SUPPLIES AND SERVICES ACT

SUPPLIES AND SERVICES

CHAPTER 117

SUPPLIES AND SERVICES ACT

To make provision for maintaining supplies and services essential to the

life of the community and for controlling the production, distribution and

consumption of goods.

30th December, 1947

ACT IV of 1947, as amended by Emergency Ordinances II and XV of

1958; Ordinances XVII of 1961 and XXV of 1962; Legal Notice 4 of 1963;

Act XIV of 1965; Legal Notices 46 of 1965 and 148 of 1975; Acts XI of

1977, XLIX of 1981, XV of 1982 and XIII of 1983; Legal Notice 409 of

2007; and Act V of 2007.

The short title of this Act is the Supplies and Services Act.

(1)

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires

"essential goods", "essential supplies", "essential services" and

"essential work" mean goods, supplies, services or work appearing

to the Minister responsible for trade to be essential in the public

interest or to be essential to the life of the community;

"prescribed" or "specified" means prescribed or specified by

regulation under this Act;

"requisition" means, in relation to any goods, take possession of

the goods or require the goods to be placed at the disposal of the

requisitioning authority;

"sale" includes any disposal under whatever title whether

onerous or gratuitous and any transfer of goods from one’s

possession;

"undertaking" means any public utility or private utility

undertaking, or any industrial or commercial enterprise, or any

professional or educational enterprise, organisation, institution or

service whether the activity is carried on by one person or more.

(2) Any reference to articles or goods shall be construed as

including a reference to substances, materials, produce, vehicles,

vessels, or animals.

(1) The Minister responsible for trade may make, and,

when made, amend, repeal or re-enact regulations for maintaining

supplies and services essential to the life of the community and for

controlling the production, distribution, use or consumption of

goods and in particular but without prejudice to the generality of

the foregoing power, may make regulations for all or any of the

following purposes -

(a) for regulating or prohibiting the production, treatment,

keeping, storage, movement, transport, importation,

exportation, distribution, sale, purchase, use or

consumption of articles of any description, and, in

particular, for controlling the prices at which such

articles may be sold;

SUPPLIES AND SERVICES

(b) for regulating the carrying on of any undertaking

engaged in essential work, and, in particular, for

controlling the charges which may be made by the

undertakers in respect of the doing of any work by

them;

(c) for requiring persons carrying on, or employed in

connection with, any specified trade, business or

undertaking to keep such books, accounts, or

documents as may be specified and to produce to any

officer or officers as may be specified, any books,

accounts or other documents relating to that trade,

business or undertaking and for requiring any persons

to furnish to such officer or officers as may be

specified, such estimates or returns as such officer or

officers may require;

(d) for any incidental and supplementary matters for

which the Minister responsible for trade thinks it

expedient for the purposes of the regulations to

provide, including, in particular, the entering and

inspection of premises to which the regulations relate,

by persons authorized in that behalf by the Minister

responsible for trade with a view to securing

compliance with the regulations; and such regulations

may prohibit the doing of anything regulated thereby

except under the authority of a licence granted by such

authority or person as may be specified and may be

made so as to apply either to undertakings generally or

to any particular person or undertaking or class of

persons or undertakings, and either to the whole or to

any part of any undertaking, and so as to have effect

either throughout Malta or in any particular area

therein;

(e) for empowering the Administrative Review Tribunal

established in terms of article 5 of the Administrative

Justice Act, for the purpose of taking cognizance of

offences under all or any specified regulations made

under this Act, for prescribing the procedure to be

followed by the said Tribunal, for establishing the

jurisdiction thereof; and for providing, where

necessary, for applying the provisions of the

Administrative Justice Act to appeals from the

decisions of such Tribunal;

(f) for providing for the requisitioning of any essential

goods on such conditions as may be prescribed and

subject to the payment of a fair compensation which,

in default of agreement, shall be assessed by a Board

or tribunal appointed for the purposes or, in default of

such appointment, by the Civil Court;

(g) for authorizing an officer to carry on the whole or any

part of any existing undertaking, or authorize a person

to carry on the whole or any part of the undertaking, in

accordance with any instructions as may be given by

SUPPLIES AND SERVICES

him; and while by virtue of this paragraph an officer so

authorised is carrying on the whole or any part of an

undertaking -

(i) the said officer shall be deemed to be acting as

an agent of the undertakers, except that the

undertakers shall not have any right to control

the carrying on of the undertaking or part of the

undertaking; and

(ii) the undertakers shall not be bound, or, as the

case may be, shall not in respect of such matters

as may be specified, be bound, by any obligation

or limitation imposed on them by or by virtue of

any law or other instrument determining their

functions;

