ACT No. XIII of 2022 An ACT to amend the Consumer Affairs Act, Cap. 378 and other laws relating to consumer protection.

I assent.

(L.S.)

FRANK BEZZINA

Acting President

21st October, 2022

ACT No. XIII of 2022

An ACT to amend the Consumer Affairs Act, Cap. 378 and other

laws relating to consumer protection.

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:-

(1) The short title of this Act is the Consumer Affairs Act and Short title,

commencement

other Laws relating to consumer protection (Amendment) Act, 2022.

and scope.

(2) This Act shall come into force upon its publication in the

Gazette.

Provided that any pending investigations commenced, or any

judicial proceedings instituted according to the Consumer Affairs Act Cap.378.

and any regulations made thereunder, prior to the entry into force of this

Act, shall continue to be regulated by the Consumer Affairs Act and any

regulations made thereunder as in force prior to entry into force of this

Act.

(3) The scope of this Act is to transpose Directive (EU) 2019/

2161 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 November

2019 amending Council Directive 93/13/EEC and Directives 98/6/EC,

2005/29/EC and 2011/83/EU of the European Parliament and of the

Council as regards the better enforcement and modernisation of Union

consumer protection rules, and to carry out other necessary

amendments.

PART I

AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSUMER AFFAIRS ACT

This Part amends the Consumer Affairs Act and shall be read

and construed as one with the Consumer Affairs Act, hereinafter in this

Part referred to as "the principal Act".

Article 12I of the principal Act shall be amended as follows

(a) the marginal note thereof shall be substituted by the

following new marginal note

"Appeals to the Court of Appeal and publication of

judgements.";

(b)

In its proviso thereof, the words "all the parties."

shall be substituted by the words "all the parties:" and

immediately after the proviso thereto, there shall be added the

following new provisos

"Provided further that the Court of Appeal shall publish any

judgement having regard to the legitimate interest of the person

concerned in the protection of his business secrets or other confidential

information. The Court of Appeal may give the parties concerned the

opportunity to specify the confidential parts of the judgement which

they want to be excluded from publication

Provided further that the Court of Appeal shall ultimately

decide which version shall be published

Provided further that the Director General shall also publish

on the website of the Authority the judgement delivered by the Court

of Appeal.".

In the proviso of sub-article (1) of article 21 of the principal

Act, the words "according to law." shall be substituted by the words

"according to law:" and immediately after the proviso thereto, there

shall be added the following new proviso

"Provided further that when determining issues in

disputes that concern harm suffered by consumers resulting from

unfair commercial practices, the tribunal shall order

proportionate and effective remedies, including compensation

for damage suffered by the consumer and, where relevant, a price

reduction or the termination of the contract; taking also into

account, where appropriate, the gravity and nature of the unfair

commercial practice, the damage suffered by the consumer and

other relevant circumstances.".

Article 51A of the principal Act shall be amended as follows

Amendment of

article 51A of

the principal

(a) immediately after the definition "invitation to

Act.

purchase", there shall be added the following new definition

" "online marketplace" means a service using

software, including a website, part of a website or an

application, operated by or on behalf of a trader which

allows consumers to conclude distance contracts with other

traders or consumers;";

(b) the definition "product" shall be substituted by the

following new definition

" "product" means any good or service including

immovable property, digital service and digital content, as

well as rights and obligations;"; and

(c) immediately after the definition "professional

diligence", there shall be added the following new definition

" "ranking" means the relative prominence given to

products, as presented, organised or communicated by the

trader, irrespective of the technological means used for

such presentation, organisation or communication;".

In sub-paragraph (ii) of paragraph (c) of article 51C of the Amendment of

principal Act, the words "he is bound by the code;" shall be replaced article

the principal

by the words "he is bound by the code; or" and immediately thereafter Act.

there shall be added the following new sub-paragraph

"(iii) any marketing of a good, in one Member State,

as being identical to a good marketed in other Member

States, while that good has significantly different

composition or characteristics, unless justified by legitimate

and objective factors.".

Article 51D of the principal Act shall be amended as follows

Amendment of

article 51D of

the principal

(a)

sub-article (3) thereof shall be amended as follows

Act.

