ACT No. XXVII of 2023 AN ACT to amend the Commissioner for Revenue Act, Cap. 517.

I assent.

(L.S.)

GEORGE VELLA

President

18th July, 2023

ACT No. XXVII of 2023

AN ACT to amend the Commissioner for Revenue Act, Cap. 517.

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 Commissioner for Revenue

(Amendment) Act, 2023, and this Act shall be read and construed as

one with the Commissioner for Revenue Act, hereinafter referred to as

"the principal Act".

In the principal Act, the words "Commissioner for Revenue"

shall be substituted by the words "Commissioner for Tax and

Customs" wherever they occur.

Article 1 of the principal Act shall be substituted by the

following new article

" Short title.

1. The short title of this Act is the Commissioner

for Tax and Customs Act.".

Article 2 of the principal Act shall be amended by the

following

(a) in the Maltese version, in the definition "il-Ministru"

the words "għal finanzi;" shall be substituted by the words "għal

finanzi." and immediately thereafter the definition "is-Segretarju

Permanenti" shall be deleted; and

(b)

the definition "the Permanent Secretary" shall be

deleted.

Article 3 of the principal Act shall be amended by the Amendment of

article 3 of the

following

principal Act.

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

following new sub-article

"(2) In exercising his functions in relation to the

determination of a person’s tax affairs under the revenue

Acts the Commissioner shall act independently and shall

not be subject to the direction or control of any board

established under this Act or of any Minister, Government

official, agency or authority.";

(b) in sub-article (3) thereof the words "and all

references to the Commissioner of Inland Revenue, the

Commissioner of Value Added Tax and the Comptroller of

Customs in any law shall be read and construed as references to

the Commissioner for Revenue" shall be deleted;

(c) immediately after sub-article (3) thereof there shall

be added the following new sub-article

"(3A) In any law, statutory form and judicial act, all

references to the Commissioner of Inland Revenue, the

Commissioner of Value Added Tax, the Comptroller of

Customs and the Commissioner for Revenue shall be read

and construed as references to the Commissioner for Tax

and Customs and all references to the Office of the

Commissioner for Revenue shall be read and construed as

references to the Malta Tax and Customs Administration.";

(d) paragraph (c) of sub-article (4) thereof shall be

deleted; and

(e)

sub-articles (8) and (11) thereof shall be deleted.

Immediately after article 4 of the principal Act there shall be Addition of new

Part IIA and

added the following new Part IIA and new articles 4A to 4G

new articles 4A

to 4G to the

principal Act.

"PART IIA

Board of Governance

4A. (1) There shall be a board, to be

Establishment and functions

of the Board of Governance.

known as the Board of Governance, and in this

Part referred to as "the Board", that shall be

accountable to the Minister and that shall have

the following functions

(a) to develop, review, update and

submit for the Minister’s approval

proposals for

(i) the vision of the Malta

Tax and Customs Administration;

(ii) the strategic document for

the Malta Tax and Customs

Administration;

(b) to review and report upon the

performance of the key functions of the

Commissioner;

(c) to review, and to advise and

make recommendations on, reports and

proposals that may be forwarded to it.

(2) It shall not be the function of the Board

to deal with, consider, review or make any

determination on matters that are specific to

particular persons or that require access to or an

investigation into the tax affairs of particular

persons.

(3) The Board shall prepare and submit

such annual and other reports on the performance

of its functions as the Minister may request.

4B. (1) The Board shall consist of not less

Constitution of the Board.

than five (5) and not more than seven (7)

members appointed by the Minister.

(2) The Minister shall appoint the members

of the Board from amongst persons with proven

experience in areas relevant to the functions of

the Board, such as tax management, economic

analysis, financial analysis, risk analysis and

fiscal law.

(3) The members of the Board shall be

appointed for a term of three (3) years against

such remuneration as the Minister may

determine and may be re-appointed in the

manner provided for in this article on the

expiration of their term of office.

(4) The members of the Board shall

discharge their duties in their own individual

judgement and shall not be subject to the

direction or control of any other person or

authority.

(5) A person shall not be qualified to be

appointed, or to hold office, as a member of the

Board if he

(a) is a member of the House of

Representatives or of the European

Parliament;

(b) is a serving judge or magistrate;

(c) is legally interdicted or

incapacitated;

(d) has been declared bankrupt or

has made a composition or scheme of

arrangement with his creditors;

(e) has been convicted of an

offence against a revenue Act, or of an

offence affecting public trust, or of theft or

fraud, or of knowingly receiving property

obtained by theft or fraud, or of bribery or

of money laundering, or has been

sentenced to a term of imprisonment for

any other reason;

(f) has any conflict of interest.

(6) A member of the Board may be relieved

of office by the Minister on the ground of a

conflict of interest or inability to perform the

functions of his office, whether due to infirmity

of mind or of body or to any other cause, or of

misbehaviour.For the purposes of this sub-

article, repeated unjustified non-attendance of

Board meetings may be deemed to amount to

misbehaviour.

