The current COVID-19 crisis has activated worldwide many initiatives to support and help those who are in need, mostly fragmented on a regional scale. Nevertheless we all are facing the same challenges and are looking for solutions in order to support the entire healthcare sector.

At the same time we have to prepare the necessary support following the outbreak. The proposals on this platform can be supportive for this phase too.

The ‘Care & Industry together against CORONA’ platform aims to bring together all of the different actors in Europe to:

• match offers and requests
• share knowledge and approaches
• give an overview of tailor-made support in your own region
• …

At ‘Care & Industry together against CORONA’, we offer the opportunity to make targeted and time-efficient contacts with all actors in healthcare, industry, academia and government. By means of an online platform, interested parties can present their profile.

To ensure a maximum of reliability and to avoid fraud and abuse, the different profiles will be strictly validated by regional EEN organisations (In Estonia: Tallinn Science Park Tehnopol, Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry).

Topics for cooperation

• Consumer Goods (Prevention/Diagnostics/Treatment/Rehabilitation)
• Diagnostics (Biomedical/Medical Technology)
• Emergency Medicine/Rescue Equipment
• Hospital & Care Equipment
• Hygiene, Sterilisation, Disinfection
• Imaging
• Information Technology
• Communication Technology
• Intensive Medicine, Anaesthesiology, Respiration
• Laboratory Technology
• Physiotherapy
• Therapy & Physical Medicine
• Gaming Technology
• Leisure
• Corona Measures & Support
• Others

We invite you to participate on this platform, to choose the topics for which you have or need a solution, and find a partner for discussions and moving forward. For each region you also can find supporting service organisations on the marketplace.

Please read the “How it works” section carefully and complete your profile as tailor-made as possible in order to have the best possible impact.

 

More information: https://care-industry-together-against-corona.b2match.io/

 

 

The Parliament is conducting proceedings over a cluster draft act, which aims to amend 33 Acts due to the emergency situation. We have prepared an overview of the amendments that have an impact on businesses. For example, the state would like to extend the term of validity of various certificates and other documents as well as make changes to the regulation concerning foreign labour. Read about the changes and let us know what you think of the planned amendments.

Amendments to the Aliens Act

Under the emergency situation, the Government of the Republic has the ability to extend the term of short-term employment in Estonia. The applicable law generally allows working in Estonia for short periods of time for 365 days during 455 consecutive days, but according to the amendment, the Government of the Republic will have the right to extend it to up to 730 days during 913 consecutive days, i.e. two years during two and a half years.

The aliens who were unable to return to the country of origin and who have the legal basis to stay in Estonia can apply for a long-term visa from the Police and Border Guard Board after the emergency situation has passed.

The Aliens Act will be updated with a provision according to which the Police and Border Guard Board will have the right to terminate an alien’s stay in Estonia and void a long-term visa if the employment contract, another contract or activity expires or has expired and the main aim of the alien’s stay in Estonia is employment.

Reclaiming of salary support received from the Unemployment Insurance Fund in the emergency situation

Pursuant to the applicable Labour Market Services and Benefits Act, employers are required to repay the salary support fully if the employment relationship is terminated by the initiative of the employer before the expiry of the foreseen term. With the amendment the Unemployment Insurance Fund is given the right of discretion to waive the right to claim from an employer the sums used for providing labour market services, if the situation resulting in the claim has arisen in relation to the emergency situation. Employers will be obliged to justify that they were unable to perform the conditions of using the service due to the emergency situation.

Term for the obligation to submit a bankruptcy application is suspended for the period of the emergency situation

The management board of a legal entity is obliged to submit to the court a bankruptcy application within 20 days from the occurrence of insolvency. According to the draft act, such period is suspended for the period of the emergency situation and for two months after the end of the emergency situation. During that period a bankruptcy application cannot be filed by a creditor of a legal entity, except an employee who does not receive the salary compensation foreseen in the emergency situation.

Amendments related to the requirements for the environmental and integrated environmental permits

During the emergency situation, the Environmental Board may change the requirements for the environmental permit and integrated environmental permit that regulate the special use of water without having to follow all the requirements for the procedure of changing the permit set out in the General Part of the Environmental Code Act, Water Act and Industrial Emissions Act, if the performance of the requirements for the permit and observance of the requirements for the proceeding are not possible due to an objective hindrance during the period of the emergency situation. Implementing the amendments is limited with the period of the emergency situation or with up to 90 days after the end of the emergency situation.

Holders of the audit certificate, the validity of which expires during the period of the emergency situation, have the right to continue taking samples for water and potable water research in the areas of activity listed in the audit certificate, taking into account the requirements set forth in the Water Act. The validity of this is also is limited with the period of the emergency situation or not longer than 6 months after the end of the emergency situation.