(i) paragraph (d) thereof shall be substituted by the

following new paragraph

"(d) the arrangements for payment, delivery

and performance, if they depart from the

requirements of professional diligence;";

(ii)

in paragraph (e) thereof, the words "the

existence of such a right." shall be substituted by the words

"the existence of such a right;" and immediately thereafter

there shall be added the following new paragraph

"(f) for products offered on online marketplaces,

whether the third party offering the products is a trader or

not, on the basis of the declaration of that third party to the

provider of the online marketplace.";

(b) immediately after sub-article (3) thereof, as

amended, there shall be added the following new sub-article

"(3a) When providing consumers with the

possibility to search for products offered by different

traders or by consumers on the basis of a query in the form

of a keyword, phrase or other input, irrespective of where

transactions are ultimately concluded, general information,

made available in a specific section of the online interface

that is directly and easily accessible from the page where

the query results are presented, on the main parameters

determining the ranking of products presented to the

consumer as a result of the search query and the relative

importance of those parameters, as opposed to other

parameters, shall be regarded as material

Provided that this sub-article does not apply to

providers of online search engines as defined in point (6)

of Article 2 of Regulation (EU) 2019/1150 of the European

Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on

promoting fairness and transparency for business users of

online intermediation services."; and

(c) immediately after sub-article (4) thereof, there shall

be added the following new sub-article

"(5) Where a trader provides access to consumer

reviews of products, information about whether and how

the trader ensures that the published reviews originate from

consumers who have actually used or purchased the

product shall be regarded as material.".

Article 106A of the principal Act shall be amended as

(a) in sub-article (3) thereof, the words "proportionate

and dissuasive." shall be substituted by the words "proportionate

and dissuasive:" and immediately thereafter there shall be added

the following new provisos

"Provided that the Civil Court shall, when

determining penalties with regard to infringements of this

Act or any regulations made thereunder, where appropriate

take into account the following non-exhaustive and

indicative criteria, unless a different criteria is prescribed

for specific regulations

(a) the nature, gravity, scale and duration of

the infringement;

(b) any action taken by the seller, trader or

supplier to mitigate or remedy the damage suffered

by consumers;

(c) any previous infringements by the seller,

trader or supplier;

(d) the financial benefits gained or losses

avoided by the seller, trader or supplier due to the

infringement, if the relevant data are available;

(e) penalties imposed on the seller, trader or

supplier for the same infringement in other Member

States in cross-border cases where information about

such penalties is available through the mechanism

established by the Consumer Protection Co-

operation Regulation;

(f) any other aggravating or mitigating

factors applicable to the circumstances of the case

Provided further that for infringements to Part VII

and Part VIII of this Act, and the Consumer Rights

Regulations, when penalties are to be imposed in

accordance with Article 21 of the Consumer Protection

Co-operation Regulation, the Civil Court shall impose a

penalty up to a maximum of four percent (4%) of the

seller’s, trader's or supplier ’s annual turnover in the

Member State or Member States concerned

Provided further that where a penalty is imposed

in accordance with the preceding proviso, but information

on the seller’s, trader's or supplier’s annual turnover is not

available, the Civil Court shall impose a penalty up to a

maximum of two million euro (€2 million).".

Article 114 of the principal Act shall be substituted by the Substitution of

article 114 of

the principal

Act.

following

114. The institution of judicial proceedings and the

prosecution of an offence under this Act or any regulations

made thereunder, unless a different term is prescribed

therefor, shall be prescribed by the lapse of five years from

the date on which the infringement or the offence is alleged

to have been committed.".

The First Schedule to the principal Act shall be amended as

(a) immediately after point 11 thereof, there shall be

added the following new point

"11a. Providing search results in response to a

consumer’s online search query without clearly disclosing

any paid advertisement or payment specifically for

achieving higher ranking of products within the search

results.";

(b) immediately after point 23 thereof, there shall be

added the following new points

"23a. Reselling events tickets to consumers if the

trader acquired them by using automated means to

circumvent any limit imposed on the number of tickets that

a person can buy or any other rules applicable to the

purchase of tickets.

23b. Stating that reviews of a product are submitted

by consumers who have actually used or purchased the

product without taking reasonable and proportionate steps

to check that they originate from such consumers.

