The plenary session of the Congress of Deputies yesterday approved the bill for the Creation and Growth of Companies, known as the "create and grow" law, which seeks to simplify the procedures and requirements for the creation of companies and the financing of companies. The norm went ahead with 261 votes in favor of the PSOE, PP, UP, ERC and PDeCAT, among others, two votes against and 76 abstentions. The law introduces elements such as the reduction of the minimum share capital required –from 3,000 euros to one euro–, not giving subsidies to delinquent firms and the creation of a delinquency observatory that will monitor payment terms.
During the parliamentary process, the text has been modified by including a limitation of liability to the debtor's habitual residence as long as its value does not exceed 300,000 euros or the debtor has acted with fraud or gross negligence in fulfilling its obligations to third parties. The obligation for companies to include their average supplier payment period in their annual accounts has also been introduced.
The president of Pimec and the Multisectoral Platform against Delinquency, Antoni Cañete, who attended the plenary session as a guest, affirmed yesterday in statements to the media that "the changes that have been introduced in the parliamentary process have been decisive in making this law can be effective and efficient. Cañete stressed that all companies, when they receive public money, will have to certify that they are making correct payments to their suppliers, that it will be mandatory to demonstrate that contractors are paying their subcontractors and that a list of companies that have failed to comply will be published annually. the deadlines.
However, Cañete pointed out that the law could have been more ambitious and demanded the approval of a sanctioning regime that fines companies that are late in paying suppliers.
On the other hand, Congress also yesterday approved the reform of the insolvency law that transposes the community directive on restructuring and modifies some of the insolvency procedures, both for companies and for natural persons, entrepreneurs or consumers. The text, which will now go to the Senate, went ahead with 184 votes in favor, none against and 155 abstentions.
Three basic aspects stand out in the new law: the early restructuring of viable companies, the possibility of debt relief for debtors in good faith – which has also been extended to consumers, but has been limited to 10,000 euros in relation to possible exemption from public credit – and the need to increase the efficiency of insolvency restructuring procedures. The second point tremendously limits the effectiveness of the so-called second chance.
Likewise, the Lower House gave the green light to the draft law for the Reform of the Commercial Courts, which from now on will handle consumer protection matters and certain transport claims.
