ACT No. XVIII of 2015 AN ACT to amend the Small Business Act, Cap. 512 and for matters consequential or connected therewith.

I assent.

M ARIE L OUISE

(L.S.)

C OLEIRO P RECA

President

10th July, 2015

ACT No. XVIII of 2015

AN ACT to amend the Small Business Act, Cap. 512 and for

matters consequential or connected therewith.

BE IT ENACTED by the President, by and with the advice and

consent of the House of Representatives, in this present Parliament

assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:-

The short title of this Act is the Small Business

(Amendment) Act, 2015, and this Act shall be read and construed as

one with the Small Business Act, hereinafter referred to as "the Act".

Article 4 of the Act shall be amended as follows

(a)

paragraph (a) of sub-article (1) thereof shall be

substituted by the following

"(a) in case of subsidiary legislation, a government

department, government entity or government agency

shall fill in the Impact Assessment Framework as set out

in Schedule I, or as may be further established under

any other legislation;";

(b) in sub-article (2) thereof, immediately after the

words "article 5" there shall be inserted the words "which entity

shall solely be responsible for overseeing the implementation of

Section 5 of the Impact Assessment Framework"; and

(c)

immediately after sub-article (2) thereof, there shall

be added the following new sub-article

"(3) The Impact Assessment Framework referred

to in this sub-article (1)(a) shall be published in the English

version only.".

Sub-article (2) of article 10 of the Act shall be amended Amendment of

article 10 of the

as follows

Act.

(a)

sub-paragraph (b) thereof shall be substituted as

follows

" ( b) fourteen other members representing the

entities or Ministries responsible for enterprise or whose

remit is relevant to the sector, namely

(i)

the Commerce Department;

(ii)

Malta Enterprise;

(iii) Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs

Authority;

(iv) the Enterprise Policy and Schemes

Directorate within the Ministry responsible for the

economy;

(v) the Economic Policy Division within the

Ministry responsible for finance;

(vi) the Malta Financial Services Authority;

(vii) the Local Government Department;

(viii)the Ministry for Gozo;

(ix) the Malta Tourism Authority;

(x) the

Malta

Environment

and

Planning

Authority;

(xi) the Ministry responsible for rural affairs;

(xii) the National Statistics Office;

(xiii)the Commissioner for Revenue; and

(xiv) the Ministry responsible for education and

employment."; and

(b) in sub-paragraph (c) thereof for the words "nine

members" there shall be substituted the words "ten members"

and for the words "the National Council of Women, the

Maltese Association of Women in Business, and the

Foundation for Women Entrepreneurs; and" there shall be

substituted the words "the National Council of Women, the

Maltese Association of Women in Business, the Foundation for

Women Entrepreneurs and the Maltese Association for Family

Enterprises; and".

In sub-article (1) of article 12 of the Act, the words "the

Enterprise Policy Directorate within the Ministry of Finance,

Economy and Investment" shall be substituted by the words "the

Enterprise Policy and Schemes Directorate within the Ministry

responsible for the economy".

In sub-article (1) of article 16 of the Act, the words "the

Ministry of Finance, Economy and Investment" shall be substituted

by the words "the Ministry responsible for the economy".

Schedule I of the Act shall be substituted by the

following

"Schedule I

(Article 4)

Impact Assessment Form

".

Passed by the House of Representatives at Sitting No. 283 of the 1st July,

2015. A NĠLU F ARRUGIA

Speaker

R AYMOND S CICLUNA

Clerk of the House of Representatives

€1.26