The need to change the permit as a result of the emergency situation is not a need faced only by water operators, but also other holders of the environmental permit or integrated environmental permit (e.g. companies mining mineral resources, various industrial companies) who also have the obligation to follow monitor the limit values of emissions (including the related obligation to clean wastewater), but due to the disturbances in the supply of chemicals necessary to clean wastewater and closing of the laboratories that analyse water samples, it is impossible to fulfil these obligations.

Certificates of competency of professional drivers

The Road Transport Act is updated in a way that if the document verifying the competence of a professional driver expires during the period from 1 March to 30 November and the person is unable to take the necessary refresher training due to the current emergency situation, they may submit an application to the Road Administration to request a temporary document verifying his or her competence without a training. Such document is valid until 30 November of this year. In the event a driver carrying hazardous loads is not able to take ADR refresher training and pass an exam due to the current situation, they may also request a new temporary training certificate, which will be valid until 30 November. The amendment will allow professional drivers whose certificate of competence is about to expire, to carry on working with a company organising road transport. No state fee is charged for such temporary documents. The exception enters into force on the day following its publication in the State Gazette.

Certificate of competence of the safety advisor of a company involved in carriage of hazardous goods

The Chemicals Act is updated in a way that if the certificate of competence of a safety advisor expires during the period from 1 March to 1 November and due to the current emergency situation they are unable to take the necessary training and obtain the certificate, the safety advisor may submit an application to obtain a new temporary certificate, which is valid until 30 November 2020. The certificate is issued for the safety advisor by the Road Administration and in case of carriage by rail, by the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority. No state fee is charged for such temporary documents. The exception enters into force on the day following its publication in the State Gazette.

Validity of employee’s health certificate in the fields of activity that contribute to the spreading of communicable diseases is extended

According to the Communicable Diseases Prevention and Control Act, employers are required to request from the person starting work a health certificate on health check regarding communicable diseases, if the peculiarities of work may contribute to the spreading of communicable diseases. The health certificate is required in areas of activity listed in Section 13(1) of the respective act, i.e. handlers of food, teachers, employees of childcare institutions, beauty and personal service providers that have immediate contact with clients etc.

The draft gives employers the opportunity to employ during the emergency situation, state of emergency or state of war people without health certificates, if necessary. Furthermore, people whose health certificate expires during the emergency situation can continue working. Health checks must be passed and a valid health certificate must be obtained within 90 days after the end of the emergency situation.

In order to ensure that safe conditions are ensured in these areas even during the emergency situation, employers are obliged to request from their employees a confirmation in a format that can be reproduced in writing regarding the fact that they are not ill with a communicable disease and they have no symptoms of a communicable disease. For that, an employer may prepare a questionnaire or use the health declaration form available on the website of the Health Board.

The amendments enter into force on the day following its publication in the State Gazette.

Health checks and health certificates of blasters, senior blaster and pyrotechnician

According to the Explosive Substances Act, a blaster, senior blaster and pyrotechnician have to pass a health check before commencing work as well as periodically during work, i.e. with certain intervals they need to pass new health checks. A health certificate is issued for the check. The draft act will establish an exception according to which a valid health certificate is not required if the health certificate expires during the period of the emergency situation or within 30 days from the end of the emergency situation. In such case, validity of certificate of competency is not suspended due to absence of a valid health certificate and workers can continue work at undertakings involved in organising blast works or fireworks without a valid health certificate for 30 days after the end of the current emergency situation. The exception enters into force on the day following its publication in the State Gazette.

Validity of the activity licence of land surveyors is extended

According to the amendment of the Land Cadastre Act that entered into force on 1.07.2018, the activity licence for land readjustment work is issued only to a natural person and the activity licences already issued to legal entities will no longer be valid from 1.07.2020. According to the amendment planned with the draft act, the term of validity of such licence is extended. Namely, if a licence issued before 1 July should expire now, this licence may be used as a basis for operating for another six months after the end of the current emergency situation. Thus, the final term of validity of the licences held by legal entities is extended as is the case also for the licences of natural persons that are about to expire. The amendment will enter into force under general terms, i.e. on the tenth day after its publication in the State Gazette.

Exceptions to the Railways Act to ensure continuation of traffic on railways

Pursuant to the procedure established on the basis of the Railways Act, a railway worker must pass periodical health checks with the frequency of 5, 3 or 1 year(s). The frequency depends on the age and profession. In order for railway workers to be able to continue performing their tasks in the conditions of the emergency situation where health certificates are not issued, an exception has been established, according to which a railway worker may perform their tasks even without a valid health certificate and the right to conduct a railway vehicle is not suspended due to the absence of a valid health certificate. A railway operator is obliged to ensure with available means and internal rules that the health status of an employee ensures safety of work on railway.

