AIDS TO INDUSTRIES ORDINANCE

AIDS TO INDUSTRIES

CHAPTER 159

AIDS TO INDUSTRIES ORDINANCE

To encourage the establishment or development of industrial undertakings and to make

provision for various aids thereto.

(1st January, 1959)

Enacted by ORDINANCE XXIA of 1959, as amended by Legal Notice 58 of 1959;

Ordinances: XIV of 1959, XVI of 1960, XIX of 1962; Legal Notice 4 of 1963; Acts: XXIV and

XXIX of 1965; Legal Notice 46 of 1965; Acts: XXVII of 1967, XI of 1969, XII of 1974; Legal

Notice 85 of 1974; Act LVIII of 1974; Legal Notice 148 of 1975; Acts: XI of 1977, IX of 1979,

VIII of 1982, XIII of 1983, XI of 1987, VIII of 1990, XXVIII of 1995 and IV of 2001; and Legal

Notice 410 of 2007.

The short title of this Ordinance is the Aids to Industries

Ordinance.

[Article 8]

A RTICLES I N R ESPECT O F T HE I MPORTATION O F W HICH E XEMPTION F ROM

C USTOMS D UTY M AY B E G RANTED U NDER A RTICLE 8(1)

All building materials, tools, plant, machinery, pipes, pumps,

conveyor belts, or other appliances and materials of any description

necessary for and used in the construction, alteration,

reconstruction or extension of the industrial building or necessary

for and used in equipping the industrial building or any extension

thereof for the production, manufacture or improvement of any

article or commodity or for the provision or improvement of any

service.

(1) In this Ordinance, unless the context otherwise

requires -

"aids" means the reliefs referred to in Part II and Part III of this

Ordinance;

"Comptroller" means the Comptroller of Customs;

"Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Inland Revenue;

"construction day" means a day, after the coming into operation

of this Ordinance, specified in any application made under this

Ordinance as being the day on or before which it is intended to

commence the construction (including structural alteration,

extension or improvement) of the industrial building to which the

application relates;

"the Corporation" means the Malta Development Corporation

established by article 3 of the Malta Development Corporation Act;

"defined parcel of land" means any plot of land so located and of

such extension and description as the Minister responsible for

tourism shall approve in writing to be suitable for development as a

centre for tourism;

"fishing, horticultural or agricultural undertaking" means an

undertaking carrying on or intending to carry on, by way of trade,

any fishing, horticultural or agricultural enterprise which, in the

opinion of the Minister responsible for agriculture makes a

substantial contribution to the food supply of Malta or has a good

export potential;

"guest" means any person who comes to Malta as a tourist and

any person who comes to Malta and establishes himself therein for

any length of time but is not in Malta by reason of his office,

business or employment;

"hotel" includes any number of constructions suitably furnished

and equipped, with accommodation in single or double bedrooms,

provided that such constructions are grouped together and have in

common ancillary hotel services and amenities within a single and

defined parcel of land and are operated by a common management

to accommodate and for the use of guests against payment, and

including guest houses;

"industrial building" means any kind of building or structure

whatsoever occupied or to be occupied in Malta by an industrial

undertaking for the purposes of the trade carried on by such

undertaking and, in particular, includes any building or structure

provided by the industrialist for the welfare of workers employed in

that trade and in use for that purpose, but does not include any

building or structure in use as, or as part of, a dwelling-house

(other than a hotel), retail shop or showroom or for any purpose

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ancillary to the purposes of a dwelling-house (other than a hotel),

retail shop or showroom;

"industrialist" means a person carrying on or intending to carry

on an industrial undertaking;

"industrial undertaking" and "undertaking" mean an undertaking

carrying on or intended to carry on in Malta a trade which consists

in the production, manufacture or improvement of an article or

commodity or in the provision or improvement of any service and

include an undertaking relating to shipping and an undertaking

relating to a hotel;

"Malta" has the same meaning as is assigned to it by article 124

of the Constitution of Malta;

"person" includes an association of persons and in particular

includes a company or partnership;

"production day" means a day, after the coming into operation of

this Ordinance, specified in any application made under this

Ordinance as being the day on or before which it is anticipated that

the industrial undertaking to which the application relates will

commence to produce in marketable quantities the articles or

commodities produced, manufactured or improved by it or to run

on commercial scale the service provided or improved by such

undertaking.

(2) For the avoidance of doubt it is hereby declared that

notwithstanding any exemption or relief from the payment of any

tax or duty granted under this Ordinance in respect of any industrial

undertaking, the President of Malta may, after such consultation as

may be required by this Ordinance, make a further order or further

orders under articles 3 and 8 in respect of any expansion of the

undertaking aforesaid, and, in respect of any such expansion or of

any further expansion thereof, any such exemption or relief may be

allowed for such period as is provided in the said articles 3 and 8,

respectively, and subject to such conditions and the giving of such

security as the President of Malta thinks fit.

PART II

RELIEF FROM INCOME TAX

[Article 23]

P ROCEDURE R EGARDING A PPLICATIONS

(1) Application for aid under this Ordinance shall be made to the

Corporation and shall be in such form and contain such particulars

as the Corporation shall determine from time to time by notice in

the Government Gazette.

