Company Law in Malta

The legislation regulating the incorporation and corporate governance of companies in Malta is quite extensive. First, there is the Commercial Code which regulates the conduct of company management and trading regulations, and then there is the Company Law which establishes the registration of companies. The Maltese Company Law is made up of the following Acts:

• -          the Business Promotion Act,
• -          the Co-operatives Societies Act,
• -          the Companies Act,
• -          the Competition Act,
• -          the Malta Enterprise Act,
• -          the Companies Act Regulations on Fees which was enabled in 2008.

If you want to open a company in Malta and need information about the legal requirements, you can refer to our law firm.

The Maltese Business Promotion Act

One of the most important chapters of the Maltese Company Law is the Business Promotion Act, also known as Chapter 325 of 2006. The legislation sets out the incentives offered by the Government to foreign investors setting up companies in Malta. Among these, the Business Promotion Act defines the following incentives:

• -          income tax incentives,
• -          guarantee of incentives,
• -          other incentives.

The Business Promotion Act establishes that only companies registered in Malta will benefit from these incentives. Companies operating in the export, tourism and research and development industries are just a few of the sectors benefiting from these incentives.

The Competition Act in Malta

The Malta Company Law also comprises the Competition Act which regulates the protection against unfair competition in the country. The legislation forbids Maltese companies or associations to do the following:

• -          to establish their own purchase or selling prices,
• -          to limit or control the market to the detriment of other companies,
• -          to share the market with other companies to the detriment of others,
• -          to discriminate customers,
• -          to mislead customers by introducing contractual clauses unrelated to the object of the agreement.

The Competition Act also establishes the legal actions that can be taken in case the law is breached and the remedies offered by the Maltese courts in these cases. Our Maltese lawyers can offer legal advice in case of litigation matters.

If you need more information about the content of the Company Law, do not hesitate to contact our attorneys in Malta.