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Notaries and business

As from 1 January 2006, it has been possible to meet the taxation requirements on some real estate transfers at the land registry's valuation, regardless of the price agreed and shown in the contract. The rule that first introduced the price-value concept was Article 1, Paragraph 497 of Law no. 266 of 23 December 2005 (2006 Budget); there were two subsequent amendments: Article 35, Paragraph 21 of Legislative Decree no. 223 of 4 July 2006, converted with modifications into Law no. 248 of

One of the essential elements in the negotiation of a home loan is the delay allowed for  repayment of the capital, i.e. the duration. In general terms, one may say that the longer the duration of a home loan the lower the amount of each repayment instalment, which gives the borrower more breathing space; all this, however, means paying overall a larger amount in  interest, precisely because the capital is repaid more slowly. The practice also is that a longer duration

Home loans are generally guaranteed by a mortgage and so are the preserve, in our legal system, of the notary. The presence of the notarial profession has become more significant with the recent increase in the number of such contracts, a result of the lower cost of money (though this is still subject to fluctuations) and improvements in living standards that allow an ever greater number of citizens to aspire to the ownership of their home and often of a second home as well. Year after ye

If the parties wish to set up an general partnership, they must respect the specific rules laid down in this regard by the Civil Code, bearing in mind, in any case that, for many aspects, the law refers the reader to the provisions regulating informal partnerships, which consequently apply equally to general partnerships. So that, in the light the foregoing, the present file foresees multiple referrals to the subjects already dealt with and developed with regard to the informal partners

In order to avoid the notary's fees, which like any other professional service are calculated on the real price, becoming a possible disincentive for the application of the new rule, the lawmakers stipulated that those fees should be reduced; the reduction is set at 30 per cent. The National Council of Notaries, in order to ensure the full application of this new regulation and to meet the demands of Consumer Associations, has determined that the reduction should apply not only to the specific i

A joint-stock company must be set up through a public deed which must clearly indicate who the parties to the contract are. Such parties may be individuals but also legal entities (as for instance other joint-stock companies, partnerships, cooperatives or other bodies).The Memorandum of Association must indicate the Municipality in which the company has its registered office, which is where it operates, and the name of the company which must contain the wording “"società per azioni" or "s.p.

Any change, even only a purely formal change, in the clauses of the by-laws of a company is considered to be an amendment to the by-laws.  As a rule this competence belongs to the extraordinary shareholders’ meeting and the relevant decision must be written in the minutes by a notary public and then registered with the Register of Companies.The decision must be taken by a majority vote, any clause in the bylaws setting forth that unanimity is required to change the Memorandum of Association

The limited liability company is intended for smaller companies than joint-stock companies, and the equity participation in the company has a personal connotation which is absent in the s.p.a.  In fact, it has a limited number of shareholders who are not personally responsible for the social security liabilities, even if they have acted in the name and on behalf of the company.The legislation in place as of 1 January 2004 has had a major impact on the limited liability company, which is an e

The board of statutory auditors is the audit body of the joint-stock companies that adopt the traditional system:  it has the task of monitoring the company’s compliance with the law and the Memorandum of Association and has a supervisory function with regard to the actions of management. The Board of Auditors only exceptionally exercise accountancy control  and they do so only in closed companies, that is, companies which do not have recourse to the venture capital market, and only if envis

With the provisions that entered into force as of 1 January 2004, the dissolution of companies with share capital is governed by new rules.A company may be dissolved because: its term of duration has expired,  the corporate aims have been achieved or circumstances have set in that make it impossible to achieve them, the shareholders’ meeting cannot or will not function, the share capital has dropped to values below the minimum legal requirements (but the company may decide to reconstitute th

In early 2003 the Italian legislator issued a law decree (n° 6 of 17 January 2003) which thoroughly reformed companies limited by shares.  The declared aim was to simplify, where appropriate, and enrich, wherever possible, the rules governing such companies, with a view to increasing their competitiveness on both domestic and international markets.Many changes were made and the following results have been achieved:  a better, though still not complete, co-ordination between the rules governi

The functioning of the company with share capital, in its traditional model, is based on the necessary simultaneous presence of three bodies:  the shareholders’ meeting, the board of directors and the board of statutory auditors, each of which has its own distinct sphere of competence. Accounts are audited by an auditor or by an audit firm, except for closed companies where this is decided in the By-laws.The shareholders’ meeting, which is a sovereign body since it is empowered to decide on

From the historic and regulatory point of view, the joint-stock company is the prototype of the company with share capital whose body of rules apply to the limited partnerships with share capital (s.a.p.a.), with which it is compatible, and in some respects they are very close to the rules that govern the limited liability company, which however makes little reference to the rules on joint-stock companies, which consequently do not directly apply. The joint-stock company (s.p.a.) differs fro

Limited partnerships with share capital is a modified form of a company with share capital in which permanent directors manage the company who have unlimited liability, also contingent liability, for  social security liabilities. The provisions that are specific for this type of company are reduced to a few which concern above all the management of the company by the unlimited partners.    The peculiar characteristic of this type of company consists in the co-existence of two different group

The dissolution and liquidation of an s.a.p.a. is governed in general by the rules put forth for companies with share capital and joint-stock companies, to which the reader is referred (please refer to the related paragraph).Besides the ordinary reasons for winding up a company with share capital, there is an additional reason which holds only for limited partnerships with share capital, i.e. the case in which all the unlimited partners step down from office and they are not replaced within

On the basis of the provisions in force as of 1 January 2004, the administration of joint-stock companies may be organised according to three separate models:  the traditional model, the monistic model (of Anglo-Saxon origin) and the two-tier model (of German origin).In the traditional model, the directors have the task of running the company, and are accordingly provided with the power of being pro-active i.e. promoting the decision-making activity of the meeting (power of initiative), of i

In particular, it is pointed out that there are different rules as compared with the s.p.a. for the adoption of certain decisions (amendments to the Memorandum of Association, revocation and replacement of directors, appointment and revocation of the members of the supervision board). Hence the need to seek the advice of a notary public.For all other aspects, please refer to the joint-stock companies (please refer to the related paragraph).

Amendments to the Memorandum of Association must be approved not only by the extraordinary meeting but also by all the unlimited partners. The advice of the notary public may be useful in deciding on issues related to this mode of approval. For all other aspects, please refer to the joint-stock companies (please refer to the related paragraph).

Co-operatives are associations of persons which are protected in the Italian Constitution:  in fact Article 45 of the Italian Constitution states: “the Constitution recognises the social function of co-operative societies that are based on the values of solidarity and that do not pursue goals of private profit”.In co-operatives predominant importance is ascribed to the social function, which consists in implementing a democratic decentralisation of the power of organisation and management of

Parties wishing to set up a company must enter into a contract: company agreement (Memorandum of Association) under which two or more persons transfer assets or services for doing business jointly with the aim of sharing the ensuing profits.The legal system also envisages the establishment of a business entity by a single person through a unilateral deed: for instance a stock company with a single shareholder, a one-man limited responsibility company, or a spin-off decided by the shareholder