Regulations, 2020

L.N. 430 of 2020

RE-USE OF PUBLIC SECTOR INFORMATION ACT

(CAP. 546)

Business Register and Information Sharing

Regulations, 2020

IN EXERCISE of the powers conferred by article 25 of the Re-

Use of Public Sector Information Act, the Minister responsible for

Public Sector Information has made the following regulations:-

(1)

The title of these regulations is the Business

Register and Information Sharing Regulations, 2020.

(2) These regulations establish

(a)

a Registrar for Business whose responsibility shall

be the administration of the Business Register;

(b)

a Business Register which records all businesses

established in Malta and the assignment of a unique machine-

readable identifier for every business whose details are recorded

in the Business Register; and

(c)

a Business Portal which will facilitate sharing of

business information between public sector bodies and between

public sector bodies and businesses.

(3) These regulations provide for measures which are

necessary for giving full effect to the Act by facilitating the sharing of

commonly used business data between public sector bodies.

(4) These regulations also provide for the establishment and

maintenance of a business profile within which businesses may store

information relative to their activities and share them with public

sector bodies as may be necessary from time to time.

(5) These regulations shall come into force on such date or

dates as the Minister responsible for Public Sector Information may,

by Notice in the Gazette, establish, and different dates may be so

established for different purposes or different provisions of these

regulations.

In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires

Interpretation.

"Act" means the Re-Use of Public Sector Information Act;

"data generator" means any person, undertaking or public body

responsible for generating and updating business-related information

and data which is to be shared with other public entities;

"data manager" means a natural person appointed by the owners

of an undertaking, by board resolution in the case of a company, to

manage the daily affairs of the undertaking and who is made

responsible for the updating of the particulars of the undertaking in

the Register; in the case of a sole trader, the data manager shall be the

sole proprietor himself, and in the case of a partnership, the data

manager shall be one of the partners, unless, in both cases, a person is

specifically appointed to fulfil such function;

"data owner" shall have the same meaning as is assigned to it in

the Organisational Structures for Data Sharing and Re-Use L.N.

2020. Regulations, 2020;

"data-sharing" shall have the same meaning as is assigned to it

in the Organisational Structures for Data Sharing and Re-Use L.N.

2020. Regulations, 2020;

"director" includes any person occupying the position of

director of a company by whatever name that position may be called

carrying out substantially the same functions in relation to the

running of the company as those carried out by a director;

"established in Malta" means the head office, agency, or branch

or part of a business;

"General Data Protection Regulation" means Regulation (EU)

2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April

2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the

processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data,

and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection

Regulation);

"information" shall also include data;

"information system" shall have the same meaning as is

assigned to it in the Organisational Structures for Data Sharing and L.N.

2020. Re-Use Regulations, 2020;

"limited liability company" means a company duly formed and

registered under Part V of the Companies Act;

"name", in relation to an individual, means that individual’s first

name or names and surname;

"official record" shall have the same meaning as is assigned to it

in the Organisational Structures for Data Sharing and Re-Use

2020. Regulations, 2020;

"official register" shall have the same meaning as is assigned to

it in the Organisational Structures for Data Sharing and Re-Use

2020. Regulations, 2020;

"open data" shall have the same meaning as is assigned to it in

the Organisational Structures for Data Sharing and Re-Use

Regulations 2020;

"owner" means the ultimate beneficiary natural person who,

directly or indirectly, has a shareholding or other interest in a

business;

"partnership" means a partnership en nom collectif or

partnership en commandite duly formed and registered in terms of

Part III and Part V of the Companies Act;

"public limited company" means a company duly formed and

registered under Part V of the Companies Act;

"public sector body" shall have the same meaning as is assigned

to it in the Organisational Structures for Data Sharing and Re-Use

2020. Regulations, 2020;

"prescribed" means prescribed by regulations made or deemed

to have been made under the Act, and where no regulation is in force

in respect of a matter which may or is to be prescribed, means

determined, approved or allowed by the Minister;

"Register of Registers" means the Register established under

Part V of the Organisational Structures for Data Sharing and Re-Use

2020. Regulations, 2020;

"the Registrar" means a person who is appointed to assign the

unique identifier to each undertaking and to administer the Register

of Businesses according to these regulations and appointed by virtue

of regulation 3;

"the Regulator" means the regulatory authority for the purposes

of the Act as defined in the Organisational Structures for Data

2020. Sharing and Re-use Regulations, 2020;

"undertaking" or "business" means any entity engaged in an

economic activity, that is an activity consisting in offering goods or

services on a given market, regardless of its legal status and the way

in which it is financed; an undertaking listed in the Register can be

either -

(a)

a commercial partnership formed and registered

under the Companies Act or formed and registered under the Cap. 386.

