Notices published in Government Gazette no 21,367 of 27th December 2024

In terms and for the purposes of the Public Procurement Regulations (S.L. 601.03), the Direct Orders Office is granting approval to the Malta Tax and Customs Administration within the Ministry for Finance to enter into a contract for service with Mr Paul Bonello for the provision of advisor services in connection with the AEO programme for a period of 12 months starting from 15th July, 2024 up to 14th July, 2025, working 20 hours per week paid at the rate of €18.74 excl. VAT per hour for the cost of €19,489.60 excluding VAT.

In terms and for the purposes of the Public Procurement Regulations (S.L. 601.03), the Direct Orders Office is granting approval to the Malta Tax and Customs Administration within the Ministry for Finance to enter into a contract for service with Dr Justyne Caruana for the provision of service as an advisor on the Malta Tax and Customs Administration for a period of 12 months starting from 10th July, 2024 up to 9th July, 2025, working 30 hours per week paid at the rate of €50 excl. VAT per hour for the cost of €78,000.00 excluding VAT.

 In terms and for the purposes of the Public Procurement Regulations (S.L. 601.03), the Direct Orders Office is granting approval to the Malta Tax and Customs Administration within the Ministry for Finance to enter into a contract for service with Mr Alfred Zarb for the provision of clerical services for a period of 6 months starting from 1st July, 2024 up to 31st December, 2024, working 25 hours per week paid at the rate of €15.40 excl. VAT per hour for the cost of €10,010.00 excluding VAT.

 In terms and for the purposes of the Public Procurement Regulations (S.L. 601.03), the Direct Orders Office is granting approval to the Malta Tax and Customs Administration within the Ministry for Finance to enter into a contract for service with Mr David Fenech for the provision of clerical services for a period of 6 months starting from 1st July, 2024 up to 31st December, 2024, working 25 hours per week paid at the rate of €16.44 excl. VAT per hour for the cost of €10,686.00 excluding VAT.

 In terms and for the purposes of the Public Procurement Regulations (S.L. 601.03), the Direct Orders Office is granting approval to the Malta Tax and Customs Administration within the Ministry for Finance to enter into a contract for service with Ms Michelle Busuttil for the provision of clerical services for a period of 12 months starting from 2nd July, 2024 up to 1st July, 2025, working 35 hours per week paid at the rate of €10.50 excl. VAT per hour for the cost of €19,110.00 excluding VAT.

 In terms and for the purposes of the Public Procurement Regulations (S.L. 601.03), the Direct Orders Office is granting approval to the Malta Tax and Customs Administration within the Ministry for Finance to enter into a contract for service with Mr Randolph Aquilina for the provision of advice and assistance to the Commissioner for Tax and Customs principally on matters relating to the interpretation and implementation of the Income Tax Acts and the enactment of legislation under the said Acts for a period of 12 months, starting from 16th June, 2024 till 15th June, 2025, working 20 hours per week, paid at the rate of €27.40 excl. VAT for the cost of €28,500.00 excluding VAT.

 In terms and for the purposes of the Public Procurement Regulations (S.L. 601.03), the Direct Orders Office is granting approval to the Malta Tax and Customs Administration within the Ministry for Finance to enter into a contract for service with Mr Anthony Busuttil for the provision of advice related to tax administration and other duties assigned by the Commissioner for Tax and Customs for a period of 12 months, starting from 1st October, 2024 till 30th September, 2025, working 30 hours per week, paid at the rate of €23.08 excl. VAT for the cost of €36,000.00 excluding VAT.

Adaptation Works in Dwellings Occupied by Tenants and Owners

With reference to Scheme on Adaptation Works in Dwellings Occupied by Tenants and Owners published in the Government Gazette of the 13th March, 2012 the Housing Authority wishes to effect the following amendments with effect from 1st April, 2019:

Emend Sub-Clause (v) (b) of Clause 5 to read as follows:-

(b) applicant and spouse possess capital exceeding €60,000 during the twelve months (12) preceding the date of application till the approval of the grant of subsidy under this Scheme. The applicant will be asked to sign a declaration to this effect.

Subsidy on Adaptation Works related to dangerous structures in Private Dwellings Held on Lease or Emphyteusis prior 1st June 1995 Scheme 2013

With reference to Scheme on Adaptation Works in Related to Dangerous Structures in Private Dwellings Held on Lease or Emphyteusis prior to 1st June, 1995, published in the Government Gazette of the 29th October, 2013 the Housing Authority, wishes to effect the following amendments with effect from 1st April, 2019:-

Clause 5 Sub-Clause (v) (b) of to read as follows:-

(b) applicant and spouse possess capital exceeding €60,000 during the twelve months (12) preceding the date of application till the approval of the grant of subsidy under this Scheme. The applicant will be asked to sign a declaration to this effect.