(2) When the Corporation has considered an application it shall

as soon as may be advise the Minister responsible for industry

thereon in the form of a written report.

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(1) Where it appears to the President of Malta, after

consultation with the Corporation, that the income derived by an

industrialist in respect of gains or profits from the trade or part of

the trade of an industrial undertaking should be exempted in whole

or in part from the payment of income tax, the President of Malta

may by order allow such exemption during a period, hereinafter

referred to as "the tax holiday period", of not more than ten years

from the production day or from such other days as may be

determined by the President of Malta and subject to such conditions

and the giving of such security as the President of Malta thinks fit

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Provided further that for the purpose of achieving the aims of

this article, the President of Malta may by order provide that during

the said ten years the profits of an industrial undertaking be taxed at

such reduced rate of income tax and subject to such conditions which

to him may seem reasonable after consultation with the Corporation.

Provided that if the end of the tax holiday period does not

coincide with the end of an accounting period of an industrial

undertaking, the income for the accounting period in which the last

day of the tax holiday period falls shall be apportioned between the

parts of the said accounting period which respectively precede and

follow the end of the tax holiday period, and the income thus

attributed to the part which precedes the end of the tax holiday

period shall be exempt from income tax.

(2) In computing the income for the tax holiday period and for

the whole of the accounting period in which the last day of the tax

holiday period falls the wear and tear of plant, machinery and

premises being a mill, factory or other similar premises shall be

computed in accordance with the provisions of, and at the rates

prescribed under, the Income Tax Act.

(3) The provisions of the Income Tax Act, relating to the

deduction of any expenditure on scientific research and on patents

or patent rights, where applicable to an industrialist to whom

subarticle (1) of this article applies, shall commence to apply in the

first year of assessment following the year of assessment during the

basis period of which the tax holiday period ends

Provided that such deduction shall be computed by the

Commissioner as if the expenditure incurred at any time up to the

end of the accounting period in which the last day of the tax

holiday period falls were incurred on the first day following the end

of the said accounting period.

(4) Any loss incurred during the tax holiday period by an

industrialist to whom subarticle (1) applies in the trade referred to

in that subarticle shall be set off without any limitation against the

income derived from that trade during the period or periods

immediately following the tax holiday period

Provided that in determining any such loss no account shall be

taken of any capital allowances referred to in the Income Tax Act.

(5) An industrialist to whom subarticle (1) applies, being a

limited liability company within the meaning of the Commercial

Partnerships Ordinance * , shall be entitled during the tax holiday

period and within two years thereafter to distribute to the members

of the company a sum equal to the income derived during the tax

holiday period from the trade referred to in the aforesaid subarticle

and every such sum shall be exempt from the payment of income

tax in the hands of such members

Provided that such period of two years may be extended for

further periods, each not exceeding two years, as the President after

consultation with the Corporation may, for the expansion of the

*Repealed by Act XXV of 1995 (Chapter 386).

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industry, determine.

(6) Every industrialist aforesaid shall upon payment of a

dividend to which subarticle (5) applies furnish to each shareholder

a certificate setting forth the amount of the dividend paid, the

period of profits out of which it is paid, and declaring that it is

exempt from income tax as provided for by subarticle (1).

(7) Every industrialist to whom subarticle (1) applies shall

keep separate accounts relating to the income derived from the

trade referred to in that subarticle, and in all accounts and

statements submitted to the Commissioner such income shall be

separately set out; and notwithstanding the exemption from income

tax in the tax holiday period the provisions of Part IX of the Income

Tax Act, shall, mutatis mutandis, apply to every such industrialist.

[Article 4]

I NVESTMENT A LLOWANCE A ND D EDUCTIONS F OR W EAR A ND T EAR

(i) Investment allowance

Twenty per centum of the original cost of plant and

machinery invested in during the first five years of the

project.

(ii) Wear and tear deductions.

Year of deduction

Percentage of deduction

First year

30 per centum of the original cost

Second year

20 per centum of the original cost

Third year

20 per centum of the original cost

Fourth year

10 per centum of the original cost

Fifth year

10 per centum of the original cost

Sixth year

10 per centum of the original cost

(1) Where it appears to the President of Malta after

consultation with the Corporation that from the income derived by

an industrialist in respect of gains or profits from the trade or part

of the trade of an industrial undertaking there should be allowed,

for the purposes of the Income Tax Act, an investment allowance

and a deduction for wear and tear in respect of any plant and

machinery, owned by the industrialist, and used or employed in the

trade or part of the trade of the industrial undertaking, the President

of Malta may by order allow such investment allowance and such

deduction for wear and tear as set out in the Third Schedule

Provided that such investment allowance and such

deduction for wear and tear shall be allowed in respect only of

plant and machinery first acquired, used and employed on the

construction day or within five years thereafter

Provided further that no such allowance or deduction shall

be allowed when the income derives from gains or profits referred

to in article 23 of the Income Tax Act.

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in article 14(1) of the

Income Tax Act, no initial allowance shall be granted in respect of

any plant and machinery which has been the subject of an order

under subarticle (1) and no deduction from income shall be allowed

for exhaustion or wear and tear of any such plant and machinery

other than that provided for in subarticle (1).