(7) A member of the Board may resign from

office by letter addressed to the Minister.

(8) Where any vacancy occurs in the Board

for any reason other than the lapse of the term of

office, that vacancy shall, for the remainder of

the term of office which has become vacant, be

filled by another person appointed by the

Minister.

(9) The Minister shall appoint a person to

act as secretary of the Board and shall determine

his duties and terms of engagement.

(10) A person shall not be eligible for

appointment as secretary of the Board if he has a

conflict of interest.

4C. A chairperson and deputy chairperson of

Chairperson and deputy

chairperson of the Board.

the Board shall be appointed by the Prime

Minister after consultation with the Minister

from among the members of the Board. The

deputy chairperson shall have all the powers of

the chairperson and perform all the functions of

the chairperson during the chairperson’s absence

or inability to act as chairperson or while the

chairperson is on vacation or during any vacancy

in the office of chairperson.

4D. (1) For the purpose of sub-articles (5)

Conflict of interest.

and (10) of article 4B, but without prejudice to

the generality thereof, a person shall be deemed

to have a conflict of interest where the impartial

and objective exercise of his functions is

compromised for reasons involving family,

emotional life, political affinity, economic

interest or any other direct or indirect personal

interest.

(2) If a member of the Board or the

secretary of the Board has a conflict of interest,

he shall, as soon as may be after becoming aware

of that conflict, declare that interest to the

chairperson.

(3) When a conflict of interest of a person is

relevant to a particular matter that is not central

to the functions of the Board, and is not likely to

affect his impartiality and objectivity in relation

to the general functions of the Board, that person

shall refrain from participating in any discussion

or decision on that matter.

(4) When a conflict of interest of a person is

central to the functions of the Board, or is likely

to affect his impartiality and objectivity in

relation to the general functions of the Board, he

shall tender his resignation.

(5) Any question on the existence of a

conflict of interest, or on whether a matter is

central to the functions of the Board or is likely

to affect a person’s impartiality and objectivity in

relation to the general functions of the Board,

shall be decided by the chairperson of the Board

or, if the person in question is the chairperson, by

the deputy chairperson of the Board.

(6) The provisions of this article are without

prejudice to the powers of the Minister under

article 4B(6).

4E. (1) The Commissioner shall provide

Commissioner shall provide

information to the Board.

to the Board such information that he may

possess in virtue of his office as the Board may

reasonably request for the proper execution of its

functions. Requests for such information shall be

made by the chairperson of the Board.

(2) Notwithstanding sub-article (1), the

Commissioner shall not furnish the Board with

information that is specific to particular persons

and any information compiled from records

relating to particular persons shall be given in a

format that does not reveal, directly or indirectly,

the identity of those persons.

4F. (1) Except as necessary for the

Secrecy and confidentiality.

purposes of the revenue Acts, every member of

the Board and the secretary of the Board shall

regard and deal with all documents and

information that may come to his knowledge or

in his possession in his capacity, or in the

exercise of his duties, as a member of the Board

or as the secretary of the Board, as secret and

confidential and shall make and subscribe before

the Court of Appeal a declaration on oath to that

effect in the form set out in the Schedule.

(2) Any person who, except as provided for

or allowed under the revenue Acts or for the

purposes thereof, communicates or attempts to

communicate to any other person any matter or

thing coming to his notice or being in his

possession in the performance of his duties as a

member of the Board or as secretary of the Board

shall be guilty of an offence and shall, on

conviction, be liable to a fine (multa) of not less

than two hundred and thirty-two euro (€232) and

not more than two thousand and three hundred

and twenty-five euro (€2,325) or to

imprisonment for a period not exceeding six (6)

months, or to both such fine and imprisonment.

4G. (1) The Board shall meet within one

Proceedings of the Board.

(1) month from its constitution and as often as

may be necessary or expedient thereafter

Provided that it shall meet at least once

every two (2) months.

(2) The meetings of the Board shall be

called by the chairperson of the Board on his

own initiative, or at the request of any two (2) of

the other members or at the request of the

Commissioner.

(3) The Board shall not act unless a quorum

of three (3) members, which shall include the

chairperson or the deputy chairperson, is present.

(4) The meetings of the Board shall be

chaired by its chairperson, or in his absence, by

its deputy chairperson.

(5) The decisions of the Board shall be

adopted by a simple majority of the votes of the

members present and voting and in the event of

an equality of votes, the member presiding at the

meeting shall have and shall exercise a second or

casting vote.

(6) The Commissioner shall be entitled to

attend the meetings of the Board and to take part

in the discussions but shall have no vote. The

absence of the Commissioner from any meeting

shall not invalidate the proceedings of such

meeting.