Housing Benefit On Privately Rented Dwellings (2019)

With reference to the Housing Benefit On Privately Rented Dwellings Scheme published in the Government Gazette of the 1st February, 2019, the Housing Authority wishes to effect the following amendments with immediate effect:

 Amend Clause 13 (i) to read as follows:-

13. Housing benefit

(i) The benefit shall be based on the annual income of the applicants together with the rent being paid by them. The following table indicates the various categories of applicants who can benefit from this scheme, their maximum income permitted together with the maximum amount of housing benefit these applicants are entitled to:

In case of a disabled person, or a disabled person within a household, the annual income should not exceed €35,000.

Tax Reduction Scheme Through Fiscal Incentives 2022

1.Title and aim of the scheme

The aim of the Tax Rebate Scheme through fiscal incentives is to grant a property tax rebate on the sale of a residential property to the tenant and this on the first €200,000 of the sale of a property that has been leased at affordable rents for more than three (3) years as well as on the sale of properties rented by the Housing Authority under the Nikru Biex Nassistu Scheme and Skema KIRI. It is a known fact that through this incentive the Housing Authority is targeting a substantial amount of properties which are governed by the old rental market as well as tenants of residences rented by the Housing Authority under the Nikru Biex Nassistu and Skema KIRI will be given the opportunity to become homeowners.

2.Definition of terms

Throughout the Notice unless the context otherwise requires:

(a) “affordable rent" means the rent indicated in table below:-

* The applicants must submit a certificate by an architect of their choice which indicates the size of the properties in meters squared and the number of bedrooms available. Nonetheless, should it transpire that the property is smaller than that indicated in the Planning Authority guidelines (55m², 90m² and 115m² for 1, 2 and 3 bedroom dwelling respectively), the Housing Authority may, at its absolute discretion, decide that the property belongs to a different size category than that indicated in the architect's certificate.

(b) “applicants" means persons who are owners and tenants of the residence that will be sold and who should submit the application together and in solidum. In this scheme, the singular shall import the plural and the masculine shall import the feminine.

(c) “the Authority" means the Housing Authority established by Article 3 of the Housing Authority Act, (Cap 261);

(d) “Scheme" means “Tax Reduction Scheme Through Fiscal Incentives" published in the Government Gazette of the fourth of October of the year two thousand and twenty two (04/10/2022).

3.Conditions of the scheme

(a) In order for both the landlord and the tenant be exempted from paying tax on the first €200,000 of the property price the owner, together with their predecessor in title if the property was inherited, must have leased the property to the same tenant (or their predecessors in case of a lease inherited as stipulated at law) for a period of ten (10) years at an affordable rent as stipulated in clause 2(a);

(b) In order for both the landlord and the tenants be exempted from paying fifty percent (50%) of the tax on the first €200,000 of the property's price, the owner, together with their predecessor in title if the property was inherited, must have leased the property to the same tenant (or their predecessors in case of a lease inherited as stipulated at law) for a period of three (3) years at an affordable rent as stipulated in clause 2(a);

(c) In case of a lease which commenced before 1st June, 1995, the children of the tenants who have been living with their parents since four (4) years out of the last five (5) years before 1st June, 2008, can buy the property and benefit under this scheme.

4.Process of Applications

(a) The application must be submitted by the owners and tenants jointly;

(b) Verification is carried out to ascertain that the tenants have lived in the property for the last three (3) or ten (10) years;

(c) Verification is carried out to ascertain that the landlord-tenant relationship has been ongoing for the last three (3) or ten (10) years at an affordable rent;

(d) A Certificate is issued that establishes the percentage of tax rebate on the sale of property. This Certificate will be valid for a period of three (3) years;

(e)   Applicants shall present the certificate provided to their Notary. The Notary shall make the necessary verifications with the Housing Authority to ensure the autenticity of the document provided by the applicants.

5.Method of application

(a)   A landlord and a tenant qualifying under this Scheme shall submit an application jointly and in solidum on the prescribed form and shall deliver same at the office of the Housing Authority number 22, Triq Pietro Floriani, Floriana, at the Housing Authority branch in Victoria, Gozo or from the Housing Authority website.

(b) The application should be submitted prior to the signing of the Promise of Sale.

6.Validity of the application.