(3) For all purposes of the Income Tax Act, an allowance or

deduction made under subarticle (1) shall be deemed to be a

deduction made under paragraph (f) or under paragraph (j) as the

case may be of article 14(1) of the Income Tax Act and all the

relevant provisions of the Income Tax Act shall apply to such

allowance and such deduction

Provided that paragraph (iii) of the proviso to article

14(1)(f) of the Income Tax Act shall not operate so as to prevent the

investment allowance and deduction for wear and tear made under

subarticle (1) when taken together from exceeding the original cost

of the plant and machinery by the amount of the investment

allowance

Provided further that the provisions of article 24 of the

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Income Tax Act shall not apply to any investment allowance made

under subarticle (1) of this article.

[Article 5]

R EDUCTION O F C OMPANY T AX

Proportion of Company income

Reduction in tax

set aside

rate otherwise

chargeable

any amount ..............................

by €0.175

(1) Where it appears to the President of Malta, after

consultation with the Corporation, that the income or part of the

income derived by an industrialist being a company as defined in

the Income Tax Act, in respect of gains or profits from the trade or

part of the trade of an industrial undertaking in any year has been

set aside for the exclusive purpose of financing any project of the

company as shall have been approved by the Corporation, and

notice of such intention was given to the Commissioner at the time

the income or part of the income was set aside as aforesaid, the

President of Malta may by order direct that, subject to such

conditions as he may consider proper to impose and to the

condition that the income or part of the income aforesaid has in fact

been used for the purposes for which it was set aside and in

compliance with all the conditions of the order, the rate of income

tax chargeable under the said Act on the income or part of the

income so used shall be reduced as set out in the Fourth Schedule;

and in any such case the tax chargeable accordingly under the said

Act shall be assessed, or reassessed and where necessary refunded,

as the case may require.

(2)

No order shall be made under subarticle (1) -

(a) later than twenty-four months after the end of the year

immediately preceding the year in which the income in

respect of which the order is applied for falls to be

charged to tax; or

(b) in respect of any expansion requiring for its realization

a period of more than five years from the date of issue

of the first order made in respect of that expansion.

(3) For the purposes of this article, where the Commissioner

has permitted the gains or profits of an industrialist to be computed,

for the purposes of the Income Tax Act, upon the income of the

year terminating on a date in the year immediately preceding the

year of assessment other than the 31st December, such year shall be

deemed to be the year immediately preceding the year of

assessment.

Where the President of Malta, after consultation with the

Corporation, is satisfied that the industrial undertaking, being a

company as defined in the Income Tax Act, in respect of which an

order has been or is to be made under article 4 or 5, is controlled by

citizens of Malta, or by other companies controlled by citizens of

Malta, he may increase by ten per centum the allowances and

deductions that may be allowed under articles 4 and 5

Provided that such increase shall operate only in respect of

such years of assessment during the whole of which the industrial

undertaking is controlled as aforesaid.

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(1) Where it appears to the President of Malta, after

consultation with the Corporation, that the income derived by an

industrialist from the trade or part of the trade of a fishing,

horticultural or agricultural undertaking wholly owned by Maltese

citizens should be exempted from the payment of income tax in

whole or in part, the President of Malta may by order allow such

exemption during a period, hereinafter referred to as "the tax

holiday period", of not more than seven years from the production

day or from such other day as may be determined by the President

of Malta and subject to such conditions and the giving of such

security as the President of Malta may think fit

Provided that if the end of the tax holiday period does not

coincide with the end of an accounting period of an industrial

undertaking, the income for the accounting period in which the last

day of the tax holiday period falls shall be apportioned between the

parts of the said accounting period which respectively precede and

follow the end of the tax holiday period, and the income thus

attributed to the part which precedes the end of the tax holiday

period shall be exempted from income tax.

(2) The provisions of subarticles (2) to (7) both inclusive of

article 3 shall mutatis mutandis apply in the case of an order made

under subarticle (1) as they apply in the case of an order under the

said article 3(1).

(1) Where it appears to the President after consultation

with the Corporation, that the accumulated reserves of profits or

part thereof of particular years, which an industrialist being a

company as defined in the Income Tax Act, has utilised for the

exclusive purpose of financing any project of the company as shall

have been approved by the Corporation, and notice of such

investment was given to the Commissioner, the President may by

order direct that, subject to such conditions as he may consider

proper to impose and to the condition that such reserves of profits

or part thereof have in fact been utilised for the purposes for which

they were invested and in compliance with all the conditions of the

order, such reserves of profits or part thereof of particular years be

exempted from the provisions of article 43 of the Income Tax Act.

(2) No order shall be made under subarticle (1) in respect of

any profits chargeable in the company’s hands in respect of any

year of assessment prior to that beginning on the lst January, 1984.

(3) For the purposes of this article where the Commissioner has

permitted the gains or profits of an industrialist to be computed for

the purposes of the Income Tax Act, upon the income of the year

terminating on a date in the year immediately preceding the year of

assessment other than the 31st December, such year shall be

deemed to be the year immediately preceding the year of

assessment.