23c. Submitting or commissioning another legal or

natural person to submit false consumer reviews or

endorsements, or misrepresenting consumer reviews or

social endorsements, in order to promote products.".

PART II

AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSUMER AFFAIRS ACT (PRICE

INDICATON) REGULATIONS

This Part amends the Consumer Affairs Act (Price Amendments to

Indication) Regulations and shall be read and construed as one with the the

Affairs Act

Consumer Affairs Act (Price Indication) Regulations, hereinafter in (Price

Indication)

this Part referred to as "the principal regulations".

Regulations.

12 Sub-regulation (2) of regulation 2 of the principal regulations Amendment of

regulation 2 of

shall be amended as follows

the principal

regulations.

(a)

the definition "annual percentage rate" shall be

deleted;

(b) the definition "consumer" shall be substituted by the

following new definition

" "consumer" means any natural person who buys a

product for purposes that do not fall within the sphere of

his commercial or professional activity;";

(c) immediately after the definition "consumer" as

substituted there shall be added the following new definition

"place of business" means any place from where any

trade or business is carried out including any stall, or

online marketplace as defined in the Consumer Rights

Regulations;";

(d) immediately after the definition "products sold in

bulk" there shall be added the following new definition

" "stall" means any vehicle, compartment, bench,

board, trolley, table or receptacle or a combination thereof

placed in any marketplace for the sale of goods.".

Is-subregolament (2) tar-regolament

tar-regolamenti Emenda tar-

regolament 2

prinċipali għandu jiġi emendat kif ġej

tar-regolamenti

prinċipali.

(a) it-tifsira "konsumatur" għandha tiġi sostitwita b’din

it-tifsira ġdida li ġejja

" "konsumatur" tfisser kull persuna naturali li tixtri

prodott għall-għanijiet li ma jaqgħux fl-ambitu tal-attività

kummerċjali jew professjonali tagħha;";

(b) minnufih wara t-tifsira "konsumatur", kif sostitwita,

għandha tiġi miżjuda t-tifsira ġdida li ġejja

"lok tal-kummerċ" tfisser kwalunkwe lok minn fejn

jitwettaq kwalunkwe kummerċ jew negozju inkluż

f’posta, jew fis-suq online kif definit fir-Regolamenti

dwar id-Drittijiet tal-Konsumatur;";

(ċ) minnufih wara t-tifsira "oġġetti mibjugħin bil-

kwantità" għandha tiġi miżjuda t-tifsira ġdida li ġejja

" "posta" tfisser kull vettura, kompartiment, bank,

bord, trolley, mejda, jew tilar, jew l-aggregazzjoni

tagħhom, imqiegħda f’suq fil-beraħ għal bejgħ ta’

oġġetti;";

(d) it-tifsira "rata perċentwali annwali" għandha tiġi

mħassra.

Immediately after regulation 5 of the principal regulations Addition of new

regulation to the

there shall be added the following new regulation

principal

regulations.

5A. (1) Any announcement of a price reduction

shall indicate the prior price applied by the trader for a

determined period of time prior to the application of the

(2) The prior price means the lowest price applied by

the trader during a period of time not shorter than thirty

(30) days prior to the application of the price reduction

Provided that for goods which are liable to

deteriorate or expire rapidly, the prior price is the one

applied immediately before the price reduction

Provided further that if the goods have been on

the market for less than thirty (30) days, the prior price

means the lowest price applied by the trader during this

period

Provided further that when the price reduction is

progressively increased, the prior price is the price without

the price reduction before the first application of the price

reduction.".

Regulation 9 of the principal regulations shall be amended as

(a) sub-regulation 2 thereof shall be substituted by the

following new sub-regulation

"(2) Proceedings in respect of an offence against

these regulations shall be commenced within one year from

the commission of the offence.";

(b) paragraphs (a) and (b) of sub-regulation 3 thereof

shall be substituted by the following new paragraphs

"(a) in the case of a first conviction, to a fine of not

less than one hundred and fifty euro (€150) and not

exceeding one thousand and five hundred euro (€1,500);

(b) in the case of a second or subsequent

conviction, to a fine of not less than two hundred euro

(€200) and not exceeding two thousand euro (€2,000)

