At an extraordinary sitting on Friday, 3 April, the Saeima adopted amendments to the Law on Measures to Prevent and Overcome the Threat to National Security and Its Consequences Due to the Spread of COVID-19, thus introducing additional measures. Support will be provided in various areas, including compliance with obligations, tax compliance, and civil litigation. 

The amendments enable all the crisis-affected taxpayers to apply for a tax extension. Thus, such support will be provided not only to companies operating in the crisis-affected sectors, but to all taxpayers, according to the explanatory note to the amendments. 

As for compliance with obligations, amendments limit the late payment interest for delay in complying with a civil law obligation in the period from 1 April to 1 September 2020 to the statutory cap of 6%. 

The amendments also freeze the count of statute of limitations for the statutory rights of obligations from 12 March to 1 July 2020, thus enabling creditors and debtors to resolve civil disputes to defend their interests in court later rather than now. 

Taking into account the restrictions on mass gatherings and contacts imposed during the state of emergency, the amendments provide for remote participation and voting in general meetings of members of an association or cooperative society, as well as for holding remotely creditors' meetings in insolvency proceedings. 

The amendments also allow legal and natural persons to electronically submit applications for insolvency proceedings, while postal service companies may use electronically prepared receipts for the delivery of postpaid items. 

During the coronavirus-caused state of emergency and six months after its end, when submitting an application to approve or amend a legal protection process action plan, the term of implementation of the legal protection process will not exceed four years. 

The amendments also enable the court to rule on postponing the deadline for a debtor to make payments specified in the redemption plan to the creditor, while respectively extending the total redemption period. 

As for religious organisations, the amendments enable them to set up a donation hotline during the state of emergency. 

The amendments will enter into force on the next day after their promulgation. 

Saeima Press Service