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PART III

RELIEF FROM CUSTOMS DUTY

(1) The President of Malta may, after consultation with the

Corporation, by order allow an industrialist to import into Malta,

during a period to be determined by the President of Malta

commencing from the construction day or from such other day as

may be determined by the President of Malta and subject to such

conditions and the giving of such security as the President of Malta

thinks fit, any of the articles specified in the First Schedule hereto

free of customs duty if the industrialist satisfies the Comptroller

that such articles are imported exclusively for the construction,

alteration, reconstruction or extension of an industrial building or

for equipping an industrial building or any extension thereof, in

either case for the purposes of the trade carried on or intended to be

carried on by his undertaking, as also articles shall be imported free

of customs duty under this article if the Comptroller is of opinion

that such articles are intended for the purpose of effecting repairs to

an industrial building or extension thereof, or to any apparatus,

machinery, appliances or equipment contained in any such

industrial building or extension thereof, or for replacing any

apparatus, machinery, appliances or equipment in any industrial

building or extension thereof.

(2) The President of Malta may, in his absolute discretion, by

order allow an industrialist to import into Malta free of customs

duty or at a reduced rate of customs duty during such period as may

be determined by the President of Malta and subject to such

conditions and the giving of such security as the President of Malta

thinks fit, any materials or components which are necessary for and

used in the production, manufacture or improvement by the

industrialist’s undertaking of any article or commodity and any

materials which are necessary for and used in the provision or

improvement by the industrialist’s undertaking of any service.

Every industrialist who imports into Malta any article free

of customs duty or at a reduced rate of customs duty under the

provisions of article 8 of this Ordinance shall -

(a) keep such record in such form and containing such

particulars as may be required by the Comptroller of

the articles so imported by him;

(b) cause such articles to be marked with such mark and in

such manner as may be required by the Comptroller;

(c) permit the Comptroller or any person authorized by

him at all reasonable times to inspect such record and

to have access to any industrial building under his

control for the purpose of examining any such articles

which the Comptroller may believe to be therein and

of satisfying himself of the accuracy of the particulars

in relation to such articles contained in such record.

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(1) No article imported into Malta by any industrialist free

of customs duty under the provisions of article 8(1) shall be sold,

given away or otherwise disposed of by such industrialist except -

(a) in the case of a transfer of the industrial building for

the construction, alteration, reconstruction, extension

or equipment of which such article was imported into

Malta, to the transferee of such industrial building; or

(b) after payment to the Comptroller of the amount of

customs duty which would have been payable upon the

importation of such article but for article 8(1); or

(c) with the written authority of the Minister responsible

for industry, after the expiration of five years from the

importation into Malta of such article, in case such

article has been actually used for the purpose for

which it was imported into Malta.

(2) No materials or components imported into Malta by any

industrialist free of customs duty or at a reduced rate of customs

duty under the provisions of article 8(2) shall be sold, given away

or otherwise disposed of by such industrialist except -

(a) if incorporated in the articles or commodities for the

production, manufacture or improvement of which

they were imported into Malta; or

(b) after payment to the Comptroller of the amount of

customs duty, or the balance thereof, which would

have been payable upon the importation of such

materials or components but for article 8(2).

Where any article is sold or disposed of to an industrialist

entitled to relief from customs duty in pursuance of an order made

under any of the provisions of article 8, and the sale or disposal of

such article to the industrialist takes place under circumstances

which, but for the operation of this article, would cause such article

to be deemed to be taken out of bond and duty to become payable

thereon by the industrialist in accordance with any of the

provisions of article 6 of the Import Duties Act, such article shall

(to the extent only that the industrialist would have been entitled to

relief from customs duty in respect thereof, under such order as

aforesaid, if he had imported that article at the time of its sale or

disposal to him in Malta) be deemed for the purposes of that order

to be imported by the industrialist at the time at which such article

is sold or disposed of to him.

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PART IV

ANTI-DUMPING AND COUNTERVAILING DUTIES

(1) In this Part of this Ordinance -

"country" includes any territory;

"importer" in relation to any goods at any time between their

importation and the time when they are delivered out of customs

charge, includes any owner or other person for the time being

possessed of or beneficially interested in the goods,

and references to producing goods include references to growing or

manufacturing goods and to the application of any process in the

course of producing goods.

(2) In this Part of this Ordinance references to the country from

which goods are exported to Malta are references to the country

from which they were consigned to Malta and goods which in the

course of consignment from any country to Malta pass through or

are transhipped in any third country shall not on that account be

regarded for the purposes of this Part of this Ordinance as having

been exported from that third country.

(1) Where it appears to the President of Malta, after

consultation with the Corporation -

(a) that goods of any description are being or have been

imported into Malta in circumstances in which they are

under the provisions of this Part of this Ordinance to

be regarded as having been dumped, or

(b) that some Government or other authority outside Malta

has been giving a subsidy affecting goods of any

description which are being or have been imported into

Malta,

and that, having regard to all the circumstances, it would be in the

national interest, the President of Malta may, after consultation

with the Corporation, exercise the power conferred on him by this

Part of this Ordinance to impose and vary duties of customs in such

manner as he thinks necessary to meet the dumping or the giving of

the subsidy

Provided that, where the President of Malta is not satisfied

that the effect of the dumping or of the giving of the subsidy is such

as to cause or threaten material injury to an established industry in

Malta or is such as to retard materially the establishment of an

industry in Malta, the President of Malta shall not exercise that

power if it appears to him that to do so would conflict with the

obligations of the Government of Malta under the provisions for

the time being in force of the General Agreement on Tariffs and

Trade concluded at Geneva in 1947.

