Legal News for Businesses in the World: August 2026

What's happening in the world

August brought developments on three fronts. The first is the transformation of the US customs instrument: a shift from percentage-based tariffs to minimum import prices and exemptions for corporate onshoring. The tariff rate is thus determined not only by the goods and country but also by whether the specific importer invests in the US.

The second front is the shift of compliance into ownership structures and personal mobility – Vietnam has introduced beneficial owner tracing through all levels, and China has linked entry bans to its countermeasure lists. The third is e-invoicing, where deadlines are moving in both directions: Oman has postponed the obligation but enshrined it in a regulation for the first time, while Brazil met the deadline and only postponed the rejection of documents.

For a company, this means that calculations and schedules are based on variables that change faster than contractual documentation. It is therefore worthwhile to verify the national regime and specific customs classification, rather than relying on a general summary.

Solar panels and wafers to the US face tariffs and a price floor from December 4

The US President issued a proclamation under Section 232 on August 6, 2026, which was published in the Federal Register on August 11. It applies to goods released for free circulation from December 4, 2026, 00:01 Eastern Time, and extends further down the value chain than the existing protection under Section 201 – it now also covers polysilicon itself, ingots, and wafers.

The structure has two layers. The first is a 15% tariff on derivatives, i.e., ingots, wafers, cells, and modules; for British goods, the rate is 10%, and for goods from the European Union, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein, the sum of the new tariff and the regular tariff is capped at 15%.

The second layer is minimum import prices, enforced by a specific duty that makes up the difference between the actual and prescribed price: $21 per kilogram for polysilicon, $100 per kilogram for ingots and wafers, $0.22 per watt for cells, and $0.38 per watt for modules. Polysilicon itself is only subject to the minimum price mechanism.

The new tariff is in addition to anti-dumping and countervailing duties, as well as Section 301 tariffs, so for Chinese cells and modules, the total burden can exceed 65%. Goods must enter a US free-trade zone under "privileged foreign status," and duty drawback upon processing is limited to a defined group of countries, including the European Union.

The documentation requirement deserves attention. The importer must prove not only that the entry value meets the minimum price but also that the goods or a product made from them will be sold in the US at or above this level; the second condition does not apply to sales under the fixed terms of a time-limited contract concluded before August 6, 2026.

If customs authorities find that the documentation was factually incorrect or that the importer substantially failed to comply with its certification, the proclamation provides for a permanent import ban for that importer and its related parties, with the possibility of further sanctions. Like any customs decision, it is subject to administrative proceedings and review by the US Court of International Trade.

What your company should do now

• Review your shipments of solar components and wafers to the US against Annex I of the proclamation and calculate the impact of both layers; for modules, the price per watt is decisive, not the shipment value. Sales department with customs declarant, by the end of September.

• Verify whether your US sales contracts concluded before August 6, 2026, meet the condition of "fixed terms of a time-limited contract," and assign the approval of price documentation to a person with access to the data.

• Provide a business justification for any increase in imports before December 4. The proclamation instructs the Department of Commerce to monitor stockpiling and, if detected, allows it to restrict imports for the given company and its related parties in cooperation with customs authorities.

It's worth checking by August 19 if your Canadian machinery is in the annex

US tariffs under Section 338 on selected Canadian goods take effect on August 19, 2026, at 00:01 Eastern Time and, as of the publication deadline, have not been postponed or canceled; we covered them in detail in the July issue.

Attention has focused on motor vehicles, dairy products, and alcoholic beverages, as each category has its own proclamation. However, the broadest of the annexes affects Chapters 84 and 85 of the customs tariff, i.e., machinery and electrical equipment, including servers and data center equipment. Excluded are energy products, potash, fish, critical minerals, qualified civil aircraft, and goods subject to Section 232 measures.

Placement in a free-trade zone does not postpone exposure – goods entered on or after August 19 can only be admitted under "privileged foreign status." The legal uncertainty from July persists: the provision has never been used to impose tariffs, lawsuits are expected at the US Court of International Trade, and negotiations on the USMCA are ongoing.

What your company should do now

• By August 19, review the customs items in Chapters 84 and 85 imported from Canada to the US against Annex II of the relevant proclamation. Customs declarant, today.

• For goods in a free-trade zone, clarify the admission status with the operator and keep a record of duties paid for each import – if a court overturns the measure, this will be the basis for a refund.

False documents in a visa application may mean an entry ban to China from September 15

China's State Council adopted a regulation on June 29, 2026, the Premier signed it as Decree No. 841 on July 22, and it was published on July 31, 2026. The new Provisions on the Administration of Entry and Exit take effect on September 15, 2026, and their nineteen articles are the most significant addition to the framework since 2013.

