CHAPTER 334 MALTA FREEPORTS ACT - Search …

1 M A L TA F R E E P O R T S[CAP. 334. 1 CHAPTER 334 MALTA FREEPORTS ACTTo provide for the establishment of a freeport system in MALTA and to regulate April, 1990 ACT XXVI of 1989, as amended by Legal Notice 103 of 1995; Acts X of 1997, IV of 2001and IV of 2003; Legal Notices 424 of 2007 and 64 of 2008; Act X of 2008; Legal Notice 346 of2008; and Act XV of OF ACT ArticlesPart I. Preliminary 1 - 2 Part II. Freeports3 - 4 Part Authority 5 - 9 Part IV. Licensed Companies 10 - 14 Part V. Fiscal Regime 15 - 16 Part VI. Administrative Arrangements 17 - 22 Part VII. Offences and Penalties 23 - 27 SCHEDULE 2 CAP. 334.] M A L TA F R E E P O R T SPART IPRELIMINARYS hort short title of this Act is the MALTA FREEPORTS by:X. ;IV. ;XV. (1)In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires -"Autho rity" means the Freepo rt Author ity co nstituted un derarticle 5;Cap.

2 281."certified public accountant and auditor" means an individualw h o h o l d s a w a r r a n t t o a c t i n t h i s c a p a c i t y i s s u e d u n d e r t h eAccountancy Profession Act, or a partnership of such individualsduly registered under the said Act;"company" means -(i)any partnership constituted under the CompaniesAct, being a partnership en nom collectif, encommandite or a limited liability company;(ii) a body of persons constituted or registeredoutside MALTA , and of a nature similar to theaforesaid partnerships;(iii) any co-operative society duly registered as suchunder the appropriate law for the time being inforce in MALTA ;"Comptroller" means the Comptroller of Customs and includesany other person having an express or implied authority to act forthe said Comptroller in carrying out the provisions of this Act; Cap.

3 337."custo ms du ty" m ean s duty charged o r chargeable under theImport Duties Act;Cap. 382."excise laws" means the Excise Duty Act;" freeport " means any area of MALTA comprised within a Freeportzone in accordance with the provisions of article 3; "licensed company" means a company licensed by the Authorityto operate within a freeport under article 10; "Minister" means the Minister responsible for FREEPORTS ;"prescribed" means prescribed by regulation under this Act.(2)Any reference in this Act to any law or provision thereof,shall be construed as a reference to that law or provision as fromtime to time in force and shall include a reference to any enactmentreplacing such law or provision (including the imposition of anytaxes whatsoever analogous to or in substitution to those containedin such enactments or provisions) and to any subsidiary legislationmade thereunder.

4 (3)Words and expressions used in this Act with reference toanother law shall, so far as necessary to give effect to this Act, andconsistently with the provisions thereof, have the same meaning asthey have in the law with reference to which they are used in thisAct. M A L TA F R E E P O R T S[CAP. 334. 3 Cap. 276.(4)Any reference in this Act to a criminal offence committedabroad, or against the law of another country other than MALTA , or toan act which if committed in MALTA would be a criminal offenceagainst the law of MALTA , shall be construed as limited to offencesw h i c h a r e e x t r a d i t a b l e f o r t h e p u r p o s e s o f a r t i c l e 5 o f t h eExtradition Act.(5)In this Act and in any regulations made thereunder, if thereis any conflict between the English and Maltese texts, the Englishtext shall II FREEPORTSD eclaration of by:XV.]

5 (1)The areas of MALTA shown on the plan in the Scheduleshall, for all intents and purposes of this Act and of any other law,constitute freeport zones.(2)The Prime Minister may, by Order approved by resolutionof the House of Repr esentativ es and pu blished in the Gazette,amend the Schedule:Cap. that no land shall be included in a freeport unlesss u c h l a n d s h al l i m m e d ia t el y p r io r t o it s in c l u s io n b e h el d b yGovernment under title of absolute ownership, or be in the processof acquisition by Government under such title in terms of the LandAcquisition (Public Purposes) Ordinance; and in the latter case theprovisions of article 32 of the said Ordinance shall not apply:Pr ov id ed f ur th er th at wh er e lan d h as b een in clu ded in aF r e e p o r t z o n e a s a f o r e s a i d i t s h a l l v e s t i n t h e A u th o r i t y b yoperation of this Act, without the need of any further formality,under the same title under which it was held by the Government,and where the land is still in the process of acquisition as aforesaid,the acquisition shall be continued by the Government and on itsacquisition it shall vest in the Authority by operation of this Actwithout the need of any further from certain by:X.

