As of 13 January 2024, a new government decree amends the provisions of the clearance procedure of the Government Decree on certain foreign direct investments (“FDI”). The amendment grants the Hungarian State a right of first refusal in respect of acquisitions of strategic companies whose main or additional registered activity is electricity production and pursue solar power plant-related activity that are to be acquired by foreign investors.

The digitalisation of the Hungarian tax system has reached another important milestone: after lengthy preparatory work (and a few setbacks), the e-VAT system was launched on 1 January 2024, on a voluntary basis, for now.

The Hungarian Parliament adopted a new act on the rules of the entry and residence of third-country nationals on 12 December 2023.

In the summer 2022, the United States unilaterally terminated the US-Hungary double tax treaty with Hungary.

At the II National Regulators Conference it was announced that the Digital Citizenship programme to be launched between July and September 2024 and the necessary legislation to be submitted to the Parliament in November 2023. With this step the Hungarian Government follows the trend, where citizens are dealing at an increasing rate with administrative cases on their mobile phones.

There is a bill on the new Hungarian Architecture Act, which would replace the acts on Engineers and Professional Chambers, on the Shaping and Protection of the Built Environment and on the Protection of Townscape, and will consolidate their provisions in a modernised and clear code.

On 19 October 2023, Ambassador Harry Alex Rusz, Permanent Representative of Hungary to the Council of Europe deposited the instrument of ratification of the Amending Protocol to the Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to the Processing of Personal Data.

On 19 July 2023, the Constitutional Court established that certain provisions of the act on public construction investments are unconstitutional, therefore, it could not enter into force as planned on 1 August 2023.

Negotiations on next year's wages started at the beginning of October 2023, with stakeholders - employers and trade unions representing workers - and the government as an observer taking part in the wage negotiations, which can last several weeks.

A legislative proposal has been submitted in November 2023 on the system of utilization of national data assets. The primary objective of the proposal is to ensure the applicability of the data governance regulation in Hungary and to make the existing laws on secondary usage of the national data assets coherent in a regulatory environment. The scope of the proposal covers services related to the use of data processed by public authorities, the performance of other related public tasks and data collection and analysis in support of government decision-making.

On 14 November 2023, the Hungarian Government presented a new bill on the entry and residence of third-country nationals in Hungary.

The Hungarian Ministry of Finance published its draft legislation for the implementation of the global minimum tax rules in Hungary for public consultation in October 2023. The package also contained some limited reasoning and impact assessment and stakeholders had one week to comment on the proposal.

Mandatory Deposit Refund System (DSR) comes into effect as of 1 January 2024 in Hungary. The newly introduced legislation clarifies the key points of the system and the specific obligation of the parties concerned.

The rules on the order for payment order procedure have changed significantly as of 1 October 2023. Many of the changes are related to the simplification and digitalisation of the procedure.

Presently, a legislative proposal has been placed on the agenda, focusing on measures aimed at streamlining governmental operations. This comprehensive proposal encompasses various modifications, one of which pertains to an amendment to the personal income tax act (“PIT Act”).

A package called “Provisions on further simplification of the functioning of the state” has been discussed at the Hungarian Parliament in the autumn of 2023.

The National Water Resources Protection Map, required for the licensing of domestic and agricultural wells under the amendment to the Water Management Act, has been completed and is available on the website of National Water Directorate (in Hungarian: “Országos Vízügyi Főigazgatóság”). This Protection Map will play a central role in the future licensing of domestic groundwater wells.

On 1 October 2023, the amendments of the new Land Registry Act entered into force and as a result, the Act will enter into force only on 1 October 2024, instead of the date of 1 February 2024 already postponed from the initial date of 1 February 2023.