According to Article 5, a foreigner who submits false documents or makes a false statement when applying for a Chinese visa abroad or upon entry at a border crossing may be banned from entry for one to five years. This is not the result of a simple typo, but a false statement made for the purpose of obtaining a visa or entry.

Immigration and visa authorities are also explicitly authorized to verify the authenticity of invitation letters and documents issued by organizations or individuals – and anyone who issues a false invitation letter for another person may be fined. The entry restriction also applies to persons on China's countermeasure and unreliable entity lists.

Article 4 also allows for an exit ban to be imposed on Chinese citizens who violate export control regulations or technology import and export regulations in a way that may endanger national industrial or technological security. This affects the local management of Chinese subsidiaries traveling to group meetings.

This affects EU-based companies because invitation letters for business trips are issued by a Chinese partner or a Chinese subsidiary, and the responsibility for their authenticity is now explicit. For trips for the purpose of supplier audits or acceptance tests, an inaccurate statement of the purpose of stay could result in a multi-year entry ban for a key person.

What your company should do now

• Determine who in your company is responsible for the content of Chinese visa applications and implement a check to ensure that the purpose of stay, inviting organization, and length of trip correspond to reality. HR with the executive's assistant, by September 15.

• Have your Chinese partner or subsidiary confirm in writing who issues invitation letters and on what basis.

• If your visa agent is subject to the Chinese regime for intermediary services, verify that it meets the new registration requirements; the penalty is suspension or revocation of the license.

Vietnamese subsidiaries must trace beneficial owners through all levels from July 23

The Vietnamese government issued Decree No. 296/2026/ND-CP on July 23, 2026, amending Decree No. 168/2025/ND-CP on business registration. It took effect on the same day, with no transition period.

The previous "if any" approach has been replaced by a mandatory procedure: a business must go through its ownership structure level by level until it identifies a natural person who ultimately owns or exercises effective control over it. If no one is identified after applying the ownership and control criteria, the person with the highest managerial authority is declared.

The decree also prohibits holding shares in the name of another person, i.e., nominee structures, and introduces a 24-month cap on the total continuous period of business suspension; this cap includes time registered before July 23. Businesses established on or after July 1, 2025, must declare their beneficial owner upon registration.

No general deadline has been set for new declarations by existing businesses. However, the next change in the register will be assessed according to the new criteria, and the business must be able to document how it determined the beneficial owner. For structures with three or more levels or involving funds, the existing declaration usually does not meet the new criteria.

What your company should do now

• Go through the ownership structure of your Vietnamese subsidiary level by level down to the natural persons, compare the result with the register entry, and create a file documenting the procedure. Group legal department, by the end of September.

• Check whether you have any shares held in the name of another person in the structure, and for entities with suspended operations, calculate the total suspension period, including the period before July 23.

Australian customers can request a description of automated decision-making from December 10

The Australian Privacy Act was amended by the Privacy and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2024, which introduces new obligations for automated decision-making effective December 10, 2026; this is an approved and published rule, not a proposal.

APPs 1.7 to 1.9 require an entity to describe in its privacy policy that it uses a computer program for decision-making, what types of personal information the program uses, and what types of decisions it makes. The condition is that the decision can have a reasonably foreseeable significant impact on an individual's rights or interests – typically in the areas of employment, credit, insurance, or access to a service.

Australian law may also apply to a foreign SaaS, cloud, or AI provider, but only with a sufficient Australian link – the key test is whether it "carries on a business" in Australia. The mere existence of an Australian customer does not subject it to the law, and the assessment is always factual.

Moreover, there is a more practical layer: the obligation applies to the Australian customer, who cannot fulfill it without information from the supplier. Customers may therefore request information about the types of personal data processed, the types of automated decisions, and the degree of system involvement. This is not an obligation to explain the logic of the model, but a contractual need for information.

Furthermore, on July 15, 2026, the Australian government announced a shift towards more binding Australian standards for AI. However, the specific content of future obligations is still being prepared – the legal status is currently a policy intention, not a requirement.

What your company should do now

• Prepare a standard description of automated decision-making in your product for Australian customers: types of personal data, types of decisions, degree of human involvement. Product department with legal, by November.

• Have it assessed whether your activities in Australia establish an Australian link under the law – the answer is different for direct sales with local support than for supplies through a distributor.

