Government Notices published in Government Gazette No. 21,487 of 13th August 2025

IN terms of Regulations 65, 66 and 70 of the Public Procurement Regulations S.L. 601. 03, the Prime Minister has appointed the following members on the General Contracts Committee for a period of three years.

Chairperson

Mr Adrian Dalli

Substitute Chairperson

Ms Lorraine Mangion Duca

Members

Mr Stephen Young

Mr Brian Farrugia

Mr Mario Borg

Perit Vincent Cassar

Mr David Magro

Ms Anna Camilleri

Mr Jurgen Zammit

Mr Mark Grech

Ms Margaret Camilleri

Secretaries

Ms Marisa Gauci

Ms Graziella Calleja

These appointments are valid up to 9th August, 2028.

THE Permanent Secretary in the Ministry for Finance has approved the following acting appointment:

Manufacture, Presentation and Sale of Tobacco and Related Products (Amendment) Regulations, 2025 (S.L. 315.10)

Explanatory Notes

1. Introduction and background

​The scope of these regulations is to permit heated tobacco products (HTPs) to be placed on the market subject to the necessary restrictions.

2. Overview of the structure of the instrument

​These regulations provide a definition for “heated tobacco product" as a novel tobacco product that is heated to produce an emission containing nicotine and other chemicals, which is then inhaled by the user, and that, depending on its characteristics, is a smokeless tobacco product or a tobacco product for smoking and also make it clear that heated tobacco products which depending on their characteristics are smokeless tobacco products shall be regulated by the provisions of Article 12 of Directive 2014/40/EU. Additionally, these regulations provide for market restrictions and compliance by which manufacturers and importers of heated tobacco products must comply with the same legal provisions as for other tobacco products under the principal regulations (S.L. 315.10).

3. Commentary on the amending regulations

Regulation 1 – Title.

Regulation 2 – Definition of “heated tobacco product" is added to regulation 2 of the principal regulations.

Regulation 3 – Deletion of the two provisos to sub-regulation 7(7) of the principal regulations.

Regulation 4 – Amends regulation 11(1) of the principal regulations to remove paragraph (e) and substitute the proviso thereof to clarify that heated tobacco products which depending on their characteristics are smokeless tobacco products shall be regulated in accordance with Article 12 of Directive 2014/40/EU.

Regulation 5 – Amends regulation 21 of the principal regulations to exclude heated tobacco products from the definition of “smokeless tobacco products".

4. Conclusion

These regulations shall come into force on the date of their publication in the Gazette.

N.B: These Explanatory Notes are not intended to be an exhaustive description of the legal instrument nor a substitute thereof or a legislative supplement to it. These Explanatory Notes do not purport to be an authoritative ruling on the interpretation of the legislation.