The exception is implemented also in relation to invitations: if due to the emergency situation, it is not possible to update the invitation, the competence of a person is considered verified based on the expired profession.

Communications undertakings must start informing the users of roaming services of risks

The Electronic Communications Act is updated in the way that communications undertakings would have a basis to process, in addition to the location data of their clients, also the location data of a person using roaming services in order to inform them of events that may pose a risk to their health and safety. Namely, a government agency may oblige a communications undertaking to notify, in addition to its clients, clients of foreign communications undertakings who are using the roaming service in Estonia (i.e. people who are temporarily staying in the mobile communications network of an Estonian communications undertaking. While at the moment, a communications undertaking may currently be obliged to do that and send instructions only by the Police and Border Guard Board or a rescue institution, the amendment will give this right to another government agency, head of the emergency situation or head of emergency works. There is a restriction according to which a communications undertaking may be obliged to notify only if it is unavoidably necessary, considering the circumstances.

The amendment enters into force on the day following its publication in the State Gazette and will be implemented retroactively from 12 March as by the decree of the head of the emergency situation, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications has been imposing the obligation on communications undertakings to notify their clients and users of the roaming service already since 12 March. The amendment may also be used for emergency situations in the future.

Ensuring availability of medicines

The State Agency of Medicines will have the right to temporarily restrict prescription of medicines and allow temporary exceptions in the Medicines Act as well as related requirements for handling medicines, requirements for clinical testing of medicines, requirements for presenting safety information of medicines and requirements for disseminating information during the emergency situation, state of emergency or state of war. In situations where the primary task is to ensure availability of medicines, it is justified to limit direct mailing and other methods of advertising medicines. Furthermore, there may be a need to restrict selling medicines in pharmacies (in terms of quantity) or impose restrictions on the wholesale level (may be given only to a medicinal institution).

Furthermore, keeping of a branch pharmacy of a general pharmacy is allowed in a city district of a city with more than 4,000 residents if the district is located geographically far from the centre of the city and there is a justified need for availability of medicines in this district. There may be different reasons for that, e.g. distance of the nearest pharmacy or demographic data (age of the residents) etc. Allowing a branch pharmacy to operate is no longer justified if a compliant general pharmacy is opened in the city district.

Local municipalities will have the chance to take larger loans

As a temporary measure, local municipality units will be allowed to take loans in larger volumes during 2020 and 2021. During these years, the net debt burden as of the end of a reporting year may be up to tenfold difference between the revenue from principal activities and expenses of principal activities (it is currently six-fold). In essence the draft act increases the ceiling of loans to approximately 1.7 billion euros instead of the current 1.2 billion. The aim of the amendment is to allow, in an emergency situation caused by the corona virus and the following period, the local municipalities to take larger loans to boost economy through investments. The amendment will enter into force under general terms, i.e. on the tenth day after its publication in the State Gazette.

 

We have prepared an overview of the state’s tax package, the aim of which is to alleviate the negative impact on companies resulting from the corona virus outbreak and establishing the emergency situation. The tax package includes, for example, decreasing of the excise duties for fuels, suspension of interest on tax arrears and ensuring health insurance for members of the board for the period of the emergency situation.

Excise duty on diesel fuel, natural gas and electricity will be temporarily decreased

The excise duty on diesel fuel will be decreased from 49.3 cents to 37.2 cents per litre. The state presumes that decreasing the excise duty will decrease the price of diesel fuel by 14.5 cents per litre. The excise duty for special purpose diesel fuel used in agriculture will decrease from 13.3 cents to 10 cents per litre. The excise duty rate for electricity will decrease from 79.14 euros to 40 euros per 1,000 m³, which is approximately the level of the year 2017. The excise duty for liquid gas will be decreased by two times. Additionally, the excise duty for light fuel oil, heavy fuel oil, shale-derived fuel oil, natural gas for engine, liquified natural gas for engine and components of diesel fuel will be decreased. The fuel excise duties will be decreased during the period from 1 May 2020 to 30 April 2022.

Health insurance of members of the board and people employed under a contract according to the Law of Obligations Act will not be interrupted during the emergency situation

According to the amendment of the Health Insurance Act, the health insurance of a member of the board, member of the supervisory council, a person earning salaries or service fees based on a contract under the law of obligations and a person paying taxes on business income will not be interrupted if no social tax is paid to the extent of at least the minimum obligation of social tax during the emergency situation. The insurance cover for the people listed above will be valid until the tenth date of the second month after the end of the emergency situation.

