, the committee recommends to legislate individual arrangements for contracts in the field
of shows, banquet halls and private kindergartens, and on the other hand it recommends to not
interfere with such legislation for complex markets, such as the business rental market.
In due course and according to the committee’s conclusions and recommendations, the laws relevant
to property and rent may be amended according to the conclusions and recommendations of the
committee.
In addition, according to the Israeli Rent Law, tenants are exempt from rent payment, provided their
premises cannot be used. Nevertheless, these provisions are not mandatory for non-residential lease
agreements. Many rental agreements for premises serving retail or leisure purposes (which were
completely closed due to government orders) do not apply the Rent Law. Accordingly, such tenants are
not entitled to relief.
Litigation
Are the courts
operating?
On March 15, 2020, the Minister of Justice (MOJ) signed and issued emergency orders affecting most civil
and criminal procedures in Israeli courts. Pursuant to these emergency orders, most hearings in civil cases
were halted, except for special cases such as hearings re motions for temporary and interim remedies.
Moreover, the submission of court papers was also postponed, except if a contradicting and overruling
decision in a specific case was handed down by the relevant court or if a specific date was given to submit
such court papers.
Most of the limitations imposed by the MOJ's emergency orders were lifted on May 10, 2020, thus
resuming any submissions halted due to these emergency orders and allowing most procedural matters to
return to normal, including the holding of court hearings.
Temporary emergency regulations were published to provide extensions for certain tax-related deadlines
as a relief measure due to the COVID-19 pandemic. These include:
• Extensions of the deadlines for reporting and payment of VAT for the months January, February, March,
Has any new
and April 2020, with respect to dealers reporting on a monthly and bi-monthly basis, and automatic
legislation been
cancellation of fines imposed on late reporting (up to five days late);
introduced in light of
•
Extensions of the deadlines for filing 2018 and 2019 income tax returns for individuals/corporations;
Covid-19?
• Extensions of the validity of 2019 withholding tax certificates; and
• Extensions of the validity of 2019 tax coordination certificates.
Tax
In addition, the period between March 22, 2020, and May 31, 2020, shall not be counted as calendar days
when determining the tax-related deadlines detailed under certain sections of various Israeli tax laws, such
as the Israeli Income Tax Ordinance, the Israeli Value Added Tax Law, the Israeli Real Estate Taxation Law etc.
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Government measures in key jurisdictions