QUALIFYING COMPANIES (EXPORT SERVICES)  [ S.L.325.01 1
SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 325.01
QUALIFYING COMPANIES (EXPORT SERVICES) 
REGULATIONS
22nd March, 1994
LEGAL NOTICE 38 of 1994, as amended by Legal Notices 135 of 1994,
153 of 1995, 87 of 1996, 69 and 139 of 1997, 20 of 1998 and 213 of 1999.
Title.
(Export Services) Regulations.
Interpretation.
Cap. 325.
"Corporation" means the Malta Development Corporation;
"group of companies" includes:
( a ) the company concerned;
( b ) those companies in which the company concerned,
directly or indirectly:
- owns more than half the capital or business
assets, or
- has the power to exercise more than half the
voting rights, or
- has the power to appoint more than half the
members of the board of directors or other body
legally representing the said companies, or
- has the right to manage the affairs of the said
companies;
( c ) those companies which have in the company
concerned the rights or powers listed in paragraph ( b )
of this definition;
( d ) those companies in which a company as referred to in
paragraph ( c ) has the rights or powers listed in
paragraph ( b ) of this definition;
( e ) those companies in which two or more companies as
referred to in paragraphs ( a ) to ( d ) of this definition
jointly have the rights or powers listed in paragraph
( b ) of this definition;
"Minister"  means the Minister responsible for industry;
"qualifying export service" means a service carried on or carried
out by a qualifying company whose sole trade or business consists
in one of the activities specified in regulation 3.
2 [ S.L.325.01 QUALIFYING COMPANIES (EXPORT SERVICES) 
Qualifying export 
services.
Amended by:
L.N. 135 of 1994;
L.N. 153 of 1995;
L.N. 87 of 1996;
L.N. 69 of 1997;
L.N. 139 of 1997;
L.N. 20 of 1998l;
L.N. 213 of 1999.
3. (1) Without prejudice to the provisions of regulation 5, the
following activities are hereby designated as qualifying export
services for the purposes of article 3(1)( e ) of the Act:
( a ) the carrying out of industrial product design and
related services from an establishment in Malta for
persons not resident in Malta;
( b ) the provision of accounting, control and administration
services from an office in Malta to companies which
are not resident in Malta which belong to the same
group of companies as the qualifying company,
provided that the said group consists of at least four
companies recognised to belong to the same group by
the Corporation;
( c ) the rendering of computer bureau, including data bank
and computer outsourcing, services to companies not
resident in Malta from an establishment in Malta;
( d ) the provision of project management, planning and
ancillary services in respect of construction work on
sites outside Malta from a co-ordinating office in
Malta, provided that the project under construction is
not related to Malta in any manner;
( e ) the provision of marketing, advertising, purchasing,
procurement and related services from an
establishment in Malta for persons not resident in
Malta;
( f ) the provision of quality control, quality assurance and
ancillary services, shop surveyance, expediting,
marketing intelligence, inspections and testing of all
types of plant, machinery, equipment, materials, goods
and commodities from an establishment in Malta for
persons not resident in Malta;
( g ) the provision of specialised medical check-ups,
diagnosis and services ancillary thereto from
specialised high technology clinics established in
Malta for persons not resident in Malta;
( h ) the provision of a comprehensive logistical support
and service base from an establishment in Malta for
persons not resident in Malta who are involved in the
onshore or offshore petro-chemical industry;
( i ) the provision from an establishment in Malta of
telecommunication services between locations outside
Malta to persons not resident in Malta;
( j ) the provision from an establishment in Malta of
accountancy, control, administration and management
services to persons not resident in Malta which carry
on or carry out a trade or business consisting mainly of
the operation of hotels or catering establishments
situated outside Malta;
QUALIFYING COMPANIES (EXPORT SERVICES)  [ S.L.325.01 3
Cap. 281.
( k ) the provision from an establishment in Malta of back
office services consisting of routine administration
services, book keeping and accounting services
(excluding work which may be carried out by a person
or firm holding a warrant under the provisions of the
Accountancy Profession Act), information and data
processing services, computer bureau, database and
computer outsourcing services to companies which are
not resident in Malta and not otherwise established in
Malta:
Cap. 330.
Cap. 370.
Cap. 371.
Cap. 376.
Cap. 403.
Cap. 345.
Provided that any activity or service, including
professional services and consultancy which requires a
warrant, licence or other authorisation under the Malta
Financial Services Authority Act, the Investment
Services Act, the Banking Act, the Financial
Institutions Act, the Insurance Business Act, the
Financial Markets Act, or any other law in force in
Malta, other than a police or trading licence, shall be
excluded and shall not qualify as a qualifying export
service under this paragraph, and any company which
carries out such activity shall not qualify for assistance
under article 3(1)( e ) of the Act;
( l ) the provision from an establishment in Malta of
services related to the leasing and chartering of
aircraft, operating exclusively between locations
outside Malta, to persons not resident in Malta;
( m ) the provision from an establishment in Malta of
satellite television airtime services by Digital
Interactive Satellite technique to persons not resident
in Malta.
(2) For the purposes of subregulation (1), the rendering of any
of the above services to a company which satisfies the provisions of
article 4(1)( b ) of the Act, shall be deemed to be the rendering of a
service to a person not resident in Malta.
Approval by the 
Corporation.
4. Any project proposed by a company carrying out the
activities mentioned in regulation 3 shall not obtain any benefit or
incentive under the Act unless it is approved by the Corporation in
advance, and shall thereafter only qualify for such benefit or
incentive so long as it complies with all the conditions and
obligations of such approval.
Disqualifying 
activities.
Amended by:
L.N. 20 of 1998.
5. Notwithstanding the provisions of regulations 3 and 4, the
following companies shall not qualify for assistance under article
3(1)( e ) of the Act:
( a ) those companies which carry out any activity which is
not a qualifying export service or which, except in so
far as provided in the proviso to paragraph ( b )
hereunder and in the proviso to regulation 3
hereabove, provide any service to any person who is a
resident of Malta;
( b ) those companies which in any manner assign all or
part of their equipment, facilities or workforce to any
4 [ S.L.325.01 QUALIFYING COMPANIES (EXPORT SERVICES) 
person resident in Malta (not being a company
rendering a qualifying export service) in any way
directly or indirectly connected or associated with
such companies through shareholding, voting or other
ownership or controlling rights, irrespective in whom
such rights are or may have been vested:
Provided that the Corporation may authorise such
assignment where the assignor has invested at least
five hundred thousand liri in plant, machinery or
equipment and proves that the aggregate turnover of
the assignee or assignees does not in any particular
year exceed five per cent of the turnover of the
assignor;
( c ) those companies who make use of equipment, facilities
or employees of any company established in Malta
unless the Corporation exempts the use of any specific
equipment, facilities or number of employees from the
provisions of this subregulation;
( d ) those companies who, although not involved in any
transaction mentioned in paragraph ( a ) or ( b ), sell or
purchase any good or service to or from any person
resident in Malta unless such sale or purchase is in the
opinion of the Corporation a necessary and integral
part of the activities of the qualifying company and is
made at a fair market price.
Authorisation. 6. In these regulations, any reference to any authorisation,
approval, exemption or other permission by or from the
Corporation shall only be valid if given in writing by the
Corporation.