Amendments related to the social tax

Pursuant to the Social Tax Act, employers are required to pay social tax only on the payments made, not on the least monthly rate. This means that the amendment will release the employers from the obligation to pay social tax on the least monthly rate for each of their employee. This exception will be applicable for March, April and May of 2020. The amendment will be a benefit for those employers whose employees earn less than 540 euros per month. Thus, this amendment may serve the employers whose employees are working part time or are on unpaid vacation. This amendment will not affect the status of the health insurance of employees.

The Social Tax Act will also include an exception for sole proprietors. In case of the sole proprietors, the state will pay to the tax administrator for the sole proprietor’s social tax advance payment calculated for the first quarter of this year. If a sole proprietor has already paid the advance payment, the advance payment account of that person will have an excess payment, which may be left there to cover future tax obligations, or an application may be filed to request refund of the excess payment. The amendment will not influence the social guarantees of the sole proprietor.

Amendments related to tax interests

The Taxation Act will be updated with a provision according to which the obligation to calculate and pay interest from tax arrears is suspended from 1 March until the end of the emergency situation. This means that companies are not required to prepare interest calculation entries or pay tax interest. The amendment concerns calculation of interest on arrears that occurred earlier as well as those from 1 March. The amendment will also mean that payment of interests on postponed tax arrears will also be suspended.
Furthermore, the overall tax interest rate will decrease from 0.06 percent to 0.03 percent per day after the end of the emergency situation until 31 December 2021.

The amendment of the Taxation Act will also give the tax administrator the right to decrease the interest rate during postponing of the payment of the tax arrears. The tax administrator has the right to decrease the interest rate of postponed payment of tax arrears to the extent of 100 percent from the date of making the decision to postpone payment during the period from 1 May 2020 to 31 December 2021. The amendment also concerns the tax arrears payment schedules already in force. At the moment, it is allowed to decrease the postponed tax arrears interest rate up to 50 percent.

Tax and Customs Board will have the right to suspend publishing of tax data

The Taxation Act will be updated with a provision that will allow the Tax and Customs Board to suspend disclosure on the internet of data on taxes paid by operators and the number of persons employed by them. Publishing of the tax data may be suspended from the declaring of the emergency situation until two months after the end of the emergency situation. The state explains the amendment with the reasoning that disclosure of tax data during this time might not give an adequate overview of the tax obedience of operators.

By now, the Tax and Customs Board has temporarily closed the tax arrears query, i.e. at the moment it is not possible to check if a transaction partner has tax arrears or not. Although the tax arrears information is not currently published, tenderers with non-postponed tax arrears still cannot participate in public procurements.

Lower value added tax for e-books and electronic publications

A reduced value added tax rate of 9 percent will be applicable for e-books, electronic educational literature and electronically available journalistic publications. The decreased value added tax rate is not applicable if the publication is meant mainly for advertising or private announcements, or mainly of erotic or pornographic content or a publication of video or music content. At the moment, a decreased rate is applicable only for hard copy books, exercise books and periodicals. The amendments will enter into force from 1 May of this year.

State to stop payments into the second pillar of the funded pension

In relation to the suspension of payment of the state’s share (4 percent) of the funded pension payments from 1 July 2020, people have the option to choose in October 2020 if they stop the payment of their 2 percent share from 1 December. In order to stop the payments, a person has to submit an application to the account manager or pension registrar. For the people who submit their applications to stop the payments will no longer pay their 2 percent from December 2020. Payments are not made until 31 August 2021. For the people who continue paying their 2 percent of the funded pension payment, will receive the state’s share of 6 percent instead of the current 4 percent until 2025. People, who stopped the payment of their 2 percent share, will receive 6 percent of the state’s share from 1 January 2023 until October of the same year. Exceptions are foreseen for people born during the period of 1942 to 1960.

Amendments related to the income tax

Sole proprietors are given the right to deduct additionally up to 5,000 euros from the revenue gained from the transfer of timber harvested from a registered immovable that belongs to them. At the moment, this sum is 2,877 euros. Additionally, sole proprietors will have the same right with respect to income earned from transfer of the right to harvest growing forest. The same rights are foreseen also for natural persons. These amendments are implemented retroactively from 1 January 2020.

Tax package discussed at the Riigikogu

As the Riigikogu has not yet passed the tax package, changes may be made to it. Should you have any proposals or comments regarding the tax package, please let our lawyers know by writing to juristid@koda.ee. The Riigikogu is planning to pass the tax package in the nearest future.