Czech News - February/March 1998 - New Laws and Treaties Published in the Collec

Preferential customs duty

The Governmental Decree No. 17/1998 Coll. provided for a preferential customs duty imposed on importation of some agricultural and alimentary products from the EU, such as dry milk, butter, cheeses, potatoes, etc. The Decree expires on 31 December 1998.

Trade Agreements

A Trade Agreement between the Government of the Czech Republic and Columbia was published under No. 19/1998 Coll.

A Trade Agreement between the Government of the Czech Republic and Macedonia was published under No. 14/1998 Coll.

Ministry of Finance Instructions

Decree D - 174

Decree D-174 deals with the procedure of annual reconciliation of prepayments of personal income tax relating to dependent activity in international economic employment structure.

Decree D - 177 (draft)

Decree D-177 provides an explanation as to who is a beneficial owner of yields from dematerialised securities when double tax treaties are applied.

According to the Decree, the beneficial owner is the person who really receives yields from securities, even though the securities account is in the name of another person (mediator, broker, agent, administrator). Based on the decree, the declaration of the account holder concerning the residence of the owner will be decisive for application of treaty provisions.

The original decree D-91 regarding this area and its explanations will be cancelled by decree D-177.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.

For further information on the above, please contact Mr Richard Fletcher by telephone on +420 2 2440 1300 or E-mail directly to richard.g.fletcher@arthurandersen.com