Competition Law in Malta

The main law governing competition in Malta is Chapter 379 in the Civil Law, also known as the Competition Act. The law was enabled in 1995 and last amended in 2012. The authority supervising that the legislation is not broken is the Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority which is regulated by the law with the same name. Also, any litigation related to unfair competition is tried by the Competition and Consumer Appeals Tribunal in Malta.

Provisions of the Competition Act in Malta

The Maltese law on competition provides for the relations between companies when it comes to supplying services or products on a stable market and for the benefit of their customers. As an EU member state, Maltese companies must also respect the competition regulations applied at EU level. The Maltese Competition Law is based on two principles:

• -          the anti-competitive agreement principle;
• -          the anti-abusive dominant position principle.

The first principle refers to the fact the Maltese companies in their relations to other companies are not allowed to conclude contracts that could harm other undertakings through lower prices or in any other way, and thus affecting competitiveness among the players on the market.

The second principle refers to the fact that a company or an association of companies cannot provide services or products and thus take advantage of their dominant position on the market by removing other direct competitors.

Our Maltese lawyers can provide you with more information about the principles ruling the Competition Law.

Agreements under the Competition Law in Malta

The Maltese legislation on competition provides for the following regulations when contracts are concluded by two or more companies, or by companies and natural persons:

• -          the contract must not impose a fixed price or any other trading conditions that can affect the other participants to the market;
• -          the company offering the services or products cannot control or limit the production to the detriment of other participants to the market;
• -          the contract cannot impose different conditions to the same type of transactions;
• -          the contract cannot contain clauses that forces the other party to accept other supplementary obligations, if not related to the contract.

For complete information about the Competition Law, do not hesitate to contact our law firm in Malta.