Oman postpones e-invoicing to April 2027, but enshrines it in regulation for the first time

The Oman Tax Authority issued Decision No. 189/2026 on August 9, 2026, amending the executive regulations of the VAT Law issued by Royal Decree No. 121/2020 and introducing mandatory electronic invoicing for the first time through a binding regulation. According to the amended Article 143, a taxable person must issue tax invoices in an approved and secure electronic format.

The deadlines have replaced the previous informal plan: the first phase begins on April 1, 2027, for taxable persons with annual supplies exceeding OMR 5 million, and the second phase on October 1, 2027, for those at or below this threshold. A voluntary pilot with 100 selected companies will start at the end of August 2026, and a phase for transactions with the state is proposed for 2028.

The format is XML according to the PINT OM specification and PDF/A-3, the document passes through an accredited provider to the Fawtara portal, and electronic archiving for ten years is mandatory. For EU-based companies, it is important that the obligation is linked to Omani VAT registration, not the existence of a permanent establishment in the country.

Caution is warranted regarding penalties. Decision No. 189/2026 itself does not establish any penalties specific to electronic invoicing, and guidance is expected; the general framework of the VAT Law already penalizes the intentional failure to issue a tax invoice and the failure to comply with the obligation to keep records. We therefore do not state the specific amount and recommend verifying it with an Omani advisor.

What your company should do now

• Find out if your group is registered for Omani VAT and, based on annual supplies, determine which deadline applies to you – April 1 or October 1, 2027. The CFO is responsible.

• Select an accredited provider based on compatibility with your ERP and the ability to generate XML according to PINT OM, and factor in ten-year archiving when choosing a solution.

Other changes in brief

• Brazil: According to Ato Conjunto RFB/CGIBS No. 4 of July 30, companies in the standard regime must fill in the CBS and IBS fields in the first wave of electronic documents from August 3, 2026. However, Ato Técnico Conjunto No. 1 of July 31 postponed the validation rules, so a missing field will not in itself cause rejection. 2026 is a test year with a rate of 0.9% CBS and 0.1% IBS; the next deadline is October 1, 2026, for NFS-e documents with ISS tax. Non-resident providers of digital services already have registration and reporting obligations, including registration in the CNPJ system.

• Vietnam: Decree No. 292/2026/ND-CP of July 22 takes effect on September 5, 2026, replaces Decree No. 69/2018/ND-CP, and allows a foreign-invested enterprise to directly export its own production and directly import machinery and materials for investment activities. Compliance with the investment project objectives in the certificate is crucial – where there is a discrepancy, address the certificate amendment by September 5.

• UAE: Entities with an annual turnover of AED 50 million or more must appoint an accredited e-invoicing provider by October 30, 2026, and launch the system on January 1, 2027; others by March 31, 2027, with a launch date of July 1, 2027. The obligation also applies to non-residents registered for VAT in the UAE. The penalty is AED 5,000 for each month of delay. The voluntary phase has been running since July 1, 2026.

• Kenya: The Finance Act 2026 has postponed some parts to September 1, 2026, when the regime for import documentation and export declarations changes. Anyone supplying to or sourcing from Kenya has three weeks to adjust documents with their carrier and customs declarant.

Deadlines for companies to watch in the next 90 days

Final Summary

The most immediate topic is Canadian goods imported into the US – it is worth reviewing customs items by August 19, including in the machinery and electrical engineering chapters, which are not suggested by the proclamation's headings. A Vietnamese subsidiary then needs attention regardless of the deadline, as Decree No. 296 has been effective since July 23 with no transition period.

Five deadlines require preparation before they take effect: September 5 for Vietnamese import and export rules, September 15 for the Chinese entry and exit regime, September 29 for pharmaceutical tariffs for other importers, October 30 for e-invoicing providers in the UAE, and December 4 for US tariffs and minimum prices on polysilicon.

For the Australian AI framework and Omani penalty methodology, it is sufficient to monitor milestones for now. Local verification is useful for the Vietnamese structure, Omani penalties, and the Australian link. Legal uncertainty remains regarding US tariffs under Section 338 and the Brazilian postponement of validations – it is advisable to make decisions based on the current situation but to keep records that will hold up even if things change.

In practice, it has proven effective for management to select the three countries with the largest volume or the largest ongoing transaction and have them go through this agenda as a priority.

Are you dealing with tariffs and cost allocation in export contracts, beneficial owners in a foreign structure, employee secondment, or a cross-border acquisition? Write to consultation@arws.cz. The lawyers at ARROWS law firm will assess your situation and, for projects in multiple countries, coordinate the individual jurisdictions through the ARROWS International network. For professional liability purposes, ARROWS law firm is insured up to CZK 350,000,000.