Hungary vs. Google

On 12 September 2019, the advocate general of the European Court of Justice held that Hungary’s advertisement tax legislation based on which Google was fined HUF 1 billion (approx. EUR 3 million) constitutes an unjustifiable restriction on the freedom to provide services. Hungary’s advertisement tax was introduced in 2014 as a special tax on the turnover from the broadcasting or publication of advertisements. Individuals or entities that broadcast or publish advertisements may – irrespective of their residence – be subject…

Amendments to the Hungarian Labour Code

Hungary has recently amended its labour code in order to increase permissible overtime levels. On an annual basis, permissible overtime has increased from 250 hours per year to 400 hours per year. Such overtime overrides any collective labour agreements in place. The new legislation leaves the 48 hours/week work limit unchanged but raises the overtime banking period to 3 years from 1 year. In practice, it will be possible for an employer to pay the employee for overtimes in one…

Hungary proposes screening of FDI

The Hungarian government has recently proposed legislative changes designed to enable regulatory screening of foreign acquisitions of certain Hungarian companies. Designed to protect strategic businesses, the proposed changes would include oversight of certain services (such as finance and telecoms) and critical infrastructure and technologies subject to potential interest by non-European bidders. Legislative motivation is on national security and public policy grounds. Proposed oversight would be applicable for acquistions in excess of 25% of Hungarian companies (10% if the target is…

New amendment to the Hungarian Civil Code

The purpose of the new amendment to the Hungarian Civil Code, effective as of 1 October 2016, is to make effective the independent mortgage, which was used under the former civil code, along with refining rules with respect to the security deposit. The independent mortgage is a security that does not require enforcement dependent on the loan or other security relationships between a creditor and debtor. It is inspired from the German Civil Code. Starting with 1 October 2016 the…