Provided that the Court, when imposing a fine,

shall take into account the following non-exhaustive and

indicative criteria

(i) the nature, gravity, scale and duration of

the infringement;

(ii) any action taken by the trader to mitigate

or remedy the damage suffered by consumers;

(iii) any previous infringements by the trader;

(iv) the financial benefits gained or losses

avoided by the trader due to the infringement, if the

relevant data are available;

(v) penalties imposed on the trader for the

same infringement in other Member States in cross-

border cases where information about such penalties

is available through the mechanism established by

the Consumer Protection Co-operation Regulation as

defined in article 2 of the Act;

(vi) any other aggravating or mitigating

factors applicable to the circumstances of the case

Provided further that with regard to any convictions, the Court

shall order the publication in one or more daily newspapers of the

judgement, or a statement or summary thereof, passed on the offender

Provided further that with regard to any convictions, the

Director General shall also publish on the website of the Authority the

judgement delivered by the Court, or a statement or summary thereof,

passed on the offender.".

PART III

AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSUMER RIGHTS

REGULATIONS

This Part amends the Consumer Rights Regulations and shall Amendments to

be read and construed as one with the Consumer Rights Regulations, the

Rights

hereinafter in this Part referred to as "the principal regulations".

Regulations.

Sub-regulation (2) of regulation 2 of the principal regulations Amendments of

regulation 2 of

shall be amended as follows

the principal

regulations.

(a) immediately after the definition "commercial

guarantee" there shall be added the following new definition

"compatibility" means compatibility as defined in sub-

regulation (1) of regulation 2 of the Digital Content and

"S.L.378.20.

Digital Services Contracts Regulations;";

(b) the definition "digital content" shall be substituted by

the following new definition

"digital content" means digital content as defined in

sub-regulation (1) of regulation 2 of the Digital Content

" S.L.378.20.

and Digital Services Contracts Regulations;";

(c)

immediately after the definition "digital content"

there shall be added the following new definition

"digital service" means digital service as defined in sub-

regulation (1) of regulation 2 of the Digital Content and

Digital Services Contracts Regulations;";

(d) immediately after the definition "financial service"

there shall be added the following new definition

"functionality" means functionality as defined in sub-

regulation (1) of regulation 2 of the Digital Content and

Digital Services Contracts Regulations;";

(e) the definition "goods" shall be substituted by the

following new definition

"goods" means goods as defined in sub-article (1) of

article 72 of the Act;";

(f) immediately after the definition "goods made to the

specifications of the consumer" there shall be added the

following new definition

"interoperability" means interoperability as defined in

sub-regulation (1) of regulation 2 of the Digital Content

and Digital Services Contracts Regulations;";

(g) immediately after the definition of "off-premises

contract" there shall be added the following three new

definitions

" "online marketplace" means a service using

software, including a website, part of a website or an

application, operated by or on behalf of a trader which

allows consumers to conclude distance contracts with other

traders or consumers;

"personal data" means personal data as defined in

point (1) of Article 4 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the

European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016

on the protection of natural persons with regard to the

processing of personal data and on the free movement of

such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data

Protection Regulation);";

"provider of an online marketplace" means any trader

which provides an online marketplace to consumers;";

(h) the definition "sales contract" shall be substituted by

the following new definition

" "sales contract" means any contract under which

the trader transfers or undertakes to transfer ownership of

goods to the consumer, including any contract having as its

object both goods and services;";

(i) the definition "service contract" shall be substituted

by the following new definition

" "service contract" means any contract other than a

sales contract under which the trader supplies or

undertakes to supply a service, including a digital service,

to the consumer;".

Regulation 3 of the principal regulations shall be amended as Amendment of

regulation 3 of

the principal

regulations.

(a) sub-regulation (1) thereof shall be substituted by the

following new sub-regulation

"(1) These regulations shall apply, under the

conditions and to the extent set out in their provisions, to

any contract concluded between a trader and a consumer

where the consumer pays or undertakes to pay the price.