(2) For the purposes of this Part of this Ordinance imported

goods shall be regarded as having been dumped -

(a) if the export price from the country in which the goods

originated is less than the fair market price of the

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goods in that country, or

(b) in a case where the country from which the goods were

exported to Malta is different from the country in

which they originated -

(i) if the export price from the country in which the

goods originated is less than the fair market

(ii) if the export price from the country from which

the goods were so exported is less than the fair

market price of those goods in that country.

(3) References in this Part of this Ordinance to giving a subsidy

are references to giving, directly or indirectly, a bounty or subsidy

on the production or export of goods (whether by grant, loan, tax

relief or in any other way and whether related directly to the goods

themselves, to materials of the goods or to something else), and

include -

(a) the giving of any special subsidy on the transport of a

particular product; and

(b) the giving of favourable treatment to producers or

exporters in the course of administering any

governmental control over the exchange of currencies

where such treatment has the effect of assisting a

reduction of the prices of goods offered for export,

but do not include the application of restrictions or charges on the

export of materials from any country so as to favour producers in

that country who use those materials in goods produced by them.

(1) The power which the President of Malta may exercise

under this Part of this Ordinance is a power by order to impose on

goods of a description specified in the order a duty of customs

chargeable on the import of the goods into Malta at a rate specified

in the order.

(2) The matters by reference to which the description of goods

in an order is framed shall include either the country in which the

goods originated or the country from which the goods were

exported to Malta.

(3) Subject to the provisions of the last foregoing subarticle, an

order under this article may include such provisions with respect to

the description of the goods chargeable with duty and with respect

to the cases in which duty is chargeable as may appear to the

President of Malta to be required for the purposes of this Part of

this Ordinance, and in particular -

(a) provisions limiting the description of the goods by

reference to the particular persons or organizations by

whom the goods were produced or who were

concerned with the production of the goods in some

specified manner;

(b) provisions defining the rate of duty by reference to

value or weight or other measure of quantity;

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(c) provisions directing that duty be charged for any

period, or periods, whether continuous or not, or

without any limit of period, or at different rates for

different periods or parts of periods; and

(d) in connection with the commencement, variation or

termination of a duty, provisions authorizing

repayments in respect of duty where it is shown that

the prescribed conditions are fulfilled.

(4) Any duty chargeable under this Part of this Ordinance on

any goods shall be chargeable in addition to any other duty of

customs for the time being chargeable thereon.

(1) Where it appears to the President of Malta, after

consultation with the Corporation, that relief under this article

should be available as respects a duty imposed by an order under

this Part of this Ordinance (being an order made to afford

protection against dumping), the President of Malta may, if he

thinks fit, in that or a subsequent order under this Part of this

Ordinance, apply the provisions of this article in relation to the

duty.

(2) Where this article applies in relation to any duty, the

importer of any goods chargeable with the duty as being goods

originating in or, as the case may be, exported from a specified

country may apply to the President of Malta for relief from the duty

on those goods.

(3) If on an application so made the President of Malta, after

consultation with the Corporation, is satisfied that the export price

of the goods from that country with the amount of the duty added to

it exceeds the fair market price of the goods in that country, the

President of Malta shall notify the Comptroller of the amount of the

excess, and the Comptroller shall remit or repay the duty up to that

amount.

(4) An application under this article as respects any goods shall

not be made more than six months after the duty has been paid on

the goods, and in connection with any such application the

applicant shall furnish such information and evidence as the

President of Malta or the Corporation may require from him for

ascertaining the said export price or fair market price.

(5) The foregoing provisions of this article shall have effect in

relation to a duty imposed by an order under this Part of this

Ordinance (being an order made to afford protection against the

giving of a subsidy) as if references to the fair market price in a

country were references to the export price from that country

increased by such amount, if any, as may be necessary to offset the

effect of the giving of the subsidy.

(1) The President of Malta may, after consultation with the

Corporation, by order provide for the allowance of drawback in

respect of all or any duties under this Part of this Ordinance on the

export of goods in such circumstances and subject to such

conditions as he may specify.

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(2) The drawback may be in respect of duty paid on the goods

or in respect of duty paid on materials used in the manufacture of

the goods and the rate of the drawback may be determined in such

manner and by reference to such matters as the President of Malta,

after consultation with the Corporation, may specify.

(1) The Comptroller may require the importer of any

goods to state such facts concerning the goods and their history as

he may think necessary to determine whether the goods are goods

originating in a country specified in an order under this Part of this

Ordinance or are goods exported from any country, and to furnish

him in such form as he may require with proof of any statements so

made; and if such proof is not furnished to his satisfaction or the

required facts are not stated, the goods shall be deemed for the

purpose of this Part of this Ordinance to have originated in, or, as

the case may be, to have been exported from, such country as he

may determine

Provided that the Comptroller shall require proof of the

country in which goods originated in relation to any duty under this

Part of this Ordinance in the case only of goods exported from such

countries as the Minister responsible for industry, after consulting

the Corporation, may direct in relation to that duty.

