Insurance Business (Approved Auditor) Regulations, 2000

Suppliment tal-Gazzetta tal-Gvern ta' Malta, Nru. 16,957,13 ta' Gunju, 2000

L.N. 105 of 2000

INSURANCE BUSINESS ACT

(CAP. 403)

Insurance Business (Approved Auditor) Regulations, 2000

IN exercise of the powers conferred by sections 21, 64 and 67 of

the Insurance Business Act, the Minister of Finance, after consultation

with the Malta Financial Services Centre, has made the following

regulations:-

(1) The title of these regulations is the Insurance Business Citation and

(Approved Auditor) Regulations, 2000.

commencement.

(2) These regulations shall come into force on the 1st

January, 2001.

In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires -

(Regulation 7)

Fees of official publications

The Approved Auditors Register or the Approved Auditors List - 25c per page contained

in the respective publication but not less than Lml per publication.

Extract from the Approved Auditors Register or theApproved Auditors List - Lm 1 per

extract.

(1)

Interpretation.

"the Act" means the Insurance Business Act;

"Approved Auditors List" means the list of partnerships of

auditors acting as approved auditor established and maintained

under regulation 3 of these regulations;

"Approved Auditors Register" means the approved auditors register

established and maintained under regulation 3 of these regulations;

"Centre" means the Malta Financial Services Centre

established by section 3 of the Malta Financial Services Centre Cap. 330.

Act and appointed under section 3 of the Act to be the Competent

Authority for the purposes of the Act;

"the Directive" means an Insurance Directive made by the

Centre by virtue of section 4 of the Act for the purpose of carrying

into effect certain provisions of section 21 of the Act and of these

regulations;

"partnership of auditors" and "partnership" shall be construed

in accordance with section 10 of the Accountancy Profession Act,

and the words and expressions which are also used in the Act have the

same meanings as in the Act.

(2) In these regulations any reference to an "insurance

company" shall be deemed to be a reference to a company authorised

under section 7 of the Act to carry on business of insurance in or from

Malta, or in or from a country outside Malta, a company authorised

under section 13 of the Act to act as an insurance agent or insurance

manager, and a company enrolled in the Brok~rs List under section 13

of the Insurance Brokers and Other Intermediaries Act, 1998.

The Centre shall establish and maintain -

(a) a register of individual persons authorised to act as

approved auditor, in these regulations referred to as "the Approved

Auditors Register", and

(b) a list of partnerships of auditors authorised to act as

approved auditor, in these regulations referred to as "the Approved

Auditors List",

in every case, containing the names, principal places of business and

such other particulars as the Centre may, from time to time, by the

Directive determine, of all persons and partnerships who are entitled

under these regulations to be registered in the Approved Auditors

Register or enrolled in the Approved Auditors List in the manner

determined for such purpose by the Directive.

(1) No person who is qualified to be an auditor in accordance

with the Companies Act, 1995 shall accept an appointment to audit

insurance companies accounts unless that person holds an authorisation

to act as approved auditor issued by the Centre under these regulations.

(2) Any individual person who holds a warrant to act as

auditor issued under the Accountancy Profession Act and satisfies the

qualifications determined for such purpose by the Directive and any

partnership of auditors duly registered under the said Act which satisfies

the requirements determined for such purpose by the Directive may

make application in writing to the Centre in the form and manner

determined for such purpose by the Directive and providing the

information required to be provided therein for the issue under these

regulations of an authorisation to act as approved auditor.

(3) Any person who acts in contravention of the provisions

of paragraph (1) of this regulation shall be guilty of an offence and

shall be liahle on conviction for each offence, in respect of the first

offence to a fine (mulfa) not exceeding five hundred Maltese liri and in

respect of a second or subsequent offence to a fine (mulfa) not exceeding

one thousand Maltese liri or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding

six months, or to both such fine and imprisonment, and, in the case of a

continuing offence, to an additional fine (multa) not exceeding fifty

Maltese liri for each day during which the offence continues.