These regulations shall also apply to contracts for the

supply of water, gas or electricity, including by public

providers, to the extent that these commodities are

provided on a contractual basis.";

(b) immediately after sub-regulation (1) thereof as

substituted, there shall be added the following new sub-

regulation

"(1a) These regulations shall also apply where the

trader supplies or undertakes to supply digital content

which is not supplied on a tangible medium or a digital

service to the consumer and the consumer provides or

undertakes to provide personal data to the trader, except

where the personal data provided by the consumer are

exclusively processed by the trader for the purpose of

supplying the digital content which is not supplied on a

tangible medium or digital service in accordance with these

regulations or for allowing the trader to comply with legal

requirements to which the trader is subject, and the trader

does not process those data for any other purpose.";

(c)

sub-regulation (3) thereof shall be amended as

follows

(i) paragraph (k) thereof shall be substituted by the

following new paragraph

"(k) for passenger transport services, with the

exception of regulations 9(2), 21, 23 and 24;";

(ii) paragraph (m) thereof shall be substituted by

the following new paragraph

"(m) concluded with telecommunications

operators through public payphones for their use or

concluded for the use of one single connection by

telephone, internet or fax established by a

consumer;";

(d) immediately after paragraph (m) thereof as

substituted, there shall be added the following new paragraph

"(n) for any goods sold by way of execution or

otherwise by authority of law.".

Regulation 4 of the principal regulations shall be amended as

(a) paragraph (e) of sub-regulation (1) thereof shall be

substituted by the following new paragraph

"(e) in addition to a reminder of the existence of the

legal guarantee of conformity for goods, digital content

and digital services, the existence and the conditions of

after-sales services and commercial guarantees, where

applicable; ";

(b) paragraphs (g) and (h) of sub-regulation (1) shall be

substituted by the following new paragraphs

"(g) where applicable, the functionality, including

applicable technical protection measures, of goods with

digital elements, digital content and digital services;

(h) where applicable, any relevant compatibility

and interoperability of goods with digital elements, digital

content and digital services that the trader is aware of or

can reasonably be expected to have been aware of.".

Sub-regulation (1) of regulation 5 of the principal regulations Amendment of

regulation 5 of

shall be amended as follows

the principal

regulations.

(a) paragraph (c) thereof shall be substituted by the

following new paragraph

"(c) the geographical address at which the trader is

established as well as the trader’s telephone number and

email address; in addition, where the trader provides other

means of online communication which guarantee that the

consumer can keep any written correspondence, including

the date and time of such correspondence, with the trader

on a durable medium, the information shall also include

details of those other means; all those means of

communication provided by the trader shall enable the

consumer to contact the trader quickly and communicate

with him efficiently; where applicable, the trader shall also

provide the geographical address and identity of the trader

on whose behalf he is acting;";

(b) immediately after paragraph (e) thereof, there shall

be added the following new paragraph

"(ea) where applicable, that the price was

personalised on the basis of automated decision-making;";

(c) paragraph (l) thereof shall be substituted by the

following new paragraph

"(l) a reminder of the existence of a legal guarantee

of conformity for goods, digital content and digital

services;";

(d) paragraphs (r) and (s) thereof shall be substituted by

the following new paragraphs

"(r) where applicable, the functionality, including

applicable technical protection measures, of goods with

digital elements, digital content and digital services;

(s) where applicable, any relevant compatibility

and interoperability of goods with digital elements, digital

content and digital services that the trader is aware of or

can reasonably be expected to have been aware of.".

Immediately after regulation 5 of the principal regulations, Addition of a

new regulation

to the principal

regulations.

there shall be added the following new regulation

5A. (1) Before a consumer is bound by a distance

contract, or any corresponding offer, on an online

marketplace, the provider of the online marketplace shall,

without prejudice to the provisions in Part VIII of the Act,

provide the consumer with the following information in a

clear and comprehensible manner and in a way appropriate

to the means of distance communication

(a) general information, made available in a

specific section of the online interface that is directly

and easily accessible from the page where the offers

are presented, on the main parameters determining

ranking, as defined in Article 51A of the Act, of

offers presented to the consumer as a result of the

search query and the relative importance of those

parameters as opposed to other parameters;

(b) whether the third party offering the

goods, services or digital content is a trader or not,

on the basis of the declaration of that third party to

the provider of the online marketplace;

(c) where the third party offering the goods,

services or digital content is not a trader, that the

consumer rights stemming from European Union

consumer protection law do not apply to the

contract;

(d) where applicable, how the obligations

related to the contract are shared between the third

party offering the goods, services or digital content

and the provider of the online marketplace, such

information being without prejudice to any

responsibility that the provider of the online

marketplace or the third-party trader has in relation to

the contract under other European Union or national

law.".