(2) Where an order under this Part of this Ordinance limits the

description of goods in respect of which duty is chargeable under

this Part of this Ordinance or the cases in which duty is so

chargeable so that the question whether any and if so what duty is

chargeable on the goods depends on other matters besides the

country in which the goods originated or from which they were

exported, the Comptroller may also require the importer to state

such facts as he may deem necessary to determine that question so

far as regards those other matters and to furnish him in such form

as he may require with proofs of any statements so made; and if

such proof is not furnished to his satisfaction or the required facts

are not stated, those facts shall be deemed for the purposes of duty

under this Part of this Ordinance to be such as he may determine.

(1) In relation to goods imported into Malta the export

they were exported shall be determined as provided in the

following provisions of this article.

(2) If the goods are imported under a contract of sale which is a

sale in the open market between buyer and seller independent of

each other, and the Minister responsible for industry, after

consultation with the Corporation, is satisfied as to that fact, as to

the price on that sale and as to such other facts as are material for

this purpose, the export price shall be the price on that sale subject

to a deduction for the cost of insurance and freight from the port or

place of export in the said country to the port or place of import,

and for any other costs, charges or expenses incurred in respect of

the goods after they left the port or place of export, except so far as

any such costs, charges or expenses have to be met separately by

the purchaser.

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(3) If subarticle (2) does not apply, the Minister responsible for

industry, after consultation with the Corporation, shall determine

the export price by reference to such sale of the goods (or of any

goods in which the first mentioned goods were incorporated) as he

may select with such adjustments as may appear to him to be

proper.

(4) In this article the reference to a sale in the open market

between buyer and seller independent of each other presupposes -

(a) that the price is the sole consideration; and

(b) that the price made is not influenced by any

commercial, financial or other relationship, whether

by contract or otherwise, between the seller or any

person associated in business with him and the buyer

or any person associated in business with him (other

than the relationship created by the sale of the goods in

question); and

(c) that no part of the proceeds of the subsequent re-sale,

use or disposal of the goods will accrue either directly

or indirectly to the seller or any person associated in

business with him.

(1) The fair market price of any goods in a country shall

for the purpose of this Part of this Ordinance be determined as

provided in the following provisions of this article.

(2) Subject to the next following subarticle, the fair market

description in question (that is to say, any identical or comparable

goods) are being sold in the ordinary course of trade in the said

country for consumption or use there, but subject to any necessary

adjustments, whether for differences in conditions and terms of

sale, for differences in taxation or otherwise, which may be

required for the purpose of ensuring that the comparison between

t h e f a i r m a r k e t p r i c e a n d t h e e x p o r t p r i c e i s e ff e c t i v e l y a

comparison between the prices on two similar sales.

(3) If it appears to the Minister responsible for industry, after

consultation with the Corporation, that goods of that description are

not being sold in the said country, or not in such circumstances that

the fair market price can be determined in accordance with

subarticle (2), the fair market price shall be determined by the

Minister responsible for industry, after consultation with the

Corporation, by reference to any price obtained for goods of that

description when exported from the said country, with adjustments

made for the purpose mentioned in subarticle (2), or, if the Minister

responsible for industry thinks fit, by reference to the cost or

estimated cost of production of the goods the dumping of which is

in question, with such additions in respect of selling cost and profit

as may appear to the Minister responsible for industry to be proper.

(4) No account shall be taken under this article of any

application of restrictions or charges on the export of materials

from any country so as to favour producers in that country who use

those materials in goods produced by them.

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(1) Goods shall be regarded for the purposes of this Part of

this Ordinance as having originated in a country -

(a) if those goods were wholly produced in that country;

or

(b) if some stage in the production of the goods was

carried out in that country and the cost of carrying out

such stages, if any, in the production of the goods as

were carried out after those goods last left that country

(but before the import of the goods into Malta) was

less than twenty-five per cent of the cost of production

of the goods as so imported; or

(c) if some stage in the production of any components or

materials incorporated in the goods was carried out in

that country and the cost of carrying out such stages in

production as were carried out after those components

or materials last left that country to convert those

components or materials into the goods as imported

into Malta was less than twenty-five per cent of the

cost of production of the goods as so imported.

(2) Where the export price of any goods from the country in

which they originated is in question and some stage in the

production of the goods, or of any components or materials

incorporated in the goods, was carried out after they last left that

country, the deductions to be made by the Minister responsible for

industry in the price by reference to which the export price is to be

ascertained shall include a deduction for the cost of carrying out

any such stage in the production of the goods and in the production

of any components or materials incorporated in the goods; and the

fair market price shall be the fair market price of those goods or, as

the case may be, of those components or materials, in the state in

which they left that country.

(3) Any reference in this Part of this Ordinance to the country

in which goods originated shall be taken, in a case where there are

two or more countries which answer to that description, as a

reference to any of those countries.

(4) The President of Malta may, after consultation with the

Corporation, make rules prescribing for the purposes of this Part of

this Ordinance -

(a) the costs, charges and expenses to be taken into

account in ascertaining costs of production or the cost

of any stage in production;

(b) the manner in which cost of production is to be

ascertained in cases where different stages are carried

out by different persons;

(c) the manner in which the cost of different stages of

production is to be ascertained.