(7) The Board may delegate to its chairman,

to a sub-committee of its members or to the

Commissioner responsibilities for such specific

matters or for such areas of its functions as it

may consider necessary. When such a delegation

has been made, the chairman, the sub-committee

or the Commissioner, as the case may be, shall

report their findings and conclusions to the

Board and no such findings and conclusions shall

be considered as final unless they have been

ratified by the Board.

(8) Any vacancy among the members of the

Board, and any participation therein by a person

not entitled so to do, shall not invalidate the

proceedings of the Board.

(9) The Board shall have at its disposal such

place or places for its meetings and such

equipment for the performance of its functions as

the Minister may direct. The Commissioner shall

provide the Board with all secretarial support

that the Board may reasonably require.

(10) The Commissioner shall keep a record

of the proceedings of the Board and of its sub-

committees.

(11) Subject to the provisions of this Act, the

Board may regulate its own procedure.

(12) All acts done by any person acting in

good faith as a member of the Board shall be

valid as if he were a member notwithstanding

that some defect in his appointment or

qualification be afterwards discovered.".

Immediately after article 9 of the principal Act there shall be Addition of new

articles 10 to 12

added the following new articles

to the principal

Act.

The Commissioner, the members of the boards

established under this Act and the persons having any

official duty or being employed in the administration of

the revenue acts shall not be held liable in damages for

anything done or omitted to be done in the discharge or

purported discharge of any function under this Act,

unless the act is shown to have been done or omitted to

be done, as the case may be, in bad faith.

Any judicial act filed by the Commissioner and

any judicial act filed by any person to be served upon

the Commissioner or in proceedings against the

Commissioner in terms or for the purposes of any

revenue Act, shall clearly indicate in the heading,

below the name of the court or tribunal in which it is

filed, the revenue Act in question. A default of

compliance with this provision shall not constitute

grounds for the nullity of the judicial act or judicial

proceedings in question provided that the defect is

rectified by the party filing that act as soon as may be

after it has been requested to do so by that court or by

that tribunal.

Notwithstanding the provisions of articles

Set-off of debts due

1196 to 1204 of the Civil Code, both inclusive, no set-

off may be made of any debt due in terms of a revenue

Act to or by the Commissioner or any official to whom

the Commissioner has delegated functions in

accordance with sub-article (4) of article 3 against any

debt due in terms of any other revenue Act by or to the

Commissioner or such other official as aforesaid

Provided that a set-off as aforesaid may be

made and shall have effect to such extent and in such

manner as may be approved by the Commissioner or as

may be prescribed.".

Immediately after the new article 12 of the principal Act, as

8. added, there shall be added the following new Schedule

"SCHEDULE

(Article 4F)

COMMISSIONER FOR TAX AND CUSTOMS ACT

Declaration in terms of article 4F

I,..........................................................................................

…..................................................................................................

do solemnly and sincerely declare that I shall deal with and

regard all information, data and documents, and copies thereof,

that may come to my knowledge or in my possession in my

capacity as, or in the exercise of my duties as, a member / the

secretary (delete as necessary) of the Board of Governance

established in terms of the Commissioner for Tax and Customs

Act as secret and confidential and that I shall not at any time

communicate such information or data, or the contents of such

documents, or copies thereof to any person except as may be

necessary for the purpose of duly executing my duties as member

/ the secretary (delete as necessary) of the said Board of

Governance.

Signature

Declared on oath before the Court of Appeal, this ................ day

of ...............................

Registrar".

CONSEQUENTIAL AMENDMENTS

The Customs Ordinance shall be amended by the following

9. Amendment to

the Customs

Ordinance.

(a) the words "Commissioner for Revenue" thereof shall

be substituted by the words "Commissioner for Tax and

Customs" wherever they occur; and

(b) in the Maltese version, in sub-article (1) of article 5

thereof the words "tal-Kummissarju" shall be substituted by the

words "tal-Kummissarju tat-Taxxa u d-Dwana".

10. In the Income Tax Act the words "Commissioner for Amendment to

Revenue" shall be substituted by the words "Commissioner for Tax the

Act.

and Customs".

11. In the Import Duties Act the words "Commissioner for Amendment to

Revenue" shall be substituted by the words "Commissioner for Tax the

Duties Act.

and Customs" wherever they occur.

12. In the Duty on Documents and Transfers Act the words Amendment to

"Commissioner for Revenue" shall be substituted by the words the

Documents and

"Commissioner for Tax and Customs" wherever they occur.

Transfers Act.

In the Value Added Tax Act the words "Commissioner for Amendment to

Revenue" shall be substituted by the words "Commissioner for Tax the

Added Tax Act.

and Customs" wherever they occur.

Passed by the House of Representatives at Sitting No. 148 of the

12th July, 2023.

ANĠLU FARRUGIA

Speaker

RAYMOND SCICLUNA

Clerk of the House of Representatives

€1.08