6 (1)Except as otherwise provided in this Act, theprovisions of the Disposal of Government Land Act, shall not applyto any land as defined in article 2 of the said Act when such land issituated within a 283.(2)The provisions of the Carriage of Goods by Sea(Regulation) Act, shall not apply to goods landed or loaded in aFreeport. 4 CAP. 334.] M A L TA F R E E P O R T SPART III freeport AUTHORITYF reeport by:X. ;XV. (1) MALTA freeport Corporation Limited, a limited liabilityc o m p a n y ( N o . C 9 3 5 3 ) r e g i s t e r e d u n d e r t h e C o m m e r c i a lPartnerships Ordinance* on the 25th day of January 1988 shall bedeemed to be constituted under this Act and shall constitute theFr eep o r t Au th o r ity, her ei naf ter in th is Act ref er r ed to as "th eAuthority".

7 Cap. 168.(2)All rights and obligations of whatever nature of the saidMalta freeport Corporation L imited constituted and registeredunder the Commercial Partnerships Ordinance* as aforesaid, and allacts done by the said company shall, after the coming into force ofthis article, be deemed to be rights and obligations of, and acts doneby, the Authority.(3)It shall be the duty and function of the Authority:(a) to administer the affairs of FREEPORTS with a view tofostering the economic development of MALTA byencouraging the establishment of industrial andeconomic enterprises therein;(b) to liaise with all Ministries and departments ofGovernment and all bodies and other authoritiesestablished by law in the application of the provisionsof article 6(2);(c) to advise Government on all matters relating toFreeports;(d) to do all such other acts as may be necessary orconducive to the attainment of any or all of the saidobjectives.

8 (4)Without prejudice to the generality of the provisions ofs ub ar ti cle (3 ) , t h e M in i ste r m ay v est th e A u th or i ty wi th su chs u p e r v i s o r y a n d e x e c u t i v e p o w e r s , a n d m a y i m p o s e o n t h eAuthority such conditions, obligations and restrictions as to himmay seem necessary for the p roper and f ruitf ul establish men t,development, maintenance, operation, management, control andconservation of 386.(5)Subject to the other provisions of this Act, the Authorityshall continue to be regulated by its memorandum and articles ofassociation, and by the Companies Act, sohowever that:(a) the Authority shall not be dissolved or merged withanother company;(b) the Authority shall not alter its memorandum orarticles of association, unless such alteration is firstapproved by resolution of the House ofRepresentatives;(c) the Minister may by notice in the Gazette -*Repealed by Act XXV of 1995 (Cap.)

9 386.) M A L TA F R E E P O R T S[CAP. 334. 5(i)designate the Authority for Transport in MALTA toact as the Authority,(ii) make such other orders, give such directions andmake such provisions as appear to him necessaryin connection with, or conducive to the betterconduct of, any such designation, and (iii) amend, substitute or revoke any such order,direction or provision; and(d) no share in the Authority shall be allotted except to thepresent members of the company, and no change inownership of shares in the Authority carrying a right tovote in a general meeting or otherwise to appointdirectors shall be effected unless such allotment orsuch change is authorised by a resolution of the Houseof Representatives.(6)(a) The Authority shall, not later than six months after theend of each financial year, cause a copy of its auditedfinancial statements to be sent to the Minister and theMinister responsible for finance together with a copyof the report of the auditor or auditors with respect tosuch financial statements.]

10 (b) The Authority shall, together with the auditedfinancial statements, make and transmit to the Ministera report dealing generally with the activities of theAuthority during the financial year containing suchinformation relating to the proceedings and policy ofthe Authority as the Minister may, from time to time,require.(c) The Minister shall cause a copy of every such report tobe laid on the Table of the House of Representatives assoon as practicable.(7)The Authority shall afford to the Minister full facilities forobtaining information with respect to its property and activities,and shall furnish him with returns, accounts and other informationwith respect thereto, and afford him facilities for the verification ofthe information so furnished in such manner and at such times asthe Minister may request.