(h) for establishing the penalties to which any offender of

any of the regulations made under this Act shall be

liable; such penalties may include all or any of the

following

(i) imprisonment for a period not exceeding two

years;

(ii) fine to an amount not exceeding two thousand

and three hundred and twenty-nine euro and

thirty-seven cents (2,329.37) or a fine calculated

on the profit made by the offender in connection

with the transaction in contravention to the

regulations

Provided that, when the fine is so calculated, it

may not exceed five times the profit made by the

offender;

(iii) forfeiture of any goods or things to which the

offence relates;

(iv) suspension or cancellation of any licence

whether issued under any regulations under this

Act or otherwise

Provided that this sub-paragraph shall not be

deemed to be prejudicial to the powers of any

authority to suspend or cancel or refuse the

renewal of licences issued under any other law

or under regulations made under this Act;

(v) publication of any sentences passed on an

offender under any regulations made under this

Act in such manner as may be prescribed

SUPPLIES AND SERVICES

Provided that regulations under this paragraph

may also provide for the fixing of a minimum

and, within the limits afore-mentioned, the

maximum penalty to which an offender shall be

liable in respect of contraventions of any one or

more regulations or of one or more classes of

regulations and regulations may also provide

that in respect of any one or more regulations or

of any one or more classes of regulations the

provisions of articles 7 and 22 of the Probation

Act, and article 21 of the Criminal Code shall

not apply.

(2) Regulations made under this Act shall be laid on the Table

of the House of Representatives as soon as may be after they are

made; and if the House of Representatives, within a period of

twenty days beginning with the day on which any such regulations

are laid before it, resolves that they be annulled, or amended, the

same shall cease to have effect, or shall be so amended but without

prejudice to anything previously done thereunder or to the making

of any new regulations. In reckoning any period for the purposes of

this subsection no account shall be taken of any time during which

the House of Representatives is dissolved or prorogued or during

which it is adjourned for more than four days.

(1) The Prime Minister may from time to time appoint one

or more persons or one or more bodies of persons for the purposes

of all or any of the provisions of regulations made under this Act

and for the purpose of carrying the provisions of any such

regulations into effect; and may also determine the name by which

such person or body of persons shall be officially known.

(2) Where the holder of a designated office has been appointed

for the purposes of subarticle (1), then, unless express provision is

made to the contrary, the appointment shall be deemed to extend to

the person for the time being performing the duties of the office

designated.

Where goods are requisitioned under this Act, any officer

or officers as may be specified may use or deal with, or authorize

the use of or dealing with such goods for such purpose and in such

manner as he or they think expedient and may hold, or, with the

written authorization of the Minister responsible for trade, sell or

otherwise dispose of, the goods as if he or they were the owners

thereof.

(1) No person who obtains any information by virtue of

this Act or of any regulations made thereunder shall, otherwise than

in connection with the execution of this Act or of any regulations

made thereunder, disclose that information, except with permission

granted by the Prime Minister.

(2) Any person guilty of an offence under subarticle (1), shall

be liable, on conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding

one year or to a fine (multa) of not less than two hundred and

thirty-two euro and ninety-four cents (232.94) and not more than

SUPPLIES AND SERVICES

four hundred and sixty-five euro and eighty-seven cents (465.87).

Any licence, permit or permission granted for the purpose

of any regulations made under this Act may be revoked at any time

by the authority or person empowered to grant it.

Article 24 of the Criminal Code shall apply in respect of

offences under this Act or under any regulations made thereunder

as it applies in respect of contraventions.

(1) Any person who attempts to commit, or does any act

preparatory to the commission of any offence against any of the

regulations under this Act, shall be deemed to be guilty of an

offence against that regulation.

(2) No person knowing or having reasonable cause to believe

that another person is guilty of an offence against any regulation

under this Act shall give that other person any assistance with

intent thereby to prevent, hinder or interfere with the trial or

punishment of that person for the said offence.

(3) Any person guilty under subarticle (2) shall be liable to the

same punishments provided for the offence of which that other

person is guilty.

(4) Any person who induces or attempts to induce another or

others to commit an offence against any regulation under this Act,

whether or not successful in that purpose, shall himself be guilty of

an offence under such regulation.

Where a person convicted of an offence against any of the

regulations made under this Act forms part of an association of

persons every person who, at the time of the commission of the

offence, was a director or officer of the association shall be deemed

to be guilty of that offence unless he proves that the offence was

committed without his knowledge, or that he exercised all due

diligence to prevent the commission of the offence.

Without prejudice to any special provision contained in any

regulation made under this Act, a notice to be served on any person

for the purposes of any such regulations may be served by sending

it by registered post in a letter addressed to that person at his last or

usual place of abode or place of business.