Sub-regulation (3) of regulation 8 of the principal regulations

shall be substituted by the following new sub-regulation

"(3) Where a consumer wants the performance of

services, or the supply of water, gas or electricity, where they are

not put up for sale in a limited volume or set quantity, to begin

during the withdrawal period provided for in regulation 10(2),

and the contract places the consumer under an obligation to pay,

the trader shall require that the consumer make such an express

request on a durable medium and request the consumer to

acknowledge that, once the contract has been fully performed by

the trader, the consumer will no longer have the right of

withdrawal.".

Regulation 9 of the principal regulations shall be amended as Amendment of

regulation 9 of

the principal

regulations.

(a) sub-regulation (4) thereof shall be substituted by the

following new sub-regulation

"(4) If the contract is concluded through a means of

distance communication which allows limited space or

time to display the information, the trader shall provide, on

or through that particular means prior to the conclusion of

such a contract, at least the pre-contractual information

regarding the main characteristics of the goods or services,

the identity of the trader, the total price, the right of

withdrawal, the duration of the contract and, if the contract

is of indeterminate duration, the conditions for terminating

the contract, as referred to, respectively, in regulation

5(1)(a), (b), (e), (h) and (o), except the model withdrawal

form set out in Part B of the Schedule referred to in

paragraph (h). The other information referred to in

regulation 5(1), including the model withdrawal form, shall

be provided by the trader to the consumer in an appropriate

way in accordance with sub-regulation (1) of this

regulation.";

(b) sub-regulation (8) thereof shall be substituted by the

following new sub-regulation

"(8) Where a consumer wants the performance of

services, or the supply of water, gas or electricity, where

they are not put up for sale in a limited volume or set

quantity, to begin during the withdrawal period provided

for in regulation 10(2), and the contract places the

consumer under an obligation to pay, the trader shall

require that the consumer make an express request and

request the consumer to acknowledge that, once the

contract has been fully performed by the trader, the

consumer will no longer have the right of withdrawal.".

Regulation 10 of the principal regulations shall be amended as Amendment of

regulation 10 of

the principal

regulations.

(a) in sub-regulation (1) thereof, the words "regulations

15(2) and 16." shall be substituted by the words "regulations

15(2) and 16:" and immediately thereafter there shall be added

the following new proviso

"Provided that for contracts concluded in the

context of unsolicited visits by a trader to a consumer’s

home or excursions organised by a trader with the aim or

effect of promoting or selling products to consumers, the

withdrawal period of fourteen (14) days is extended to

thirty (30) days.";

(b) the introductory words of sub-regulation (2) thereof

shall be substituted by the following new words

"(2) Without prejudice to regulation 12, the

withdrawal period referred to in sub-regulation (1) shall

expire after fourteen (14) days or, in cases under the

proviso of sub-regulation (1) after thirty (30) days from:".

Sub-regulation (2) of regulation 12 of the principal

regulations shall be substituted by the following new sub-regulation

"(2) If the trader has provided the consumer with the

information provided for in sub-regulation (1) within twelve (12)

months from the day referred to in regulation 10(2), the

withdrawal period shall expire fourteen (14) days, or in cases

under the proviso of sub-regulation (1) after thirty (30) days,

after the day upon which the consumer receives that

information.".

Immediately after sub-regulation (3) of regulation 15 of the

principal regulations, there shall be added the following new sub-

regulations

"(4) In respect of personal data of the consumer, the

trader shall comply with the obligations applicable under

Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament

and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of

natural persons with regard to the processing of personal

data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing

Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation)

and the Data Protection Act.

(5) The trader shall refrain from using any content,

other than personal data, which was provided or created

by the consumer when using the digital content or digital

service supplied by the trader, except where such content

(a) has no utility outside the context of the

digital content or digital service supplied by the

trader;

(b) only relates to the consumer’s activity

when using the digital content or digital service

supplied by the trader;

(c) has been aggregated with other data by

the trader and cannot be disaggregated or only with

disproportionate efforts; or

(d) has been generated jointly by the

consumer and others, and other consumers are able

to continue to make use of the content.