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PART V

GENERAL PROVISIONS, PENALTIES AND SAFEGUARDS

Subject to the provisions of article 8(2), no aid under this

Ordinance shall be granted unless the Minister responsible for

industry, after consultation with the Corporation, is satisfied that -

(a) the industrial undertaking in respect of which such aid

is applied for is likely to create employment in Malta

or to increase the national product;

(b) such aid is advisable in order to secure the

establishment and initial operation, expansion or

development of that undertaking; and

(c) there are good prospects of such undertaking

ultimately being carried on without further aid.

Any aid granted under this Ordinance may be granted as

from a date which is earlier than the date of the order granting the

aid but not earlier than the date of commencement of this

Ordinance.

Unless otherwise provided in this Ordinance, applications

under this Ordinance shall be made and be dealt with in accordance

with the provisions contained in the Second Schedule, which may

be varied or revoked by rules made by the President of Malta under

The President of Malta may, after consultation with the

Corporation, make rules -

(a) requiring any industrialist who has obtained any aid

under this Ordinance to furnish to such officer or

officers as may be specified such returns as may be

required by such officer or officers, and, in particular,

returns of the number of persons employed by him in

each category of work, distinguishing between those

ordinarily resident in Malta and those not so resident;

(b) requiring any industrialist who has obtained any aid

under this Ordinance to permit such officer or officers

as may be specified to have access to the premises of

his industrial undertaking for the purposes of ensuring

that any conditions attached to such aid are being

complied with and that the provisions of this

Ordinance or of any orders or rules made thereunder

are being observed;

(c) regulating the procedure of the Corporation and

matters incidental thereto;

(d) regulating the making of applications under this

Ordinance and the proceedings of the Corporation on

such applications;

(e) generally for carrying any of the purposes or

provisions of this Ordinance into effect.

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Any rules made under this Ordinance may prescribe the

penalties, not exceeding in any case a fine (multa) of one hundred

and sixteen euro and forty-seven cents (116.47), which shall be

incurred by any person contravening or failing to comply with the

provisions thereof which shall be awardable, in the case of

continuing offences, for each day during which the offence

continues.

Any power of making orders or rules under this Ordinance

shall include a power to vary or revoke any orders or rules so made

by subsequent orders or rules, as the case may be, and shall be

exercisable by the President of Malta after consultation with the

Corporation.

Where any industrialist fails to comply or cause

compliance with any of the provisions of this Ordinance or of any

rules made thereunder or with any of the conditions attached to the

grant of an aid made to him under this Ordinance, the President of

Malta, after consultation with the Corporation, may, having regard

to the circumstances of the case, and without prejudice to any

criminal proceedings to which the industrialist may be liable, either

by order revoke the grant of any aid made to such industrialist

under this Ordinance or by notice in writing require such

industrialist within thirty days of such notice either -

(a) to comply or cause compliance with such provision or

condition, as the case may be; or

(b) to establish to the President of Malta’s satisfaction that

his failure to comply or cause compliance with such

provision or condition, as the case may be, was due to

some cause beyond his control and that there is a

reasonable prospect of complying or causing

compliance with such provision or condition, as the

case may be, within such time as the President of

Malta may consider reasonable.

Where any industrialist, on being required so to do by

notice under article 27, satisfies the President of Malta -

(a) that his failure to comply or cause compliance with

any provision or condition as aforesaid, as the case

may be, was due to some cause beyond his control; and

(b) that there is a reasonable prospect of his complying or

causing compliance with such provision or condition,

as the case may be, within such time as the President

of Malta may consider reasonable,

the President of Malta may, after consultation with the Corporation,

authorize such reasonable postponement for the purposes of

compliance with such provision or condition, as the case may be, as

he thinks fit.

Where any industrialist -

(a) having been required under article 27 so to do, fails to

satisfy the President of Malta -

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(i)

that his failure to comply or cause compliance

with such provision or condition, as the case

may be, was due to some cause beyond his

control; and

(ii) that there is a reasonable prospect of his

complying or causing compliance with such

provision or condition, as the case may be,

within such time as the President of Malta may

consider reasonable; or

(b) having been allowed a postponement under article 28

fails within the period of such postponement to comply

or cause compliance with such provision or condition,

as the case may be,

the President of Malta may, after consultation with the Corporation,

by order revoke the grant of any aid made under this Ordinance to

such industrialist.

Where the grant of any aid made to an industrialist under

this Ordinance is revoked under the provisions of this Ordinance,

such industrialist shall be liable to repay to the Government any

sums which would have been payable by him to the Government

but for the provisions of this Ordinance relating to such grant and

any sums which such industrialist is so liable to pay may be set off

against any sums which may be due from the Government to such

industrialist for whatsoever reason, saving the right of action of the

Government for the recovery of any balance remaining due.

(1) Any industrialist who contravenes or fails to comply

with any of the conditions of the grant of any aid made to him

under this Ordinance shall be guilty of an offence and shall,

without prejudice to any other liability under the provisions of this

Ordinance, be liable on conviction to a fine (multa) not exceeding -

(a) in respect of a first offence, two hundred and thirty-

two euro and ninety-four cents (232.94); or

(b) in respect of a second or subsequent offence, one

thousand and one hundred and sixty-four euro and

sixty-nine cents (1,164.69).

