On Tuesday, July 6, the Saeima in the second reading supported the amendments to the Commercial Law and the Law On the Register of Enterprises of the Republic of Latvia, thus starting the implementation of the norms of the Digitalisation Directive in commercial activities. The amendments aim to improve the transparency of the business environment and reduce the bureaucratic burden on businesses within the European Union as a single area.
Changes in the legal framework envisage the Register of Enterprises (hereinafter - the Register) to ensure the publicity of the commercial register at the national and European Union (hereinafter - EU) level, at the same time ensuring the exchange of information with the commercial registers of other EU countries.
Amendments to the laws will provide the right to submit applications in the commercial registers of all EU countries digitally - without physical presence, including Latvian entrepreneurs - in the commercial registers of other EU countries and entrepreneurs of other EU countries - in the Register. The changes also stipulate that the entries in the commercial register will be published on the informative website https://info.ur.gov.lv.
Reducing the administrative burden for entrepreneurs, the amendments envisage replacing the current consent of the owner of the registered address (immovable property) for the registration of the address with a statement of the board member on the right to be at the said address. At the same time, changes in the legal framework will increase the responsibility of board members, firstly, to ensure that the merchant is registered at the address where it has legal grounds to be (e.g. a lease) and, secondly, to ensure that the merchant can be reached at that address.
The amendments to the law come into force on August 1, 2021.