The Companies and Limited Partnerships Amendment Bill, introduced on 13 October 2011, proposes changes that will affect companies, company directors and limited partnerships.

The principal driver has been the government’s desire to maintain New Zealand’s reputation as a trusted place to do business, and to restrict the ability of New Zealand-registered shell companies to be used for offshore criminal purposes. Read the rest of this entry »

What has changed?

From 1 October 2011, gift duty is no longer payable.  This has particular significance for family trusts.  Gifting programmes commonly in place for family trusts whereby gifts of $27,000 per year are made will no longer be required.     Read the rest of this entry »

On May 9 2011, the government announced a fresh water policy package for NZ, the major first step for the future protection and management of NZ’s freshwater resources.  The package included a national policy statement for fresh water management, a fresh water cleanup fund, a water infrastructure fund for supporting the development of new irrigation storage and distribution projects, and a further work program. Read the rest of this entry »

Commerce Minister Simon Power has announced that the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) will be up and running on 1 May 2011, after the Bill to establish it was passed unanimously in Parliament on 7 April 2011.

Since the onset of the global financial crisis, there have been increasing concerns about the quality of enforcement in securities markets. Failures of a number of finance companies, and concerns around the KiwiSaver regulatory environment, have highlighted these issues. Read the rest of this entry »

Changes to GST rules and their application to transactions which involve land will take effect from 1 April 2011. Read the rest of this entry »

Incoterms are a set of internationally recognised regulations that define delivery terms between contracting parties.  There are a number of Incoterms to choose from and contracting parties are able to voluntarily adopt the terms that best suit their needs.  The International Chamber of Commerce has recently completed a review of Incoterms 2000 (which have been in force since 1 January 2000) and issued new Incoterms 2010, which came into effect from 1 January 2011.  Read the rest of this entry »

New legislation has been passed in New Zealand and Australia to allow for a more efficient approach to civil proceedings that have a trans-Tasman element.  The Act effects the following changes, in relation to civil procedure:

• Provides for a direct service between Courts, in either country, when initiating documents of certain civil proceedings (in the same manner those documents would be served in New Zealand); Read the rest of this entry »

The advance of globalization has brought about convenience as well as an increased numbers of international disputes, resolutions and issues surrounding enforcement of judgments around the globe.  In this post, we briefly set out the different methods of enforcing foreign judgments in New Zealand. Read the rest of this entry »

The much awaited Supreme Court decision in relation to the two high profile leaky building cases, Sunset Terraces and Byron Avenue, was released on Friday 17 December 2010. 

In both cases, the North Shore City Council (“the Council”) appealed the decisions of the Court of Appeal regarding its liability for negligent inspection in leaky homes cases.  In the Court of Appeal, the Council was held liable in negligence to the owners of the apartments in these two complexes.

The Supreme Court dismissed the Council’s appeals. Read the rest of this entry »

In a landmark decision that will likely have significant effects for investors who have fallen victim to the Blue Chip scheme, the Supreme Court ruled against Whangarei pensioners Bruce and Dorothy Bartle in their battle to avoid the huge debts incurred to buy into an apartment from Blue Chip.  This decision will be of particular interest to those offering credit contracts. Read the rest of this entry »