Malta

Business Environment

Business Practices

General information: Chamber of Commerce of Malta
Opening hours and days: Shops are generally open from 9.00 am to 1.00 pm and again from 4.00 pm to 7.00 pm. In tourist zones, various shops remain open till 10.00 pm. Shops are normally closed on Sundays and on public holidays.
Bank timings are generally from 8.30 am to 12.30 pm from Monday to Friday and from 8.30 am to 11.30 a.m. on Sunday.
The working hours for public administration offices are: 8.00 am to 4.30 pm during winters and 7.30 am to 1.00 pm in summers (Monday to Friday).
Finally, the companies generally remain open from 8.30 am to 4.00 pm from Monday to Friday.

Public holidays

New Year's Day	January 1
St Paul's shipwreck	February 10
St Joseph	March 19
Good Friday	Depending on the dates
Freedom Day	March 31
Worker's Day	May 1
Sette Giugno	June 7
St Peter and St Paul	June 29
Assumption	August 15
Victory Day	September 8
Independence Day	September 21
Immaculate Conception	December 8
Republic Day	December 13
Christmas Day	December 25

Periods when companies usually close

New Year holidays

3 days to a week closure around Christmas and New Year's eve

Accounting Rules

Tax year: The financial year starts on 1st January and ends on 31st December of the same year.
Accounting standards: The account reports need to conform to the norms decreed by the IAS (International Accounting Standards).
Accounting regulation bodies: Malta Institute of Accountants
Accounting reports: The annual accounts should give a clear view of the company's assets, liabilities, financial position and profits or losses.
Publication requirements: According to the Companies Act of 1995, Maltese companies are required to submit their account reports showing correct and honest picture of the volume of the business done along with the justification of the various transactions performed.
Professional accountancy bodies: Accountancy Board
Certification and auditing: The Maltese companies need to appoint one or more than one external auditors for validating the annual account statements which are presented during their annual general meetings. An auditor has to be competent enough to conduct such audits and should confirm to the requirements as given in the Chapter IX of the companies act (Companies Act of 1995).
Accounting news: Business News Portal

Tax Rates

Consumption taxes

Nature of the tax: Value Added Tax
Tax rate: Standard rate of 18%.
Reduced tax rate: A reduced tax rate of 5% is applicable to hotels and electricity. Medicines, food products, banking and insurance products are not subject to VAT.
Other consumption taxes: Excise duty is applicable on the import of certain products like fuel, vehicles, cigarettes and alcohol. The exhaustive list of products subject to excise duty can be seen on the website of the customs office.
More detailed information on excise duties is available concerning alcoholic beverages, tobacco products, energy products on the European Commission website.

Corporate taxes

Company tax: 35%
Capital gains taxation: Companies are taxed on the transfer of securities, business goodwill, copyrights, patents, trademarks and trade names and on the assignment of ownership rights over such properties.
Main allowable deductions and tax credit: The legislation provides incentives to qualifying companies that undertake certain target sector activities specified in the law (some manufacturing activities, R&D, production of films etc). The principal tax incentives provide reduced taxation rates and investment tax credits.
Other corporate taxes: No other taxes in particular. However, stamp duty exists.

Individual taxes

Tax rate

Income Tax	Progressive rate from 0% to 35%
EUR 0 to 8,500	0%
EUR 8,501 - 14,500	15%
EUR 14,501 - 19,500	25%
EUR 19,501 and over	35%

Allowable deductions and tax credit: The Business Promotion Act allows for certain deductions or exemptions for income tax purposes to eligible individuals, mainly individual members of a partnership. Individuals who may be eligible to these deductions.
Special expatriate tax regime: The term 'expatriate' is not defined by the Income Tax Acts. Temporary residents and persons who are neither ordinarily resident nor domiciled in Malta pay income tax on income arising in Malta. A guide to taxation for expatriates can be found at the following website: The Malta Institute of Accountants

Double taxation treaties

Countries with whom a double taxation treaty have been signed: See the list of double Taxation Treaties
Whithholding taxes: Under Maltese domestic law, dividends, interest and royalties paid to nonresidends are not subject to withholding tax. Interest and royalties paid to nonresidents are exempt from income tax in Malta if they are not effectively connected with a permanent establishment in Malta through wich the nonresidents engage in a trade or business.

Sources of fiscal information

Tax Authorities: Inland Revenue Department
Other domestic resources: Ministry of Finance, Economy and Investment

Intellectual Property

National organizations: The organization responsible for the protection of brands, industrial drawings and patents in Malta is the Industrial Property Registration Directorate.
Regional organizations: Malta is member of the UCC (Universal Copyright Convention) since 1968.
Malta signed the Convention of Paris for the protection of industrial property, the Convention of Berne for the protection of literary and artistic works and also the Universal Convention of authors' rights.

National regulation and international agreements

Type of property and law	Validity	International agreements signed
Patent Patents Act 2002	20 years
Trademark Trademarks Act, 2001	A trademark is granted for a period of ten years which is renewable.	Trademark law treaty Nice agreement Protocol relating to the Madrid Agreement
Design Patent and Designs Act, 2002	A design right is protected for a period of five years from the date of filling in the application and is renewable for one or more periods of five years up to a total term of 25 years.
Copyright Copyright Act 2000	Protection lasts 70 years after the end of the year in which the author dies, irrespective of the date when the work is made available to the author.
Industrial Models Patent and Designs Act, 2002	20 years

Legal Framework

Independence of justice: The judiciary in Malta is independent.
Equal treatment of nationals and foreigners: Foreign nationals can expect an impartial trial form the country's judicial system.
The language of justice: Maltese and English are the two judicial languages used in the country.
Recourse to an interpreter: Malta is country's national language. However, English is widely used and considered as a second language. Therefore, the recourse to an interpreter is easy.
Sources of the law and legal similarities: The main source of the law is the constitution of 1964 (amended many times). The country's legal system is based on English common law and Roman civil law (Napoleonic codes). English law has had since the early part of the last century, its fair share of influence on certain areas of criminal law and procedure (for example, the presumption of innocence). Malta being a member of the European Union, the national law in the country needs to comply with the conditions of the community legislation.
Checking national laws online: Malta's main laws online (English and Maltese)

Standards

National standards organizations: Malta Standards Authority
Integration in the international standards network: As Malta is member of the European Union, EU legislation in terms of standardization is applied in this field. The organisation responsible for defining technical standards is the Malta Standards Authority (MSA).The MSA is an affiliated member of the European Standardisation Committe and a member of ISO.
Classification of standards: Malta being part of the European Union, all products sold in the country are regulated by specific EU legislation (EU's General Product Safety Directive) as well as to possible additional national requirements.
An important feature of EU standards is CE marking which is necessary for products which may pose a healthy or safety risk.
Online consultation of standards: All the information about standardizatin in Malta and European legislation linked to the standards can be found at the following website: http://www.msa.org.mt
Certification organizations: Malta Standards Authority