A joint venture in Hungary succeeds when the partners translate their business plan into enforceable governance and exit rules. Hungarian practice usually favours a limited liability company (Kft.) for most projects and a private company limited by shares (Zrt.) for larger or investment-heavy ventures, but the vehicle is secondary to the quality of the shareholders’ agreement. This article concentrates on avoiding paralysis in a fifty–fifty ownership structure by designing specific decision rules, timed escalation, and credible exit outcome.

A widely applied business model among software development companies is providing software development services for other businesses. Few of these companies know that they can still claim tax relief in this case too, just as they would be able to if they were developing software for their own purposes.

If you’ve never sued or been sued, you may be forgiven for thinking that the costs of the lawsuit are paid by the losing party. However, after a case is closed, the winner of the suit may easily find that its win was a Pyrrhic victory, and that it is left with substantial costs to shoulder, without compensation. What are the impacts of this on business and how should parties best manage the related risks?

More than two years ago as a transitional rule, the acquisition of ownership interest in Hungarian companies by foreigners became subject to authorisation. The rule seems to have become permanent in the meantime, though many questions of legal interpretation remain unanswered. Some market players are following the process with resignation, others with serious reservations.

Most of Hungary’s family-owned small and medium-sized enterprises are made up of a single business, typically a limited liability company (Kft.), but in the higher echelons of the SME sector they tend to operate as groups comprised of several companies. How are these company groups formed and what is the rationale behind them? When should you start to establish a company group?

There are many reasons why tax disputes drag on for so long in our legal system. Of these, one was eliminated by a decision recently taken by a chamber of Hungary’s supreme court, the Curia. The question, of course, is how far this decision will set a precedent.

On 30 September 2022 the Council of the European Union discussed and adopted a draft EU extra tax regulation aimed at the energy sector. Under the regulation, member states will receive, as budget revenue, part of the windfall profits generated by the energy sector. For Hungarian operators, the legislation is particularly important in view of the windfall taxes introduced for renewable energy producers in June 2022.

The title may sound like a bogus question – but it is far from it. What many people do not know is that cash payments are prohibited or restricted between businesses in many cases. And even fewer people know that cash payments over a certain threshold are subject to the full rigour of money laundering regulations.