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This year is the point where the economy peaked – it can’t get any better. We already see economic growth tapering off in Estonia, the EU and elsewhere. But will we lose our footing as we slide downhill or will we be able to softly glissade down the easy slopes?

From the 1st of September 2018, all Estonian companies will be required to submit data on their beneficial owners to the Commercial Register of Estonia.

The date when the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) entered into force, May 25th, came and went with many companies still unsure about what needs to be done to be compliant with the GDPR.

In September, a new amendment to the Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing Prevention Act will enter into force, requiring companies to disclose data on their beneficial owners.

According to the GDPR people have right to query data processors about the data they hold about them. People have right to ask what data a processor holds about them, for what purpose and what is done to the data. They also have a right to rectify and erase data. Data processor is obliged to reply within 30 days of the request being made to comply with the regulation.

Starting 15 January 2018, Estonian companies managed from abroad will have the obligation to designate a contact person. That means all Estonian companies whose management board is located abroad must appoint an Estonian-based contact person.

By the end of the first quarter – 31 March – all companies must draw up and communicate to employees a holiday schedule for the current year.

The new General Data Protection Regulation will enter into force in May 2018. That makes now the last time for public sector organisations, private sector companies and NGOs to start to evaluate whether and what changes they need to make in their personal data management systems – in other words, to carry out a compliance assessment.

Effective 15 January 2018, an amendment to the Commercial Code comes into force requiring all Estonian companies whose management board is located abroad to appoint a contact person in Estonia.

Reminder: main changes in tax legislation in 2017

Major changes in tax legislation in 2018

Companies trading with financial instruments should apply for an LEI code now, as in the absence of one they are not able to buy and sell securities listed on stock exchanges as of 3 January 2018. It means that all companies who trade assets such as shares, bonds or derivatives on securities markets through an investment service provider (such as banks) will have to apply for an LEI code.

Grant Thornton Baltic offers the possibility to outsource data protection officer service. Developed in line with the European Union’s Guidelines on Data Protection Officers, the service charges a monthly flat fee that is significantly more cost-effective for companies than recruiting an expert for their own team.

The new system for calculating the basic income tax exemption that comes into force next year requires a compromise to be reached between employees and employers.

What happens if a cyber criminal manages to gain access to critical systems in the "smart house"?

On 1 January 2018, a new Labour Dispute Resolution Act (hereinafter referred to as TVS by its Estonian acronym) will enter into force, supplanting the Individual Labour Dispute Resolution Act (hereinafter ITVS) in force up to 31 December.