(1) The Centre may under these regulations grant an applicant Grant of

authorisation.

authorisation to act as approved auditor only if it is satisfied, on the

basis of the information provided by the applicant under these regulations

and any information received by it, that authorisation ought to be granted.

(2) Subject to the provisions of the Act and of these

regulations, the Centre may subject any authorisation issued or held

under these regulations to such conditions and limitations as it may,

from time to time, deem fit to impose.

(3) On granting an applicant authorisation to act as approved

auditor under these regulations, the Centre shall -

(a) in the case of an applicant who is an individual, register

the applicant in the Approved Auditors Register; and

(b) in the case of an applicant who is a partnership of

auditors, enrol the applicant in the Approved Auditors List.

(4) Any person who, for the purpose of obtaining an

authorisation under these regulations, gives any wrong information or

otherwise acts in a deceitful or fraudulent manner, or any person who

fails to comply with any condition or limitation imposed in the

authorisation by the Centre under paragraph (2) of this regulation, shall

be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction for each offence

to a fine (multa) not exceeding five hundred Maltese liri or to

imprisonment not exceeding six months or to both such fine and

imprisonment.

(1) The Centre may, at any time, in the circumstances and in Suspension or

revocation of

accordance with the procedures determined for such purposes by the authorisation.

Directive, suspend or revoke an authorisation issued or held under these

regulations; and the name of an individual person or partnership of

auditors whose authorisation is revoked under this regulation shall be

struck off the Approved Auditors Register or the Approved Auditors

List, as the case may be, and a name struck off the Register or the List

shall be restored thereto only where the revocation is declared void and

of no effect by order of the Financial Services Tribunal on an appeal

made to it by the aggrieved person under section 58 of the Act.

(2) The Centre may, after the expiration of one year from

the date of revocation of an authorisation, issue a fresh authorisation

under the provisions of these regulations.

(1) The Approved Auditors Register and the Approved

Auditors List shall be open to public inspection, free of charge, at the

Centre at all times during the normal working hours of the Centre.

(2) Copies of the Approved Auditors Register and the

Approved Auditors List and extracts therefrom shall be made available

for purchase from the Centre upon payment of the fee for the purchase

of such publications and extracts specified in the Schedule to these

regulations.

(3) For the purposes of this regulation and the Schedule,

"extract", in relation to the Approved Auditors Register and the Approved

Auditors List, means a facsimile of the name and all the other particulars

entered in the Register or the List relating to anyone particular person,

whether that person is an individual or partnership, registered or enrolled

therein.

(1) The Centre shall by the Directive determine the

arrangements governing the audit of insurance companies accounts and

different arrangemerlts may be determined with respect to the audit of

different insurance companies accounts.

(2) Any person who acts as approved auditor and holds an

appointment to audit insurance companies accounts who fails to satisfy

any arrangement as determined by the Directive for the purposes ofthis

regulation shall, without prejudice to any action which the Centre may

take against that person under regulation 6 of these regulations, be guilty

of an infringement against this regulation and shall be liable for each

infringement to an administrative penalty of not less than Lm50 and

not exceeding LmlOO.

(1) Every person who, immediately before the date of coming

into force of these regulations, held an authorisation to act as approved

auditor issued under section 17 of the Insurance Business Act, 1981,

repealed by the Act, shall, not later than the appointed date, conform

with the provisions of these regulations or otherwise cease to act as

approved auditor and, shall, until the appointed date or until he conforms

with the provisions of these regulations, whichever is earlier, continue

to act as approved auditor in virtue of that authorisation. For the purpose

of this regulation "appointed date" means a day being 90 days after the

date of coming into force of these regulations.

(2) Where a person ceases to act as approved auditor on

grounds that such person did not, on the appointed date, conform with

the provisions of these regulations, such person shall continue to be

answerable to the Centre with respect to the audit of any insurance

company accounts carried out by him until the appointed date as if he

were still authorised under these regulations to act as approved auditor.

(3) For the purposes of these regulations, a person shall not

be deemed to act as approved auditor if he acts simply as an employee

of, or assistant to, a person or partnership of auditors who acts as

approved auditor and does not issue any accounting or financial

statements over his name.