(6) Except in the situations referred to in sub-

regulation (5)(a), (b) or (c), the trader shall, at the request

of the consumer, make available to the consumer any

content, other than personal data, which was provided or

created by the consumer when using the digital content or

digital service supplied by the trader.

(7) The consumer shall be entitled to retrieve that

digital content free of charge, without hindrance from the

trader, within a reasonable time and in a commonly used

and machine-readable format.

(8) In the event of withdrawal from the contract, the

trader may prevent any further use of the digital content or

digital service by the consumer, in particular by making

the digital content or digital service inaccessible to the

consumer or disabling the user account of the consumer,

without prejudice to sub-regulation (6).".

Regulation 16 of the principal regulations shall be amended as Amendment of

(a) immediately after sub-regulation (2) thereof there

shall be added the following new sub-regulation

"(2a) In the event of withdrawal from the contract,

the consumer shall refrain from using the digital content or

digital service and from making it available to third

parties.";

(b) sub-regulation (4)(b)(i) thereof shall be substituted

by the following new sub-paragraph

"(i) the consumer has not given prior express

consent to the beginning of the performance before the end

of the fourteen (14) day or thirty (30) day period referred to

in regulation 10;".

Regulation 18 of the principal regulations shall be amended as

(a) paragraph (a) thereof shall be substituted by the

following new paragraph

"(a) service contracts after the service has been

fully performed but, if the contract places the consumer

under an obligation to pay, only if the performance has

begun with the consumer’s prior express consent and

acknowledgement that he will lose his right of withdrawal

once the contract has been fully performed by the trader;";

(b) paragraph (m) thereof shall be substituted by the

following new paragraph

"(m) contracts for the supply of digital content

which is not supplied on a tangible medium if the

performance has begun and, if the contract places the

consumer under an obligation to pay, where

(i) the consumer has provided prior express

consent to begin the performance during the right of

withdrawal period;

(ii) the

consumer

has

provided

acknowledgement that he thereby loses his right of

withdrawal; and

(iii) the trader has provided confirmation in

accordance with regulation 8(2) or regulation 9(7)

Provided that for contracts concluded in the context of

unsolicited visits by a trader to a consumer’s home or excursions

organised by a trader with the aim or effect of promoting or selling

products to consumers, the exceptions from the right of withdrawal set

out in paragraphs (a), (b), (c) and (e) shall not apply.".

The Schedule to the principal regulations shall be amended as

(a) the second paragraph, "The withdrawal period will

expire after 14 days from the day [1]." under "Right of

withdrawal", in Part A thereof shall be substituted by the

following new paragraph

"The withdrawal period shall expire after 14 days

from the day [1]. (For contracts concluded in the context of

unsolicited visits by the trader to a consumer’s home or

excursions organised by the trader with the aim or effect of

promoting or selling products to consumers, the

withdrawal period will expire after 30 days.)";

(b) the third paragraph, "To exercise the right of

withdrawal, you must inform us [2] of your decision to withdraw

from this contract by an unequivocal statement (e.g. a letter sent

by post, fax or e-mail). You may use the attached model

withdrawal form, but it is not obligatory [3]." under "Right of

withdrawal", in Part A thereof shall be substituted by the

following new paragraph

"To exercise the right of withdrawal, you must

inform us [2] of your decision to withdraw from this

contract by an unequivocal statement (e.g. a letter sent by

post or email). You may use the attached model withdrawal

form but it is not obligatory. [3]";

(c) paragraph [2] under "Instructions for completion" in

Part A thereof shall be substituted by the following new

paragraph

"[2.] Insert your name, geographical address,

telephone number and email address.";

(d) the first indent, "- To [here the trader’s name,

geographical address and, where available, his fax number and e-

mail address are to be inserted by the trader]:", in Part B thereof,

shall be substituted by the following new indent

"-

To [here the trader’s name, geographical

address and email address are to be inserted by the

trader]:".

Passed by the House of Representatives at Sitting No. 33 of the 17th

October, 2022.

ANĠLU FARRUGIA

Speaker

RAYMOND SCICLUNA

Clerk of the House of Representatives

€1.89