Commercial Partnerships Ordinance where applicable; or

(b)

a self employed person as defined in the

Employment and Industrial Relations Act; or

(c)

a co-operative society as defined in the Co- Cap. 442.

operatives Societies Act; or

(d)

any other economic activity

Provided that "undertaking" or "business" shall also include

entrepreneurs and, or business entities that may apply for certain

incentives, although not yet incorporated in Malta, but who may be

taxed in Malta on the basis of their operation, in accordance with the

relative legislation then in force;

"unique identifier" shall have the same meaning as is assigned

to it in the Organisational Structures for Data Sharing and Re-Use L.N.

2020. Regulations, 2020.

(1)

There shall be established a Business Register Establishment

which shall contain therein the business profile of every undertaking of

Register and

operating in and from Malta; the details to be stored and maintained Business

Registrar.

for every business profile shall be in accordance with the list

contained in the Schedule 1.

(2) There shall be appointed, by the Minister responsible for

the registration of commercial partnerships, a Registrar for Business,

hereinafter referred to as "the Registrar", whose responsibility shall

be the drawing up, and regular updating, of the Business Register in

accordance with the provisions of these regulations.

(3) The functions and duties of the Registrar shall be

performed by the Registrar of Companies and Other Commercial

Partnerships appointed under the provisions of article 400 of the

Companies Act

Provided that the Registrar may, with the approval of the

Minister, delegate any or all of his administrative functions to an

authorised entity.

(1)

The Registrar shall assign a unique identifier to

every undertaking established in Malta and listed in the Register, for

the purpose of uniquely identifying the undertaking.

(2) The unique identifier shall be the identifier to be quoted by

an undertaking whenever it carries out any transaction with any

public sector body; and the public sector body shall use the same

identifier in any related activity.

(1)

The Register shall be accessed by authorised users

who are employees or contractors acting for and on behalf of a public

sector body, which body shall be responsible for the manner in which

the data from the Register is used within such public sector body.

(2) Unless otherwise authorised by the Regulator, the general

public shall have access to the information as included in Schedule 2,

as this may be amended, substituted or updated by the Registrar from

time to time.

(3) Any interested party may, in writing, contest with the

Regulator, the information in the business profile.

(1)

There shall be established, by the Registrar or his

delegate, a business portal the function of which shall be the

facilitation of the management, updating and sharing of business

information across public sector bodies, as well as the regulation of

the access thereto, through the management of the business profile.

(2) There shall also be appointed, by the Minister responsible

for the registration of commercial partnerships, a person whose

responsibility shall be the administration of the business portal in

accordance with the provisions of these regulations.

(3) The portal shall be designed in such manner as to enable

undertakings, and owners of data related thereto, to interact; data

submitted through the portal to one stakeholder shall be deemed to

have been submitted to other users listed in Schedules 1 and 3.

(4) The information that may be shared through the business

portal and the data owners of each data field in the business portal is

listed in Schedule 3.

(1)

The undertakings have the responsibility to ensure

that the information in the business profile shall be kept correct and

updated.

(2) In the case where an undertaking has ceased operations, or

is otherwise in breach of these regulations, the data manager or

owner, as the case may be, of the undertaking shall be bound to

update the status of the business profile accordingly, within one

month of the date of such end of operations or the occurrence of such

breach.

(3) Where a public sector body has reasonable cause to believe

that the undertaking has actually ceased operations, or is otherwise in

breach of these regulations, the public sector body shall inform the

Regulator accordingly who shall have the right to update the business

profile accordingly

Provided that the data owner may contest the change by

submitting proof to the contrary; the data owner shall have the right,

once the change has been proved to be incorrect and the Regulator has

authorised it, to change the incorrect entry himself and inform the

public sector body accordingly.

(1)

Data owners of public sector bodies shall have the Responsibilities

of data owners

responsibility to

(public sector

bodies).

(a)

maintain their records and, or data fields listed in

the Schedule 3 and ensure that the information they supply

through the business portal reflects the true and updated

information;

(b)

install software products and tools that shall be

used to enable the ‘machine to machine’ communication of

information that may be allowed to be shared or re-used on the

basis of these regulations; and

(c)

indicate in their correspondence with undertakings

listed in the Register, whether electronically or otherwise, the

unique identifier of every undertaking included in the Register

and in respect of which a record is required to be kept.