To be valid the application must satisfy the following requirements:-

(a) the application must be made on the prescribed form and must be duly and completely filled;

(b) the application must be signed by all applicants;

(c) the application must be presented together with all necessary documents;

7.Disqualification

Persons shall not qualify to make an application under this scheme if:-

(a) the tenants have not been residing in the property as laid down in Clause 3;

(b) the rent is not affordable as established in clause 2(a);

(c) the tenant is a person who requires permission from the Ministry responsible for Finance to purchase a property and this in accordance with Chapter 246 of the Laws of Malta.

8.Information

The Authority may require the applicants to sign and confirm any declaration in any form even under oath it may consider necessary for the carrying out of this Scheme.

9.Penalty for false information

If at any time, it results that applicants have made a false declaration or given incorrect information/documents for the purposes of any application, without prejudice to any penalty for which they may have become liable under any other law, applicants shall be liable to the payment to the Authority, of a fine which the Authority deems fit. They will also be disqualified for a period of five (5) years from benefiting from any scheme made with the approval of the Minister responsible for Housing and shall forfeit the right to any benefit under this Scheme.

Incorrect or false declaration/documents may also lead the applicant to the commencement of criminal procedures against him.

10. Administrative charges and abandoned applications

(a) Each application for assistance under this Scheme shall be lodged to the Authority and that application shall not be accepted unless accompanied by the sum of fifty Euros (€50) as an administrative charge.

(b) Where any applicant under this Scheme stops the processing of the application, the application shall be deemed to have been abandoned and any expenses and deposits incurred by the applicants in connection with their application, shall not be recoverable by the applicants whether or not their application is successful. These deposits are not refundable for any reason.

11. Right of refusal

Notwithstanding anything contained in the foregoing provisions of this Scheme, the Authority shall have the right to refuse any application.

12. Duration of scheme

This Scheme shall remain in force for a period of one (1) year from the date of its publication in the Government Gazette. The Housing Authority reserves the right to publish a notice in the Government Gazette indicating the withdrawal of the scheme.

13. Interpretation

In case the Maltese text differs from the English text, the Maltese text will prevail.

14. Amendment of scheme

The Authority shall have the right to make any amendments to this Scheme by publication of the said amendments in the Government Gazette. Such amendments may be made applicable retroactively. No amendments shall subject the Authority to an action for damages or any other legal action. The conditions of this scheme should form an integral part of the deed and in case were the conditions of this scheme are different from the conditions indicated in the deed, the conditions which are most favourable to the Authority are to be applied.

Notification of Concentration

In terms of regulation 5(4) of the Control of Concentrations Regulations, 2002 published in Legal Notice 294 of 2002, the Director General of the Office for Competition notifies for general information that a notification of a concentration between Regnology Germany GmbH (Frankfurt, Germany) and Fingo sp zoo (Wroclaw, Poland) was filed on Friday, 20th December, 2024.

The nature of the concentration is the acquisition of sole control by Regnology Germany GmbH of Fingo sp zoo.

Regnology Germany GmbH is a provider of innovative regulatory, risk, and supervisory technology solutions (RegTech, RiskTech, and SupTech), of Automatic Exchange of Information and tax reporting products, as well as of services along the Regulatory Value Chain for financial services. It is a portfolio company of Nordic Capital (“Nordic Capital" refers to, depending on the context, any, or all, Nordic Capital branded entities, vehicles, structures, and associated entities. The general partners and/or delegated portfolio managers of Nordic Capital's entities and vehicles are advised by several non-discretionary sub-advisory entities, any or all of which are referred to as “Nordic Capital Advisors").  In Malta, Regnology Germany GmbH is present through the sales of standard reporting software.

Fingo sp zoo is a provider of regulatory reporting solutions based in Poland. Its digital products cover all reporting obligations of regulated financial institutions and support the reporting process. In Malta, Fingo sp zoo has been active in software development business for external clients in the past. 

The Director General of the Office for Competition invites interested third parties to submit their written objections on this notified concentration within seven days following publication of this notice at the following address:

Malta Competition and Consumer

Affairs Authority

Office for Competition

Mizzi House

Triq Nazzjonali

Blata l-Bajda, HMR 9010

Malta

or (competition@mccaa.org.mt)

The Marsaskala Local Council notifies that a vehicle which was parked for a long period in St Thomas Bay, car model Volkswagen Gold grey with no number and with an expired licence was towed by the Marsaskala Local Council on the 20th December, 2024 and taken to Ta' Robba Recycling Plant, Ħal Kirkop, after being notified for 8 days as in virtue of Section 8A, of Legal Notice 94 of 1977 as amended with Legal Notice 123 of 2001 and Subsidiary Legislation 65.13 (Traffic Regulations regarding Clamping and Removal of Encumbering Objects).

If the owner of the said vehicle does not show up within the stipulated timeframe according to law, the said will be scrapped.