Search Results for: Latvia

THE EUROPEAN Investment Bank (EIB) has drafted plans to lend EUR70 million to Latvia’s Riga International Airport operator Starptautiska Lidosta Riga VAS to help finance improvements and capacity expansions scheduled for 2018-23. The operator wants to extend landside terminal facilities; build a new rapid exit taxiway and cargo apron; acquire new explosive detection systems (EDS) equipment meeting European Union standard 3 requirements; rehabilitate airside pavement areas; reconstruct storm water drainage systems; and upgrade airside lighting systems.…

THE CONTINUED vulnerability of European Union (EU) revenue collection and spending to fraud has been brought into sharp relief by a new European Commission statistical analysis on financial crime.

That said, a working paper noted that in terms of revenue through external import duties (called ‘own resources’ in EU jargon) detected fraud cases involving EUR10,000 or more alone in 2017 indicates losses have been falling – but still to EUR76 million.…

A SALES and Services Tax (SST), replacing Malaysia’s now abolished goods and services tax (GST), has come into force (from September 1), via the new Sales Tax Act 2018 and the Service Tax Act 2018. The SST is a single-stage tax, a sales and services tax imposed on manufacturers and service providers rather than end customers, as with the 6% GST.…

THE INTERNATIONAL Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB) has released a new standard on reporting financial instruments – IPSAS 41 – to improve the relevance of financial assets and liabilities data. It replaces financial instruments reporting rules in IPSAS 29, introducing a single classification and measurement model for financial assets, considering an asset’s objective and cash flows.…

A CRACKDOWN coordinated by European Union (EU) police and judicial cooperation authorities, Europol and Eurojust, has caught a network of online scammers responsible for stealing some EUR18 million, with a total 19 arrests. With the ringleader in Cyprus and members in Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Switzerland, Ukraine and the UK, the gang was behind over 35,000 online fraud cases detected since 2012 in a six-year long probe called Operation Warenagent, managed by the public prosecution office of Dresden, and the Saxon state office of criminal investigation, both in Germany, and the Vilnius public prosecutor, in Lithuania.…

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) justice, consumers and gender equality Commissioner Věra Jourová has unveiled the EU’s 2018 Justice Scoreboard, highlighting failings in national justice systems, including not protecting judges from political influence.  “The independence of courts and judges remains an issue in certain member states,” Jourová said, with the perception of independence ranging from nearly 90% in Denmark to 25% in Hungary, the worst performer.…

THE DECISION of the European Commission not to propose a harmonised European Union (EU) approach for excise duty on e-cigarettes and other novel tobacco products has been welcomed by the tobacco sector for avoiding punitive taxation on a nascent segment.

But should such rules ultimately be introduced the tobacco sector may not oppose them if they reflect the lower health risks involved in consuming such products by enabling lower excise duty bands.…

INTERNATIONAL tenders are now open to expand Latvia’s Riga International Airport (RIX), with bidders being asked to propose designs for a new expanded terminal. With increased passenger and flight numbers, the existing terminal’s check-in, security, and luggage claim areas are no longer able to accommodate ongoing traffic growth.…

THE USA’S Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has proposed banning correspondent bank relationships within the United States for the Latvia-based ABLV Bank which it says has aided money laundering. With US treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin immediately backing the move, the clampdown is sure to happen, maybe within three months.…

THE EUROPEAN Commission has announced its latest funding for helping European Union (EU) member states fight animal diseases, such as bovine tuberculosis, rabies, bovine brucellosis, African swine fever and lumpy skin disease, by allocating more than EUR140 million for 2018.…