(1)

Public sector bodies responsible for official Obligation to

registers as included in the Register of Registers and which are link

portal.

identified as having common business data as listed in Schedule 3

shall link to the business profile through the unique identifiers in

order to establish a connection between the locally stored records and

the centrally maintained business identifier

Provided that the links established between official

registers enabling interoperability and re-use of data shall remain

under the control and full visibility of the source data owner and

access to such data shall only be permitted as described under these

regulations or in any other relevant legislation.

(2) The public sector body responsible for an official register

holding business data shall be obliged to provide data to other

registers in accordance with the law regulating the official registers

concerned and in line with the links established under the Schedule 3.

(1)

For the purposes of the Act, and in accordance with

the Data Protection Act and the General Data Protection Regulation,

information relating to the undertakings listed and contained in the

business profile shall be shared through the business portal on a

‘needs only’ basis at the discretion of the Regulator.

(2) Notwithstanding any other enactment, public sector bodies

shall share and use information relating to business amongst

themselves for the purpose of discharging their functions.

(3) No public sector body shall disclose to a third party any

information obtained pursuant to sub-regulations (1) or (2).

The sharing and re-use of data through the business portal

shall be based on the following Schedules and the pertinent rules

described hereunder

(a)

Schedule 1 shall contain the full list of data

elements that make up the Business Register and which are

stored and maintained by the Registrar;

(b)

Schedule 2 shall contain the list of data elements

from Schedule 1 which are to be made available as open data;

and

(c)

Schedule 3 shall contain the full list of data

elements maintained by any other public sector body and a list

of public administration processes with links between a process

and a dataset, and containing also a justification for the access

and re-use of such data.

(1)

For the purposes of these regulations all

undertakings listed in the Business Register shall be considered as

business undertakings for data protection reasons.

(2) For the avoidance of any doubt, an individual who is a self-

employed person and who is registered under these regulations shall

be considered a business undertaking and therefore all data relating to

the business may be shared and accessed by public entities subject to

the provisions of this regulation and regulation 10.

(1)

The Regulator shall receive reports and claims

from any public sector body on violations of these regulations, and

shall take such remedial action as he may deem necessary or as may

be prescribed under these regulations, and shall inform the persons

and undertaking concerned and the users of the Register of the

outcome of his decision.

(2) Any person aggrieved by the decision of the Regulator

under this regulation may appeal to the Administrative Review

Tribunal set up under article 5(1) of the Administrative Justice Act.

(1)

No action shall lie against the Registrar or any of Aggrieved

his officers or employees, or against any public sector body, or any persons.

authorised entity delegated under regulation 3(3), providing

information under these regulations, in respect of any act done or

omitted to be done in good faith by the Registrar, any of his officers

or employees, public sector body or authorised entity in the execution

of their functions under these regulations.

(2) Where the Registrar furnishes, electronically or otherwise,

information relating to an undertaking registered under these

regulations to any other person, neither the Registrar nor any of his

officers or employees who are involved in the supply of such

information shall be liable for any loss or damage suffered by any

person, by reason of any error or omission, of whatever nature or

however caused, if the error or omission is made in good faith and in

the ordinary course of the discharge of the duties of the Registrar or

officer or employee, or has occurred or arisen as a result of any defect

or breakdown in the service or in any of the equipment used for the

service.

Any person or public sector entity aggrieved by the Right of appeal.

decision of the Regulator under these regulations may appeal to the

Administrative Review Tribunal set up under article 5(1) of the

Administrative Justice Act.

Any person who contravenes any of the provisions of these Breach of

regulations shall be guilty of an offence and shall, on conviction, be regulations.

liable to such penalties as may be prescribed.

Where an infringement of any provision of these Infringements

regulations is committed by a body corporate and is proved to have committed

body corporate.

been committed with the consent or involvement of, or to be

attributable to any gross negligence on the part of, a person being a

director, manager, secretary or other officer howsoever described of

the body corporate or a person who was purporting to act in any such

capacity, that person, as well as the body corporate, shall be liable to

be proceeded against and liable to punishment as if he was

responsible for the said infringement.

Schedule 1

[(Regulations 3(1), 6(3) and 11(1)(a)]

Full list of data elements that make up the Business Register and

which are stored and maintained by the Registrar

https://open.data.gov.mt/

search_all.html?id=53042&key=Subordinates

Schedule 2

[(Regulations 5(2), 6(4), 8(1)(a) and 11(1)(b)]

List of data elements from Schedule 1

which are to be made available as open data

https://open.data.gov.mt/

search_all.html?id=53043&key=Subordinates

Schedule 3

[(Regulations 6(3), 9(1) and (2) and 11(1)(c)]

Full list of data elements maintained by any other public sector body

and list of public administration processes with links between a

process and a dataset

https://open.data.gov.mt/

search_all.html?id=53044&key=Subordinates

€0.81