Government Notices published in Government Gazette No. 21,038 of 17th April 2023

Grant on the Purchase and Installation of Water Purifying Equipment

WITH reference to Government Notice number 63, published in Government Gazette number 20,296 of 15th November 2019, the grant scheme 'Grant on the purchase and installation of water purifying equipment' is being amended as follows.

In order to reduce the use of plastic containers utilized for bottling water, the Minister for Finance and Employment is launching this grant on the purchase and installation of equipment to purify water at home by reverse osmosis, reverse osmosis system with reject water return and water filtration system.

1. Interpretation

In this scheme, unless the context otherwise requires:

'applicant' means any person who is a resident in Malta and is eighteen years of age;

'ARMS Ltd Account Number' means the account number of the applicant's account with ARMS, consisting of a 12-digit number starting with '411' or '101'.

'effective date' means 17th April, 2023;

'Malta' means the islands of Malta;

'person' means a natural person and does not include any organisational entity;

'person residing in Malta' means a natural person who holds a legally valid identification document issued in terms of the Identity Card And Other Documents Act (Cap. 258) or who has a residence permit or equivalent documentation issued by a competent national authority;

'fiscal receipt' means a receipt as defined in the Thirteenth Schedule to the Value Added Tax (Cap. 406), as subsequently amended, and also includes any regulation made by the same Act;

'water purifying equipment' means equipment that is installed in residential premises to filter or purify water through reverse osmosis, ultrafiltration or microfiltration systems, in order to enhance the quality of taste for drinking.

'purchase price' means the total purchase price of the equipment including VAT and which purchase price has been paid in full by the applicant prior to applying for this grant.

'domestic use' means the use made of a system/ equipment at a residential property, which property is used by an applicant for residential or habitation purposes;

'Members of the same household' means those persons who ordinarily reside in the same residence, whether related or not.

2. Area of applicability

This scheme applies to expenditure incurred once only on the purchase price and installation of purifying water equipment for domestic use by the applicant, which equipment is purchased by the applicant on the effective date or after, during the duration of this scheme.

The Grant is only eligible for private individuals (natural person) that purchase water purifying equipment for use on their residential property.

Equipment installed in caravans, boats, boathouses or buildings not intended for residential use are not eligible under this scheme.

Persons and households that have already benefitted from this grant shall not be eligible for another grant issued in terms of this scheme. Likewise, other members of the same household that has already benefitted from this scheme shall not be eligible for this grant.

3. Expenditure to be reported

The expenditure to be reported is in respect of the purchase price and installation of equipment to purify water at home as defined in section 1 and 5.

4. Manner of application and supporting documents

Applications under this scheme shall be made only via the official electronic portal/s which may be indicated from time to time for this purpose.

For this purpose, the applicant shall: furnish the details of the invoices/fiscal receipts, ARMS Ltd account number and any further documentation required to be submitted as required on the indicated portal.

Provided that, the original fiscal receipts/invoices and relevant documentation shall be kept by the applicant for a period of not less than two years from the date of application and produced upon request to the Office of the Commissioner for Revenue for verification purposes.

Failure to produce any such documents upon request the applicant will be obliged to refund the amount paid under the scheme and in the case of a fraudulent application criminal action in terms of the Criminal Code (Cap. 9) will be taken against the applicant.

In the case of water purifying equipment not purchased from Malta the original invoice issued by the supplier indicating the type of equipment purchased, together with the delivery note, the original documentary proof that final payment has been effected, and clearance from Malta Post/Department of Customs Malta as may be required, must be retained by the applicant for a period as stipulated above. These documents must confirm that the water purifying equipment was really purchased; that the purchase price of the equipment which price includes duty and VAT as may be required was really paid in full; that such a purchase was effected by the applicant for the applicant's use; and that the water purifying equpment was delivered to the applicant's residence. The purchased water purifying equipment must also have a certificate of conformity with EU standard safety regulations, as may be required.

Only those applications that are found to conform with the provisions of this scheme shall be eligible for payment of the grant referred to in section 5 of the scheme.

Applications under this scheme, including the details of the documents required, should be submitted by not later than six months from the purchase of the water purifying equipment.

Applications received 'late', that is after the six month period, shall be demed to be invalid applications.

5. Grant payable under this scheme

Eligible applicants may apply only once for one of the below grants :

1. Grant A: Water filtration system

'water filtration system' means an ultrafiltration or microfiltration system, where the filtration equipment itself results in zero water wastage during the filtration process. This excludes jug filters.

The grant will cover 40% on the purchase price and installation of Water Filtration System equipment subject to a maximum grant of €100.

2. Grant B: Reverse osmosis system

'Reverse osmosis system' means a reverse osmosis system where the reject water generated by the system during the filtration process is not diverted back to the residential water storage for re-use.

The grant will cover15.25% on the purchase price and installation of reverse osmosis equipment subject to a maximum grant of €100.

3.       Grant C: Reverse osmosis system with reject water return

'Reverse osmosis system with reject water return' means a reverse osmosis system where the reject water generated by the system during the filtration process is diverted back to the residential water storage for re-use.

The grant will cover 40% on the purchase price and installation of Reverse Osmosis with reject water return subject to a maximum grant of €300.

6. Payment of grant

The grant will be credited to the applicant, in the bank account that is indicated in the application.

7. Validity of application

An application shall not be deemed to be valid unless:

8. Data collecting and processing

The information shown on the application form will be used by the Ministry for Finance and Employment, the Office of the Commissioner for Revenue and the Ministry for Environment, Energy and Enterprise.

Whilst abiding to the provisions set in the Data Protection Act regarding the handling of personal data, the Ministry for Finance and Employment retains the right to disclose or exchange information with the Ministry for Environment, Energy and Enterprise, as it considers appropriate for administration, monitoring, and evaluation purposes. 

9. Duration of the scheme

This scheme shall remain in force for an indefinite period from the effective date, until such time that the Minister for Finance and Employment may opt to terminate it by a notice to be published in the Government Gazette.

10. Amendments to the scheme

The Minister for Finance and Employment reserves the right to make any amendments to this scheme by the publication of the said amendments in the Government Gazette.

Holders of a Warrant of Registered Social Worker

The Malta Social Work Profession Board, in accordance with Article 5(2) of the Social Work Profession Act), is hereby publishing the following list of persons who, on the 31st December 2022, were registered in the official register of social workers in accordance with the said Act.