(2) Where an industrialist has been convicted of an offence

under subarticle (1), then at any time after such conviction, if the

grant of the aid to which the offence relates has been revoked in

accordance with the provisions of this Ordinance, the President of

Malta may, after consultation with the Corporation, direct the

Chairman of the Corporation to apply to the court before which the

industrialist has been convicted for a decree ordering the

industrialist to repay to the Government, within such period as the

court shall fix, the full amount of any sums which would have been

payable by him to the Government but for the provisions of this

Ordinance relating to such grant, or, if a part thereof has already

been paid under article 30, any unpaid balance thereof or such

lesser proportion thereof as the President of Malta may fix having

regard to all the circumstances and, on such decree being made,

such amount shall be deemed to be a fine (multa) and articles 14

and 29 of the Criminal Code shall mutatis mutandis apply to such

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fine

Provided that where the provision of this subarticle has been

applied, the industrialist shall not thereafter be required to repay to

the Government under article 30 any further amount of the aid in

relation to which the decree has been made.

(3) A decree made by the Court of Magistrates under subarticle

(2) of this article may, in all cases, be appealed against by the

Attorney General and the industrialist against whom the decree has

been made and, subject to this, all the provisions of the Criminal

Code relating to appeals shall, mutatis mutandis, apply to any such

decree.

(4) Any industrialist who contravenes or fails to comply with

any of the provisions of article 3(6) and (7) shall be guilty of an

offence and shall, without prejudice to any other liability under this

Ordinance, be liable on conviction to a fine (ammenda) not

exceeding one hundred and sixteen euro and forty-seven cents

(116.47).

(5) Any industrialist who contravenes or fails to comply with

any of the provisions of article 9 of this Ordinance shall be guilty

of an offence and shall, without prejudice to any other liability

under this Ordinance, be liable on conviction to a fine (multa) not

exceeding five hundred and eighty-two euro and thirty-four cents

(582.34).

(6) Any industrialist who contravenes or fails to comply with

the provisions of article 10 shall be guilty of an offence and shall,

without prejudice to any other liability under this Ordinance, be

liable on conviction to a fine (multa) of three times the value of the

article in respect of the disposal of which he contravenes or fails to

comply with such provision.

(1) If for the purpose of obtaining the grant of any aid

under this Ordinance, either for himself or for any other person,

any person knowingly or recklessly makes any false or fraudulent

statement or representation, the person making such statement or

representation, and any person who was granted any aid under this

Ordinance knowing that such statement or representation had been

made shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable, on conviction

by the Court of Magistrates sitting as a court of criminal judicature,

to a fine (multa) not exceeding five hundred and eighty-two euro

and thirty-four cents (582.34) or to imprisonment for a term not

exceeding six months or to both such fine and such imprisonment.

(2) Where any industrialist who has obtained the grant of any

aid under this Ordinance has been convicted of the offence under

subarticle (1), the President of Malta may, after consultation with

the Corporation, by order revoke the grant of the aid to which the

offence relates and the provisions of article 30 and article 31(2)

shall thereupon apply to such industrialist.

(3) If for the purposes of an application under article 15 any

person knowingly or recklessly makes any false or fraudulent

statement or representation, he shall be guilty of an offence and

shall be liable, on conviction by the Court of Magistrates sitting as

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a court of criminal judicature, to a fine (multa) not exceeding two

hundred and thirty-two euro and ninety-four cents (232.94) or to

imprisonment for a term not exceeding four months or to both such

fine and such imprisonment and any duty remitted or repaid under

that article on the application shall be recoverable by the

Government as a civil debt.

The punishments provided in articles 31 and 32 shall apply

unless the fact constitutes a more serious offence under the

Criminal Code or some other law, in which case such Code or such

other law shall apply, so however that no person shall be punished

twice for the same offence.

(1) No proceedings for an offence under this Ordinance

shall be instituted, except by or with the consent of the Attorney

General.

(2) Proceedings for an offence under this Ordinance may be

commenced at any time within five years from the date of the

commission of the offence or within three months from the date on

which evidence, sufficient in the opinion of the President of Malta

to justify a prosecution for the offence, comes to the knowledge of

the President of Malta, whichever is the later date

Provided that where the offender was outside Malta at the

date on which evidence, sufficient in the opinion of the President of

Malta to justify a prosecution for the offence, comes to the

knowledge of the President of Malta, such proceedings may be

commenced at any time within twelve months from the date on

which he first arrives in Malta.

For the purposes of this article a certificate of the President

of Malta as to the date on which such evidence as aforesaid comes

to the knowledge of the President of Malta shall be conclusive

evidence thereof.

Where any offence against any of the provisions of this

Ordinance or of any rules made thereunder has been committed by

an association of persons, every person who at the time of the

commission of the offence was a director, general manager,

secretary or other similar officer of that association or was

purporting to act in any such capacity, shall be guilty of that

offence unless he proves that the offence was committed without

his knowledge and that he exercised all such diligence to prevent

the commission of the offence as he ought to have exercised having

regard to the nature of his functions in that capacity and to all the

circumstances.

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SCHEDULES